Where Do Artists Get Their Ideas? Part 3: Surrealism

I found this in a Google image search for "exquisite corpse". Please comment if you can provide source info!

Exquisite Corpse: if you've done some reading about Salvador Dalí and his Surrealist pals you have probably come across references to this game they used to play. "Corpse" doesn't conjure up the most delightful visuals but most Surreal art isn't really granny-approved, which is exactly why kids love it. Like many examples in art history, there are images from Dali that aren't suitable for school - so curate carefully - but Surreal art is too fun not to share and sparks such great conversations about imagination, dreams, and artists' inspiration.

Salvador Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg, FL. Source: phaidon.com.

If you ever find yourself in Florida, specifically in the St. Petersburg area, you MUST visit the Salvador Dali Museum. The whole experience is exquisite from the art to the architecture and the gift shop has great materials for teachers. When I visited, a few years ago, they were even distributing free (!) packets to teachers with a picture book, DVD, and other resources.

Image source: mentalfloss.com

Dalí's work is filled with color and imagination. They are so stimulating to look at that I structure discussions around absorbing the details and composition to reveal surprising narratives that students might miss without close observation. For younger students, I start with Persistence of Memory and  ask students to identify objects and areas that remind them of real life and then find objects that came from Dalí's imagination.

Source: artanthologyinc.com.

Other examples of Dalí's work make excellent provocations for the "See, Think, Wonder" exercise. I have students to sit quietly and just observe the painting for about 30 seconds to absorb all of the interesting details. Then ask students the following questions:

• What do you see?
• What do you think is going on?
• What does it make you wonder?

These higher order questions require students to identify objects, analyze their significance based on background knowledge, and form judgments about what they are seeing - or at least identify gaps in their understanding for which they need more information. If you'd like to extend this looking exercise into a formal writing assignment it would be fascinating for students to write the story behind the painting. How did all of these creatures and objects come to be in this place?

What questions or thinking exercises do you do with your students to encourage close looking at artworks?

Artfully,
Catherine