HOW DOES SURREALISM IN PHOTOGRAPHY PUSH THE BOUNDARY BETWEEN REALITY AND THE IMPOSSIBLE? The Surrealism movement began in the early 20th century, which includes artist like Salvador Dalí and writers such as Breton who were strongly influenced by the founder of Psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud. Freud’s theories centered on the belief that the mind had an unconscious region, that would awake when sleeping, unleashing our deepest desires to run free of rational thinking. In Freud’s book, The Interpretation of Dreams, he states that ‘The interpretation of dreams is the royal road to a knowledge of the unconscious activities of the mind’. The aim of Surrealism was to unveil unconscious thoughts and accustom them with rational cogitation. In today’s society, we have advanced with new technology and software, which means we are able to create evermore-modern surrealist pieces. Photoshop has enabled the impossible to happen in photographs. In this essay I will explore how Vincent Bourilhon, Dan Mountford and Taylor McCormick have pushed the boundaries between reality and the impossible. Each of these artists has incorporated Surrealism into their work through modern technology to convey a narrative. I have chosen these three artists as they all have a common bond of having the ability to blur the line between reality and imagination through using different editing techniques. Taking inspiration from these three artists, I will use their work to influence my own surrealist piece using both Photoshop and photography.
Vincent Bourilhon Vincent Bourilhon, other wise known as an, ‘eternal dreamer’ to his entourage, epitomises his love for fantasy worlds through his work to create his own surrealist domain. Using himself and other models he uses body language to speak directly to the viewer. The Parisian artist initially took inspiration from seeing daily life as aesthetic objects and so began to explore the world of photography at the age of 16 from a contemporary angle. Vincent’s work can be described as cinematic due to the fact his work is always on the brink of the boarder between reality and dream like by using graphic and digital retouching techniques. This can be shown through his work such as; The Way to Paris, Crying Hand and A light for a Lost Soul (in order like as shown in the images). These designs all push the boundary between reality and the impossible due to their unthinkable nature. Photoshop and photography has allowed this artist to create an idea, which is completely outside of the ordinary, although however it is done to such a high standard that it can be believed to be on the verge of real life.
In this image we can see that there is a young man lying on the ground, which is either set in a backyard or a park with his eyes focusing on a jar in the middle of the image that is open and has a moon hovering above the opening of the jar. The light of the moon is bright and lightens the surrounding area which has small stars situated around it. The words that I would use to describe this image are that is like a dream or a fantasy, which does not seem real. I believe he uses primary photos and retouching software like Photoshop to create his photos. His work is representational as he is trying to push the border between dreams and reality. It is a dream like piece where the moon is the focus of this image as it has such a bright light but the proportions have been changed to make the moon small and the man big. This then creates an illusion to make it look as if the moon is rising out of the jar. The person in this picture is young male dressed in contemporary clothing and he is looking at the moon coming out of the jar in the picture. The artist of the image uses himself as a model. From the image there is a limited amount you can tell about the person in the picture, as all he is doing is looking at the moon. The setting is spacious to create focus on the moon in the image.
This image reminds me of a children’s book, in the way that it doesn’t represent real life and is almost dream like. The website I am Robyn critiqued Bourilhon’s work by saying, “Viewers are able to get lost and create their own story to accompany the quirky scenes”. I agree with this quote on a surrealist narrative as the piece can be interpreted differently person to person. The complete illusion of the design is interesting as the artists him self has not given any reasoning to the piece so there is no clear point or meaning. The image is different from real life as firstly, the proportion of the moon to the man is completely off scale. Secondly the light that the moon creates is a lot brighter than it would be in real life. The aspect that interested me most about this piece of work was the simplicity of the piece. The central focus of the whole image is on the moon, which is so small but striking and so sets this image apart from the others he has created.
