Though it began in France as a literary movement in 1924, Surrealism quickly evolved into an international and interdisciplinary movement that continues to influence artists today. Inspired by psychologist Sigmund Freud, who described the concept of the uncanny as the familiar made strange, Surrealist art often depicts dream-like images, displaced and fragmented objects, and abstract, biomorphic forms. A key shift in the movement’s history came during World War II, when many Surrealists relocated from Europe to the United States. There, Marcel Duchamp played a central role in facilitating connections and exchanges between American and European artists, which led to new art styles such as Abstract Expressionism. This installation explores the lineage and relocation of European Surrealism to the United States through the Freudian notion of the uncanny. It features European Surrealists, American artists influenced by the movement, and artists with a Surrealist sensibility.
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Image Credits:
Kurt Seligmann, Le Fonctionnaire [Official], 1934, etching, 19 1/2 x 14 5/8 in., Oklahoma City Museum of Art, The Winston and Ada Eason Collection of “Monuments of American Graphic Arts,” Wave Foundation, donor, 1971.002, © Kurt Seligmann / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York, photo © Oklahoma City Museum of Art
Edward Steichen, Isadora Duncan at the Portal of the Parthenon, Athens, 1920, printed 1981, photogravure, 20 x 16 in., Oklahoma City Museum of Art, Museum purchase with funds provided by Ms. Frances M. Kerr, 1982.067, © The Estate of Edward Steichen/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York, digital image © Oklahoma City Museum of Art
Marcel Duchamp, Boîte-en-valise (De ou par Marcel Duchamp ou Rrose Sélavy) [Box in a Valise (From or by Marcel Duchamp or Rrose Sélavy)], 1935-1941/1961, linen-covered box containing mixed media assemblage/collage of miniature replicas, photographs, and color reproductions of works by Duchamp, Oklahoma City Museum of Art, Museum purchase, Washington Gallery of Modern Art Collection, 1968.073, © Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris / Estate of Marcel Duchamp, photo © Oklahoma City Museum of Art
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