Have you ever wondered what the meanings of your dreams are? Dream interpretation has been a worldwide fascinating topic of discussion for centuries. There has been much speculation on questions regarding the origin of our dreams, and their meanings. For some people, dreams are just a byproduct of our brain. For others dreams have psychological value as they reflect our deep-seeded desires and thoughts. Art has explored the dream dimension, with the movement of Surrealism.
Surrealism is an art movement that originated in the late 1910s and early '20s and was largely based on the exploration and interpretation of dreams and the subconscious. Surrealist artists regarded dreams as the most powerful or pure sense of freedom. This movement stood in complete opposition to the firm boundaries set by the “status quos” of bourgeois society. Dreams were seen as possessing the power to expose one to a new world with infinite possibilities. In dream world, we are introduced to images or experiences of the most bizarre or fantastic nature. The surrealists saw great power in the “fantastic” and its ability to disturb us, something that would directly challenge our normalcy and reality. The founding Surrealist artist and writers regarded Surrealism as a philosophical movement and established new standards for art and literature. Surrealist art spans from poetry and photography, to painting and film, demonstrating that there are many ways surrealists expressed their dream experiences. Dreams being a source of the unconscious, caused for great interest and study of consciousness and unconsciousness. Yet surrealists tried to relate unconscious experience to reality, so as to give it a practical use in life. In the real world, we deal with reality and solve problems with our conscious mind. But in the dream world, our unconscious takes over and our mind is on autopilot. That’s when we are found in the surrealistic dream world. Logic breaks down,
Bibliography: Freud, S. (1915). The unconscious. SE, 14: 159-204. Breton, A. (1924). The manifesto of Surrealism Jaleel, A