This piece of work was created on the 26th December 2013. There is another similar image on his Flickr account with a ship coming out of a jar with light shining out from it. There is also another piece with a snowflake (shown above). I believe there is an on going theme especially with the scale of the images alongside other aspects in the piece. Moreover the on going theme is the items coming out of or going into the jar. For example, the moon is extraordinarily large as is the ship which would never fit into a jar in real life however in his work we see the unimaginable. Also for the snowflake, which takes an opposite stance and would never be that large and so is also out of the ordinary. These are all dream like visions, that he captures using photography and manipulation software, which shows how once again the artist is continuously blurring the line between reality and the impossible to bring these dreams to life. Vincent Bourilhon’s background is as a fine art photographer who has been taking photographs ever since he first picked up a camera at the age of 16. From this age he has developed his work to create cinematic pieces. The most important part of this image is the moon rising out of the jar which co-insides to the fact that it is night time and so is intriguing to see that the only brightness in the image is coming off of the moon. The mood of this artwork is almost cinematic and childlike because of the Surrealism which is suggested through the way that the male character is gazing upon the moon. As the only lighting in the image is from the moon this adds to the effect of the fantasy that this is the moon. My own interpretation of the image is that the male character has caught the moon and keeps it to himself for only him to view. However it could also be that he has found this small moon and is curious as to what to do with it. This piece of work may be ironic to show that we all have something special to each of us and the moon in the jar is the male model in this piece of work. The scales of the man to the moon in the image show how photography and photo manipulation software like Photoshop are able to create surreal designs to push the boundary of reality. This is evident in the models mood as he is intrigued at the moon rising out of the jar. The model works well in this piece because his expression shows his interest in the moon, which leads the viewer to concentrate on this also. There are multiple possibilities to which scene came before this as it depend on what the viewer interprets the pieces as. Personally I believed that the scene before this one is that he was hiding the moon to keep it to himself so that he could see it out of the jar once he was alone. However it could also be that he just found the jar with the moon inside of it, this is open for a scope of different interpretations. After the scene in the image the moon may of floated away and gone back to space where it belonged or maybe the male model kept the moon in the jar for his own personal enjoyment, this is also open for a scope of different interpretations. The figures in the artwork may be thinking about what to do with this surreal object or even if he should show it to another. The viewer of this scene could be a range of audiences for example it could be cinematic because of the surrealism but could also be family as children would see this unusual fantasy in books or movies due to the wavering line between reality and the impossible.
Dan Mountford Dan Mountford is a 24-year-old freelance graphic design artist; his most iconic pieces are focused on using double exposure portraits using primarily photography. Mountford’s is able to incorporate two images seamlessly into one creating the illusion of a surrealist piece. Mountford himself described his work as “a visual journey through our minds by calm and tidy means which the reality of everyday life does not show.” When being interviewed by the photoblographer.com Mountford shared the reason behind his inspiration, “A photograph is great for linking people and places with memory, I was simply trying to think of another way to portray that visually through the use of people who at the time meant a lot of me or places I lived and grew up in, it was these links that inspired me.” This can be shown through his series, The Worlds Inside of Us. A significant theme throughout his pieces is that each design has a faded or a partially missing element that may be a memory or a section of one. This combined with the models heads may be a correlation to further suggest this idea through his pieces. The designs that Dan Mountford has created without editing software like Photoshop shows how a photographer is able to blur the line between reality and the impossible through the models and locations that he combines to create surreal pieces.
In this image we can see that there is a young woman with no facial features who is standing alone in an empty room, with prints of faded butterfly’s over her body and also in the corners of the design. The image is black and white with large areas of white blank space around the model, which may be to signify how isolated she is. I would describe this image as a nightmare or dream like piece, which does not seem real. Dan Mountford is popular for not using digital retouching software on his work to manipulate them, but only to adjust colour and minor details. I believe that his work is also representational as he continues to push the boundary between reality and imagination. It is a dream like piece where the girl is the focus of the design due to her positioning on the page and the vast amount of blank space in the background, but mainly because of the features of the butterfly is more detailed than the girl’s face, which is not present. The illusion of the butterfly being almost as large as the girl, is what pushes the boundary between reality and the impossible. The young female in this design looks to be wearing a baggy top and no trousers, which is a bazaar combination of clothing. From the design there is a limited amount that you can guess about the female in the piece as the use of the faded opacity in various aspects has connotations to a dream that may disappear or be forgotten. The image reminds me of a memory, through the faded aspects of the design. This may also be shown through the fact the models face has been distorted so that there are no features on the face. The website ‘mutant space’ gives a quote on how Mountford himself understands his work, as ‘a visual journey through our minds, in quiet, where the reality of everyday life does not come.’ I agree with this quote on Dan Mountford’s surrealist narrative as it epitomises how the mind has the ability to see what we like and can push the boundary between reality and the impossible. Although there is not a clear definition to what his pieces are about they are open for interpretation, which allows the viewers to have multiple understandings. The image is different from real life sue to the scale of the butterfly compare to the girl which is placed on top of her. The aspect that interested me most about this image was how the artists portrays a narrative through the use of carefully selected images and deepens this by using contrasting images against each other. The central focus of the design is the butterfly on the girl as it is the darkest part of the image and in the centre of the page.
