Surrealism is a cultural and artistic movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members. Many surrealists work is an expression of the philosophical movement first and foremost, with the art they create - being an artifact. Presenting this art to the viewers, allows the artist to start a discussion in one’s mind. The key aspects cannot be categorized or listed due to the fact that they can touch on every culture, religion, political view or even personal experience and knowledge. It is well known that every artist has a different way of expressing the deep message carried in every surrealistic piece. This is understood by the viewer’s mind operating well outside the attention of the conscious mind, defined by Sigmund Freud as the unconscious. An example proving that is the work of the American identical twin brothers Stephen and Timothy Quay, better known as the Brothers Quay (or Quay Brothers). They are influential stop-motion surrealist animators.
A way to present the key aspects of surrealism is by looking into André Breton’s work. Two Surrealist Manifestos (Le Manifeste du Surréalisme) were issued by the Surrealist movement. The first was written by him and the second one was done under his supervision in 1924 and 1929, respectively. The first Surrealist manifesto defines Surrealism as:
“Psychic automatism in its pure state, by which one proposes to express -- verbally, by means of the written word, or in any other manner -- the actual functioning of thought. Dictated by the thought, in the absence of any control exercised by reason, exempt from any aesthetic or moral concern.”
The text demonstrates many examples of the applications of Surrealism to poetry and literature, but also making it clear that Surrealism can be applied in any circumstance and it is not enclosed by the boundaries of the artistic realm. If surrealism had to be described visually, it would be a machine, which uses the artist’s ideas as input, then scrambles them using a unique algorithm, and as a result produces a visual artwork which can provoke deep contemplation from any viewer.
Surrealism has developed and changed a lot since its birth. Having in mind that this movement started in the early 1920s, most of the artists were inspired by the on-going wars which occupied the world until the late 90s. Followers of the revolutionary movement, like the Quay Brothers, have no meaningful spoken dialogue in their movies, with a very few exceptions. Surrealists transform their message in a way that makes it sometimes frustratingly difficult to decipher. Their creations are unique and are quite different than the aesthetically pleasing at the time movies created for the masses.
Influenced from Eastern European artists, the Quays display a passion for detail, a breathtaking library of color and texture, and an uncanny use of focus and camera movement that make their films unique and instantly recognizable. Widely known for their classic 1986 film produced by Keith Griffiths – “Street of crocodiles”, which best describes the roots of their style. The Quays are masters of miniaturization and have created an unforgettable world on their tiny sets, with a landscapes from child’s nightmares. In 1987 they released a movie named after Jan Švankmajer - The Cabinet of Jan Švankmajer. It is frequently cited that he is one of their main influences, although they discovered his work relatively late, in 1983, by which time their characteristic style had been fully formed. They say their main influence was Walerian Borowczyk. He is famous for his works done with Jan Lenica (Fig 1.1, 1.2, “In The House”). It is also known that Jan Lenica has inspired Jan Švankmajer. The work of the Brothers Quay can be described as a modern version of Jan Lenica, Jan Švankmajer and Walerian Borowczyk combined together.
There are two steps of understanding what our eyes are seeing. The first one may be called surface (consciousness, superstructure) structure, and the second one as the deep (unconscious, infrastructure) structure. This seems to be particularly true claimed by Sigmund Freud and Carl Marx. The term unconscious mind is open to different interpretations - and even different descriptions as some prefer the term subconscious or non-conscious. In brief, we have too many things going on for us to be aware of everything at one moment in time. The role of the unconscious mind is well described by the psychologist Timothy D Wilson ("Strangers to Ourselves") when he says:
"The mind operates most efficiently by relegating a good deal of high-level, sophisticated thinking to the unconscious, just as a modern jetliner is able to fly on automatic pilot with little or no input from the human 'conscious' pilot."
So to communicate successfully, an artist needs to be able to influence the unconscious mind. Modern artists use different methods to achieve that. Let’s explore some examples.
We can see the similarity between Quay’s “Street of crocodiles” and a film Jan Lenica and Walerian Borowczyk made in 1957 - “In The House”:
(Fig 1.1) (Fig 1.2)
Scenes from Dom by Jan Lenica ( Dom ,1959 )
There is a wide range of techniques illustrate a strange mechanical rite (Fig 1.1, 1.2). The rough simplicity of the materials used in these films creates disordered universe and feel of emptiness.
