The Surrealist movement was most active between 1914-1939 and its philosophy required a total change from the contemporary thinking that prevailed during the chaotic years between the wars. Andre Breton and the surrealists could see that social and political unrest, coupled with capitalistic interests, were leading Europe back into a state of war. Having witnessed the horrors of war firsthand, he proposed an alternative situation that would keep Europe from plummeting into war again. In his first Manifesto of Surrealism, he states the position of the movement as complete non-conformism to traditional thinking and calls for a new existence. Breton also notes his interest in Freud's philosophies about the subconscious, particularly the dream state. He felt that both the dream and waking state had to be combined into a new reality where there would be total liberation of man, morals, and an intellectual rejuvenation. He defined Surrealism as

SURREALISM, n. 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 thought, in the absence of any control exercised by reason, exempt from any aesthetic or moral concern.

ENCYCLOPEDIA. Philosophy. Surrealism is based on the belief 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 once and for all all other mechanisms and to substitute itself for them in solving all the principal problems of life.

Breton has stated within this definition that this internal exploration of subconscious thought can be done in any manner. Surrealist activity saw that this exploration take place mainly through literature and painting. As the members of the surrealist group changed, the ideologies of the movement were called into question. Primarily a literary group, members questioned the validity of painting in exploring inner reality. The argument that a painting was too finished to accurately represent the spontaneity of subconscious thought relegated painting to a cursory role within the movement, behind literature. Although painting may not have closely represented the main ideologies of the group, it could have been used as a tool to communicate to the proletariat to increase their awareness of Surrealism. By neglecting to use this opportunity to an advantage the surrealists failed to appeal to the proletariat and create the conditions they felt necessary to realize their ideals.

Breton, as the founder of the movement, controlled the direction that Surrealism took in its actions and ideologies. A writer himself, he turned primarily to literary solutions for the creation of an ideological history, a tool of subconscious exploration, and the main means of communication for the group. Along with the influence of Freud, Breton counts several writers among the precursors to Surrealism. Included are Le Comte De Lautremint, Arthur Rimbaud, and Alfred Jarry. Lautremont attacked the values of western civilization and wanted to redefine man's fundamental nature. He was disillusioned by man's assumed moral and intellectual superiority. His vision of reality was beyond logic and had to be reached intuitively through the use of poetic images and metaphors. This is quite similar to what the surrealists saw as the new reality and the way they intended to explore this new existence. The surrealists were also influenced by Lautremont's use of poetic language in their creation of poetry. He used multiple puns and violations of syntax to create a new form of language for his poetry. Following Lautremont, surrealist poetry used language in new forms to express the unconscious.

Arthur Rimbaud had methods similar to Freud's to analyze the unconscious mind. He felt that a poet must be introspective and invent a language to give definition to subjective experiences. He thought of the mind as the source of all creativity and sought to experience pure, primitive sensations through the derangement of all his senses, which the surrealists adapted for their own use. Breton used Rimbaud's convictions about creativity as a mold for Surrealism.

The last major literary influence on the movement is Alfred Jarry. He, like the surrealists, despised bourgeoisie society and exposed man's greed in his writings. He also believed that the true person is hidden under layers making the interior, or mind, the true reality. Essentially this is what the surrealists believed and were trying to bring to the attention of everyone.

With many of the influences on Surrealism originating from literature, it is only natural that literature was the main instrument used in the movement. Following from Freud's psychoanalytic techniques, automatic writing was used extensively to explore the subconscious. To write in this manner, a person had to enter a trance like state and just write whatever came to mind without worrying about syntax or the content. The surrealists believed that the speed of thought was no faster than it could be written on paper so the passages that were written using this technique were accurate and spontaneous manifestations of the subconscious. Analyzing these after they were written would give a picture of the new reality they wanted.

Literature also became important to the surrealist movement in conveying their ideas and discoveries to an audience. Pamphlets and essays were published in order to inform the general public of the activities and intent of Surrealism. Published works included the first and second Surrealist Manifestoes, automatic writings, and poetry. These works were published in various magazines until the group started its own magazine La Revolution Surrealiste in 1924. The magazine layout was similar to a scientific journal, but the content in it caused numerous scandals. Publications by the group were more like instructional writings that explained the intent of the group to explore the subconscious using dream analysis and automatic writing. Within the first surrealist manifesto, Breton mentions the creation of a new reality, but it is a passive call to revolt.

Surrealist literature actively called for a continuing revolt after the Bolshevik revolution in Russia. The proletariat had effectively overthrown the bourgeoisie and established a new form of government. This was the most recent event in European history that provided the opportunity for Surrealism to spread it ideology to the proletariat. Breton recognized that a revolution in France, similar to the one in Russia, would provide the conditions necessary to bring surrealist ideology to realization. He felt that there had been little effort so far with the use of automatic texts, dream accounts, and poetry. Surrealist involvement in the Communist Party was a step toward an active stand in the movement calling for revolution whenever the opportunity presented itself. Within La Revolution Surrealiste, members of the group denounced the bourgeoisie and wrote about the revolution that was needed to effect change. The second Surrealist Manifesto purified the argument and actively called for revolution. Other writings, like Revolution Now and Forever, are specifically about revolution. Breton was disgusted with the reduction of people to commodities and the confinement of individual desires by society, He appealed to the proletariat to overthrow the established bourgeoisie. Only then could the true reality be established with total individual freedom.

