Surrealist Absurdity is a type of art that emerged in the early 20th century, which encompasses a wide variety of forms such as painting, sculpture, photography, poetry, music, and film. It focuses on creating unexpected juxtapositions between objects or ideas to create irrational and dreamlike images or situations. Surrealism often uses humor and irony to emphasize the absurdity of its subject matter and to challenge conventional ways of thinking about the world. The movement is associated with the Dadaists’ rebellion against traditional values and their focus on randomness and chance rather than rational thought.

At its core, Surrealist Absurdity challenges logical thinking by presenting contradictory perspectives that are often bizarre, or illogical perspectives. By featuring absurd combinations of elements from everyday life—such as combining animals and furniture or strange landscapes—Surrealist Absurdity brings together seemingly incompatible objects in an effort to explore the subconscious mind. It also seeks to create visual surrealism by using dreamlike imagery or contrasting colors and shapes to evoke an emotional reaction from viewers. Finally, Surrealist Absurdity often includes philosophical elements that explore themes such as mortality, identity, freedom, power dynamics, and morality in a unique way.

Examples of Surrealist Absurdity

An excellent example of bizarre surreal comedy would be the cult classic film, The Big Lebowski (1998) directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. This movie follows the life of an unemployed slacker, “The Dude” (Jeff Bridges), who unwittingly gets embroiled in a farcical kidnapping plot. Throughout the movie, The Dude encounters a cast of absurdly ridiculous characters such as Walter Sobchak (John Goodman), a paranoid Vietnam veteran and conspiracy theorist, and Donny Kerabatsos (Steve Buscemi), an awkward friend and bowling partner to The Dude. Not only does this entertaining film feature humorous dark comedy, but it also incorporates surrealist elements such as dream sequences that add absurdity to its storyline. In one scene, for instance, The Dude has a vision in which he is chased by nihilists while riding on a carpet with an eagle. Such surreal imagery, along with the other offbeat characters and situations are part of what makes The Big Lebowski both hilarious and unique.

An example of bizarre juxtaposition in Surrealism can be seen in the painting The Red Horseman (1931) by Spanish artist Salvador Dalí. This painting features an oddly shaped, red horse with a human torso for its head riding atop a snow-covered landscape. Along with this strange image, the painted landscape also includes a large egg rolling down a mountain slope and an upturned baroque building suspended midair. These seemingly incongruous elements are all used to create a dreamlike scene that is both surreal and absurd. Additionally, the painting is further enhanced by Dalí’s use of bright colors and sharp contrasts between light and dark shades to emphasize their bizarre juxtaposition. By combining these elements, Dalí has created an unsettling yet visually stunning painting that challenges viewers to think beyond the traditional boundaries of art.

One example of expressions of nonsense in Surrealism can be seen in the work of French poet, Guillaume Apollinaire. In his poem ‘Zone’, Apollinaire uses a stream-of-consciousness style to create strange and nonsensical images which highlight the absurdity of language. He juxtaposes words like ‘turquoise’ with ‘elephant’ and ’empire’ with ‘crocodile’, creating outrageous combinations which convey a surreal atmosphere. This type of surrealist writing is often used to challenge the boundaries between reality and imagination, as well as to make an artistic statement about the world around us. In addition to poetry, many Surrealist artists also explored these same themes through paintings, sculptures and photographs that incorporated aspects of nonsense into their works. For instance, Salvador Dali’s famous painting The Persistence Of Memory (1931) features melting clocks arranged in peculiar positions across a desert landscape; this dreamlike image reflects Dali’s exploration of the concept of time as something irrational and beyond our control. By combining these surreal images with absurd phrases or elements, Surrealists were able to create a unique art form that explored ideas such as logic, language, and perception in unexpected ways.

Existentialism

Surrealist Absurdity and Existentialism are two distinct philosophical and artistic movements of the 19th and 20th centuries. Surrealist Absurdity focuses on creating irrational, dreamlike images or situations by presenting unexpected juxtapositions between objects or ideas. It challenges traditional rational thinking by presenting contradictions. Ultimately, it seeks to explore the subconscious mind and explore themes of mortality, identity, freedom, power dynamics, and morality in a unique way.