(Fig 2.1) (Fig 2.2)
Empty streets ( Street of Crocodiles, 1987)
The Quay Brothers used the same methods as Jan Lenica of egaging the unconscious through dark environments. It is said that the human brain is attracted to danger and to the unknown. Using the mentioned mostly filled with black, shots they provoke the viewer to think what can be hidden in those corners.
(Fig.03)
Dark corners ( Street of Crocodiles, 1987, 09:41)
The whole short is shot in that kind of way. This is how the artists show one of their other ideas about the modern world – overpopulation. Not giving enough space makes the viewer uncomfortable with what they are seeing.
(Fig.4.1) (Fig.4.2) (Fig.4.3)
Another successful method is seen through the whole short, and in all of their movies. Delivering the information in the form of a story is easily acceptable and easily understandable by the viewer’s unconscious. Furthermore, the protagonist in this story is always hiding and being careful with his next move. This tends to excite the viewer and keep them waiting for a surprise or something sudden, which makes them focused and more aware of the environment. The Quays say near the end of the short that this is their recreation of the modern city. In most of the scenes the main character seems to be only observing through windows, which leaves the idea that he is being controlled by a third party, which we can’t see. This is also stimulates the unconscious of the audience.
(Fig.05)
Detail (Street of Crocodiles, 1987)
The Quays can simply be called the masters of the detail at the time this movie was released. The human brain tends to have higher priorities when it comes to observing objects with sophisticated structure. This traps the viewer into the miniature world but without giving it enough information. It keeps the mind focused on it, when it shows everything from so close, that the mind cannot imagine the rest of the chaotic arrangement of the environment.
(Fig.6.2) (Fig.6.3)
Mechanical sequence (Street of Crocodiles, 1987)
The Quay Brothers encrypted the idea of automatism in the future by moving the point of interest in every shot, along all these strings connecting things which neither the protagonist nor the viewer gets to see. They start somewhere unknown, without any valid purpose, ending in darkness, supported with a machine sounds as a background. In the machine language everything action is followed by another, creating a whole process. This short uses the same method in every shot, pan and even development of the story. By doing this they are transferring the viewer’s unconscious into the metropolitan automated cycle of the future. Revealing at the end the idea behind the short: "In that city of cheap human material, no insticts can flourish, no dark and unusal passions ca be aroused THE STREET OF CROCODILES was a concession of our city to modernity and metropolitan corruption.The misfortune of that area is that nothing ever succeeds there, nothing can ever reach a definite conclusion. Obviously, we were unable to afford anything better than a cardboard imitation, a photo montage cut out from last year's mouldering newspapers" (Fig.07)
(Fig.07)
Ending (Street of Crocodiles, 1987)
Ending (Street of Crocodiles, 1987)
Since the late 1970s, the identical twin Quay Brothers have made a unique contribution to animation in general, and the puppet film in particular. Combining abstract visual, musical, cinematic and philosophical influences through their own crooked and distinctive watermark, each quay film traps the viewer’s attention through hypnotic control disguised as decor, music and movement, invoking half-remembered dreams and rarely remembered childhood memories, stunning and deeply disturbing the viewer at the same time. Achieved in a way only possible with a high skill of unconscious dialog, held between the brought to life puppets and the viewer’s mind.
Bibliography
1. Street of Crocodiles. (1986) Directed by Stephen Quay, Timothy Quay; Koninck Studios.
2. Dom (In The House). (1959) Directed by Walerian Borowczyk, Jan Lenica;
3. Brothers Quay, Wikipedia, Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brothers_Quay [Accessed 28/03/2011].
4. Walerian Borowczyk, Wikipedia, Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walerian_Borowczyk [ Accessed 26/03/2011]
5. The short films of the Quay Brothers, Zeitgeist Films, Available at: http://www.zeitgeistfilms.com/film.php?directoryname=quayretrospective&mode=filmmaker [Accessed 28/03/2011]
6. Quay Brothers – The Short Films, BFI Filmstore Animation, Available at: http://filmstore.bfi.org.uk/acatalog/info_2787.html [Accessed 28/03/2011]
7. Surrealism, Wikipedia, Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surrealism [Accessed 27/03/2011]
8. Surrealist Manifesto, Wikipedia, Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surrealist_Manifesto#Quotations_2 [Accessed 28/03/2011]
9. La Révolution surréaliste (The Surrealist Revolution), Wikipedia, Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_R%C3%A9volution_surr%C3%A9aliste [ Accessed 28/03/2011]
10. André Breton, Wikipedia, Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andr%C3%A9_Breton [Accessed 28/03/2011]
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