As the surrealists actively supported the destruction of established society, there were more scandals involving them. The bourgeoisie were scandalized by their attacks. Unfortunately for the surrealist cause, their publications were read mainly by the bourgeoisie, who were not going to support their desire for change. The choice of literature as the main form of communication of ideas was ineffective for the audience the surrealists needed to gain the support of. Most of proletariat would not be able to read the publications. Using a highly academic form of communication kept the surrealist message from reaching the proletariat. To get their ideologies to the proletariat effectively another means was needed. This was a role that could have been filled by art.

In comparison to literature, painting in the surrealist movement took a secondary role for exploration and communication of the group's intentions. Breton himself took a cautious position about the matter. He considered vision to be the most powerful of the senses and recognized the advantage fixed visual images would have. Paintings would vividly depict the inner reality that the surrealists were exploring. It would also appeal to the general populace more than a written essay about surrealist intent. The highly academic essays published in La Revolution Surrealiste would be lost on a general audience, like the proletariat. Breton does say that he expects intellectuals to spread these ideas throughout the lower classes, but it seems unlikely that this occurred often enough to inspire a revolutionary attitude throughout the general populace. To bridge this gap, Surrealist paintings could be used to communicate with the public. The placement of an image in a locale where it would be seen by many people would invoke discussion about the piece. Surrealists using this in paintings could convey the need for a new reality, exploration of the subconscious, and call for revolution. With the proletariat being visually oriented, a painting about a surrealist ideal would have a greater effect than a published essay about the same subject. Clearly, Breton missed a great opportunity to really push surrealist ideas to the proletariat by under using painting.

Despite the advantages of using painting as a means of communication, Breton called the act of painting a "lamentable expedient." The nature of painting and how a painting is done contradicts many surrealist beliefs. With literature, particularly automatic writing, the ideas of the subconscious are captured quickly and unedited as a spontaneous moment. When a surrealist artist painted a subconscious event, like a dream, a massive time commitment is involved. Over the time it takes him to complete the painting, the work loses its spontaneity as it is reworked and aesthetic choices are made. It was similar to a writer "correcting" automatic writing. Once the work is complete, it can be seen as having lost the qualities that would make it surrealist. Does this mean that surrealist painting does not exist? For Breton, painting could attain surreality, but in his opinion very few painters could go beyond capturing the image to depicting an internal experience. Among the painters who had accomplished this was Picasso. Breton considered Picasso to have undergone a personal revolution where he explored inner reality in a surrealist manner and called him a surrealist although he never formally joined the group. It would seem that surrealist paintings do exist, but are difficult to create. Breton also states that no work of art could fit his vision of reality, adding more fuel to the debate.

Another aspect of painting which made it difficult for Surrealism to support painters as readily as writers was the process of selling art. Breton objected to the capitalistic selling of works of art for the pleasure of the bourgeoisie. Painters who kept to this tradition, as well as those who refused to break from the artistic tradition of image painting, supported the power of the bourgeoisie. They trapped themselves into serving the whims of the bourgeoisie. It was impossible for the surrealists to resolve these facets of painting into something that did not conflict with their beliefs. Instead, Breton called for artists to rise above the capitalism of art. Even within the surrealist group, artists produced and sold work in the bourgeoisie tradition. Practices like these took away from the legitimacy of the group, creating internal conflict between members.

This debate also affected the membership of the group. Artists joined the surrealist movement, created works, and were forced to split from the group due to conflict over the work. Salvador Dali's involvement in the movement was affected by this. Dali joined in 1930, just after the crisis with Aragon affair in the previous year. The events of the previous year had taken such a toll on the movement that it seemed to be dying. Dali's membership revitalized the group with his idea of paranoia critcism. This was a critical and systematic observation of delerious associations and interpretations. He saw paranoia as the intrusion into the world of man's desires. Although the subject matter in his paintings dealt with complex surrealist issues, he was still criticized. Dali's paintings were very finished, in the tradition of the academic school of art. This raised questions about the work being surrealist at all. Dali also loved capitalism and money, against Breton's earlier call to rise above those concerns. He endorsed the bourgeoisie ideal of gaining wealth through capitalistic gains and sold his works to become wealthy. This was another point of conflict between Dali and Breton. It wasn't until 1941 that the split between both men was completed when the surrealists had fled to the United States to escape World War II. By this time, Breton had rebapitized Dali "Avida Dollars."

Such conflict within any organization usually leads to its downfall. Breton did acknowledge the contradictions of allowing artists to produce works about the ideals of the group and denouncing art as an inadequate was to express these ideals. Why did he allow it to continue? Surrealism in this, and many other aspects, tried to thrive on these contradictions and the chaos it created to further itself. This can work, to some extent, if the chaos created within a movement can also be spread throughout society. All the magazines, essay, and poems published by the surrealists did produce scandal, but they were mainly read by those who didn't want change, the bourgeoisie. By neglecting the potential of art itself as a communication device to the proletariat, their ideas were effectively ignored. Breton extends Surrealism to politics in an attempt to spread surrealist beliefs throughout society to create change, but this too fails as it is another intellectual pursuit that was mainly viewed by the bourgeoisie. Basically stymied by all attempts to promote surrealist ideals in a way that could reach the proletariat to cause revolutionary change, the chaotic atmosphere of the group stayed contained within itself. Aragon wrote in the Declaration du Janvier 1925 that Surrealism was "a cry of the mind turning toward itself and determined in the desperation to crush its fetters." The group mimicked those words as it too turned on itself, consequently leading to its undoing.

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