The piece shown above by Dan Mountford was created between early 2010 and late 2011 and was made for a personal project. There is another similar piece of work also involving butterflies but has an image of a lion contrasting against it (shown above). Due to the similar pieces there could be a theme with the use of butterflies in his work. However, the contrast of the images used in the lion piece shows a very strong and courageous animal mixed a dainty and fragile animal, showing his work may be more about meaning that themes. The pattern of the butterfly’s wings may also appear to look to like an imprinting on the lion or the girl in the previous image. The butterfly in both pieces of work take the central focus and are unusually enlarged, unlike in real life. These are all dream/memory like envisions using double exposure photography which shows how the artist is able to blue the line between reality and the unimaginable. Dan Mountford is a twenty four year old Multidisciplinary Designer. The most important part of this image is the girl in the centre of the design, but moreover the fact that she does not have any facial features. The mood of this piece is eerie due to this but also because the composition of the image is quite empty. The surrealist element of this design is the butterfly that is shown in the girls body which creates an almost dream like piece. Although, through stating that this design has an eerie tone it may seem like the opposite due to the lighting in the image which is well lit and adds to the confusion to this piece. My own interpretation of this piece is that the young girl may be some type of angel or memory to someone but the size of the butterfly and the featureless face may indicate something different. However the confusing aspects of this design may add to the idea that this is a memory and her face cannot be remembered. This piece of work may be a personal experience of the writers and he may be comparing the girl in the image to the delicacy associated with a butterfly. The combination and outcome of these images shows how far an experienced artist can go to create mesmerising work with a surrealist element. This creation does push the boundary between reality and the impossible as the sizing of the different aspects in the piece reveal what may be misconstrued. There are a number of possibilities to which scene came before this as it depends on how the viewer interprets the pieces. Personally I believe that the scene before this is the figure coming into the light and becoming more visible and the butterflies are shown to be flying around her and inside of her. However it could also be that the figure is submerging in to the back ground so the full features of the face could have been seen but its the end of the dream or memory so it starts to end. The scene after the design could be either the figure becoming present or submerging once again. The figure in the artwork is hard to interpret as the model has no face and it is also difficult to tell her age or the type of clothes she is wearing due to the negative space in the image brightening out the figure. The viewer of this scene could be a cinematic due to the surrealist nature of the design through the combination of the oversized butterflies on the girl’s body and background, which blurs the line between reality and the impossible.
Taylor McCormick Taylor McCormick has transformed her self from a ‘budding photographer into a one-of-a-kind artist’, as stated by adobe’s Photoshop blog. By capturing a variety of images in different angles of the same location, McCormick is able to create a surrealist wonderland, which she blurs the line between reality and the impossible. The American artists took inspiration from the Brenizer Method, in which the artist uses 3 to 9 original photos for each design created. McCormick’s experience with using Photoshop was limited when she initially started out but through determination, she learnt how to use the software through tutorials on YouTube. At the age of 17, the young artist commenced on a personal project of her own of creating a design a week, in which she states, ‘“By forcing myself to create one elaborate image each week; I give myself a week to work on it ’, which allowed her to develop her skills through this immense challenge. The artist’s work can be described as cinematic due to the combination of outlandish imagination and simple but creative photography. The images that the artist has created show how her unique style and vivid imagination can push the boundary between impossible and reality.
In this image we can see that there is a rip in a wall or piece of paper and it is revealing a city, which can be seen from a birds eye view. The setting of the piece is difficult to identify as the artist has only shown the paper and the hand, which is revealing the city below and does not show the area around this. The light projecting from the city is bright but contrasts against the darkness from the wall or paper block this view, which further suggests that this surrealist piece is almost real. The words I would use to describe this image are that it is dreamlike. The female artist has used primary images and the retouching software Photoshop to create this outcome. Her work is representational, as she is trying to blue the line between reality and imagination. This outcome would be described as dreamlike due to the fact that the perspective of the image shows the persons hand to be of a larger scale compared to that of the city in the background. This creates the illusion that there is a small city behind this wall or paper that the person has discovered. From the hand there is not much you can tell about the model, I assume it is a female hand and presumably the artists. The setting of the image is spacious to keep the focus on the city in the background. This image reminds me of a movie due to the cinematic nature of the design. On the tumbler blog, renegade visions, Taylor responded to the question of why she liked photography with the answer, ‘I like to illustrate the daydreams that play out when I’m lost in my thoughts. Some day’s they are awfully dramatic and unrealistic, and other days they are plain and simplistic.’ This quote epitomes her work showing the surrealist themes that are a trademark throughout her work. The artist herself has not given any reasoning behind the piece so allows the narrative of the design to be interpreted in various ways by different people. This image is obscure compared to real life as this view could only be seen through individual’s eyes from an airplane or something similar. The light that is pouring through the rip is the opposite to what is shown from the darkness on the wall or paper on the person’s side. This may suggest that they are two different places or worlds, which adds to the surrealist nature. The aspect that interested me most about this piece is the view of the city in the design, which is also the central focus of the design.
