Surrealism: Celebrating a Global Phenomenon

In 1924 the French writer André Breton composed the first of several manifestos outlining a radical new approach to literature, painting, sculpture, film, and other forms: Artists should draw their inspiration from dreams and the unconscious, rather than academic training and rational thought. Christened Surrealism, it dominated avant-garde European and American art during the late 1920s and ’30s. Art historian Nancy G. Heller traces the evolution and influence of Surrealism from its beginnings in inter-war Europe through the first quarter of the 21st century. (World Art History Certificate elective, ½ credit)