ANDRE BRETON AND THE SURREALIST MOVEMENT
Dramatist, novelist, critic, intellectual and surrealist.
Andre Breton was nothing short of influential to twentieth century theatre. He led the surrealist movement and was also a member of Dadaism. Breton composed the Surrealist Manifesto and declared Surrealism as “pure psychic automatism.” Events in Breton’s life were very significant to his works.
Born in 1896 in the Normandy region of France, Breton was an intelligent child and became a literary fan from an early age. During his early childhood, the moors of Normandy had a great influence upon his life. Breton himself said – about the moors – “They have often torn me apart, but I love that light of will-o’-the-wisp that they keep burning in my heart. All my pride comes from the fact that it hasn’t yet gone out. At stake, as I saw it, were my chances of not failing the human adventure.” He valued human freedom and wanted to transform the world. The aim of Surrealism was to “resolve the previously contradictory conditions of dream and reality.”
Breton’s thought on Avant-Gardism were informed by his readings of the French Decadents. With Avant-Garde being described as works that are “experimental or innovative; an art form that pushes the boundaries of what is accepted as the norm or the status quo,” it is quite clear to see the idea of avant-gardism pushing through in the foundation of Breton’s works, and in Surrealism. Breton wished to “reinvent man’s relationship to life itself,” (Merrill, 1993) and this was heavily influenced by the time he spent as a nurse during World War One.
Breton wanted to use his art as an anti-war protest. As the First World War loomed in 1814, Breton studied medicine and completed some basic military training. Whilst working in a military hospital in Nantes, he wrote his first poems Decembre and Age, and he also met his mentors, Guillaume Apollinaire and Jacques Vache, who Breton treated for wounds they received in the war. Apollinaire being France’s most influential art critic, and Vache with his anti-establishment attitude, both influenced and encouraged Breton.
Having been a neurological nurse in Nantes, Breton discovered a passion for psychiatric art and the subconscious. His thoughts on this were heavily influenced by his studies of Sigmund Freud’s psychotherapy. This sparked his interest in Dada, and consequently, Surrealism.
His investigations into Freud, along with his readings of Guillaume Apollinaire and other influential artists, ultimately influenced him to write his first automatic text, “The Magnetic Field,” in 1919. “The Magnetic Field” was written to express what Breton believed was “the real functioning of thought.” He achieved this by writing “The Magnetic Field” as a stream of consciousness. This subconscious creativity was a very influential technique for both Dada and Surrealism.
In late 1918, Breton teamed up with Tristan Tzara who was one of the Dadaist leaders in Zurich. The two united and Breton began using multiple forms of art and various media platforms to advertise numerous “Dadaist happenings and other cultural events.” This propaganda included letters to newspapers and journals, press releases, interviews, advertisements, posters, flyers, manifestos, and brochures, as well as readings and other artistic workshops. The thing about Dada that posed a problem to Breton, is that it and Tzara were strictly anti-art. This limited Breton and prevented him from exploring his interests in psychotherapy and other issues that gained his attention. Eventually, a rift formed in the relationship between Breton and Tzara and this ultimately caused Breton to leave Dada.
Consequently, Breton discovered his own artistic movement – Surrealism, which has been described as the “most revolutionary artistic program of the twentieth century.” Although Breton had been manifesting his theories and ideas for quite some time, it was in 1924 that we officially saw the launch of Surrealism when Breton published his Surrealist Manifesto. In the manifesto, that was brought to life on October 15 in 1924, Breton stated, “We are still living under the reign of logic… Under the pretence of civilisation and progress, we have managed to banish from the mind everything that may rightly or wrongly be termed superstition, or fancy; forbidden is any kind of search for truth which is not in conformance with accepted practices. It was, apparently, by pure chance that a part of our mental world which we pretended not to be concerned with any longer – and in my opinion by far the most important part – has been brought back to life.” Breton goes on to commend Sigmund Freud and his works with psychic activity. Continuing, Breton says, “I believe in the future resolution of these two states, dream and reality, which are seemingly so contradictory, into a kind of absolute reality, a surreality, if no one may so speak.”
Also in the manifesto, Breton provides his own definition of Surrealism. It reads, “SURREALISM, n. Psychic automatism in 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. Thought, in the absence of any control exercised by reason, exempt from any aesthetic or moral concern. Surrealism is based on the belief that in the superior reality of certain forms of previously neglected associations, in the omnipotence of dream, in the disinterested play of thought. It tends to ruin one and for all other psychic mechanisms and to substitute itself for them in solving all the principle problems of life.” In short, Breton concluded that the unconscious or subconscious – a state based on “the omnipotence of dream” was superior to the conscious or rational state, combining the states of dream and reality, hence creating a super-reality.
In the wake of World War Two in 1940, Breton resumed his role of medical nurse within the French Army before he escaped to New York and remained for four and a half years. During his time in America, Breton lectured at various universities, including Yale and staged many Surrealist exhibitions. Following the war, Breton returned to Paris in 1946. Whilst in Paris, he did not cease promotion of Surrealism, and he continued to write and create art. He relentlessly involved himself in the Surrealist movement for years after it peaked.
In 1966, at 70 years of age, Breton passed away in Paris, as did the Surrealist movement. However, Breton, his works and the Surrealist art form continue to live on throughout the world today. Andre Breton’s works continue to be displayed in some of the top art museums and libraries throughout France and the rest of the world. His effort continues to inspire and encourage artists around the world – one would expect nothing less considering he was one of the most influential artists and dramatists in twentieth century theatre.