The image shown above was created on the 26th November 2011 and was made for a personal project called ‘project 52′ in which she produced a photo a week over a year. This piece is one of two in the same style, although the other piece is a night time version, as shown above. A theme that reoccurs throughout her pieces show how she uses models effectively against other images to show emotion and create and effective narrative that leads the viewer to question the design. Her photography and diverse imagination allows her to create dreamlike compositions on Photoshop. She is able to create surrealist pieces that blur the line between reality and the impossible. Taylor McCormick’s background is 22/23-year-old photographer from Cincinnati, Ohio who has studied at the Savannah College of Art and Design. The most interesting aspect of this image is the view and size of the city that is revealed in the image. The mood of this image is interesting as it quite bright and fun although there is no clear indication of a set mood. The surrealist element of the piece is the discovery of the city, which resembles a dream. My own interpreation of this design is that this person has discovered the city and is trying to work out how it ame to be there. However as the background covering the city has been ripped in such a violent way, this surreal scene may have been found by accident. This piece of work may have a deeper meaning behind it to the artist or may
be a dream like vision the artist wanted to change into reality. The simplicity of this idea shows how a vivid imagination can work to see the potential in every day images to create surrealist pieces, which blur the line between reality and the impossible. There are several possibilities to what scene came before the one shown above. I believe that in the scene before this, the model that is revealing the small city may have just seen a glimpse of the light radiating from the lights in the surrealist image, as the background around it is quite dark. However it could also be that the persona accidently revealed the mysterious element by ripping the paper or wall, as to what the background is suppose to be. After this scene I imagine that the model tries to enter the alternative city, which is much smaller in scale. The figure in this artwork would be feeling curious as to answering questions about the city can to be. The viewer of this scene could be family as it is likely to be cinematic due to the bizarre and surreal element to this ordinary scene. Comparing the work of Taylor McCormick to Vincent Bourilhon there is some striking similarities in particular pieces of their work. Similarly, both artists haves incorporated the idea of ‘fantasy’ into their surrealist pieces to blur the line between reality and imagination. In the photos shown above, lighting is a important part of how the artists put across the right message or scene they are trying to create, in both designers work the background image or blank space works well to convey this. Although, a difference between the two artists is that Vincent Bourilhon uses a lot of repetition through his work to create a narrative, which ultimately makes the design look more complicated as to McCormick who keeps her pieces simple by only altering or changing a small number of aspects in the design. Comparing the work of Vincent Bourilhon to Dan Mountford there are clear distinctions between both artists styles. Firstly, the editing techniques that Vincent has used are different to Mountford’s. Mountford’s work concentrates on the use of double exposure portraits in photography. As to Vincent, it is clear that he has used Photoshop to develop his ideas along with his own photography to capture two separate images to combine them into a piece that forges a surreal idea. Both of these artists have created many pieces of work with an underlying narrative, which creates interest from the viewer. Although this is more common in Vincent Bourilhon’s work, Dan Mountford has created less obvious pieces using models faces, locations and objects to convey the idea behind the piece in a more reserved manor. Taylor McCormick’s work compared to Dan Mountford’s work is also very similar through the editing techniques that they use on particular pieces. They have both used the combination of nature and a location with a model through their double exposure photography as shown above. They both also use blank space around the models to show this as their main focus of their design. Furthermore they both use the same technique of capturing double exposure portraits through their cameras and correct little errors using programs like Photoshop. However McCormick’s work goes in an almost complete opposite direction, which would be classed as fantasy, similarly to Vincent Bourilhon’s work. Nonetheless, McCormick does slightly differ to Mountford’s work as; he has incorporated the models face into the design which works well keep the design almost dreamlike. In conclusion, it is quite clear that surrealism does push the boundary between reality and the impossible, but to answer the question of how surrealism does this it is identifiable through each of the artist’s own style of design. Surrealism originated in the early 20th century in paintings and has grown and developed with modern technology to digitally manipulated images. The artists who are famous for this movement such as Salvador Dalí and writers such as Breton, over shadow the modern influencers on the future of surrealism who’s use of modern technology advances the surrealist domains that can be imagined. The nature of modern photography means that the world of surrealism has changed and that a narrative can be produced in more subtle types of illustration, which may be reflected in storytelling and memories rather than Dalí psychoanalytical approach.
Bibliography Websites: http://www.juxtapoz.com/news/photography/the-fantastic-imagination-of-vincent-bourilhon/ http://www.inkulte.com/2014/05/rencontre-avec-vincent-bourilhon/ http://www.downgraf.com/inspiration/photography-art-by-vincent-bourilhon/ http://www.iamrobyn.co.uk/vincent-bourilhon.html http://the189.com/photography/double-exposures-from-dan-mountford/ http://www.thephoblographer.com/2015/12/05/daniel-mountfords-double-exposures/#more-81767 http://www.mutantspace.com/dan-mountford-double-exposure-photo-illustrations/ http://blogs.adobe.com/photoshop/2013/03/photography-prodigy-blurs-reality-and-imagination-a-conversation-with-taylor-mccormick.html http://renegadevisions.tumblr.com/post/47148679894/what-got-you-started-into-photography-my-dad-for By Brooke Grainger