Existentialism, on the other hand, is more concerned with exploring one’s individual sense of meaning in life. It emphasizes free will as opposed to fate or predetermined paths in life. As such, it encourages individuals to take responsibility for their actions while at the same time recognizing their finite nature and limitations within a larger universe. Existentialism does not focus on creating strange combinations of elements from everyday life as Surrealism does; rather its focus is on providing an analysis of human existence in all its complexity – including our suffering and joys. Ultimately, Existentialism seeks to bring understanding to the human condition by recognizing our uniqueness while also accepting our shared mortality with others.

Exploring Mortality: Common Threads between Surrealism & Existentialism

One example of Existentialism and Surrealism having a common thread is the exploration of mortality. While both movements approach this topic in different ways, they both emphasize the finite nature of human life and the importance of taking responsibility for our actions within the greater scope of existence. For instance, in The Red Horseman (1931) by Spanish artist Salvador Dalí, he uses dreamlike imagery to explore ideas such as mortality through an absurd juxtaposition between a red horse with a human torso for its head and a snow-covered landscape. This surreal painting reflects how our lives are fleeting by highlighting the contrast between physical objects that have no real connection in reality. Similarly, Existentialism contemplates mortality by stressing that each individual has only one life and it is up to them to make the most out of it. By recognizing our shared mortality, we can better understand ourselves and our place in the universe while simultaneously striving to create meaning for ourselves on our own terms. In this way, Surrealism and Existentialism share a common thread in exploring themes such as mortality with unique perspectives.

Finding Meaning in Our Lives: Examining Personal Identity Through Surrealists & Existentialists

Another example where Surrealism and Existentialism intersect is in their exploration of personal identity. While Existentialism encourages individuals to take ownership of their lives and to make decisions for themselves, Surrealism often challenges traditional notions of identity by creating strange combinations which seemingly have no connection to one another. For instance, in the painting The Disintegration Of The Persistence Of Memory (1952) by Salvador Dalí, he combines a recognizable landscape with melting clocks and other bizarre elements that challenge our preconceived notions of identity. By presenting this surreal image, Dalí is asking us to consider the concept of identity as something far more fluid than we previously believed. Similarly, Existentialists believe that each individual’s sense of self is formed through their own choices and actions rather than predetermined fate or social norms. They argue that by taking control of our own destinies and making empowering choices about our lives, we can create a more meaningful existence for ourselves. Thus, both Surrealism and Existentialism emphasize the importance of taking ownership of our identities and recognizing our unique capacity as human beings.

Summarizing the Intersection Between Surrealist Absurdity and Existentialism

The intersection between Surrealist Absurdity and Existentialism in philosophy is one of the most fascinating areas of exploration. Both philosophies seek to challenge traditional notions of reality and explore ideas such as logic, language, perception, mortality, identity, freedom, power dynamics, and morality in unexpected ways. While these two movements take different approaches towards understanding the human condition, they both emphasize the importance of taking ownership of our lives and making empowering choices about our existence.

Surrealist Absurdity often uses absurd juxtapositions between words or objects to create strange and nonsensical images that reflect a surreal atmosphere. This type of writing also challenges the boundaries between reality and imagination by presenting contradictions between everyday items or ideas. Meanwhile, Existentialism focuses on exploring individual meaning in life through free will and personal responsibility. It encourages individuals to take ownership for their actions while recognizing their finite nature within a larger universe.

The common thread between Surrealism and Existentialism is their exploration of mortality. While Surrealists often portray this theme through dreamlike imagery featuring strange juxtapositions between physical objects that have no real connection in reality, Existentialists contemplate mortality by stressing that each individual has only one life which is up to them to make the most of it. By recognizing our shared mortality with others, we can gain insight into our own place in the universe while simultaneously striving to create a meaningful existence according to our own terms.

Additionally, both philosophies also explore themes related to personal identity. Whereas Existentialists emphasize personal responsibility for one’s decisions and actions within the greater scope of existence; Surrealists challenge traditional notions of identity through bizarre combinations which seemingly have no connection with one another. Ultimately, examining the intersection between Surrealist Absurdity and Existentialism in philosophy can offer insights into how we view ourselves in relation to the world around us – whether we choose to embrace an irrational approach or an analytical one.