Surrealism
lesson plan
National Curriculum: KS 3&4 Art and Design
Surrealist artists tried to unlock the creative potential of the unconscious mind and make work
without thinking. Surrealist works typically have an element of surprise and put together elements
that are not normally associated together. This work fascinated 20th century audiences and artists
like Salvador Dalí became very famous, rich and influential.
Find out about Surrealism and then using cheap materials make a surrealist sculpture yourself.
A lesson plan inspired by the work of Salvador Dalí and Edward James.
https://www.culturestreet.org.uk/lesson.php?id=62
Learning Objectives
Pupils should increase their understanding of Surrealism and the Surrealist artists interest in the
unconscious mind.
In addition students can gain knowledge and understanding of the work and approaches of
artists, craftspeople or designers from contemporary and/or historical contexts, periods, societies
and cultures.
Students can refine their ideas as work progresses through experimenting with media, materials,
techniques and process.
Overview
This lesson plan can be used:
As an introduction to Surrealism and the art of Salvador Dalí.
To develop ideas and understanding of processes and materials.
As part of study of any artist using automatism, juxtaposition and dream sequences in their work.
As part of individual study
Background - Surrealist movement
Surrealism began in Europe in the mid 1920's amongst artists interested in the power of the
unconscious mind. In 1924 two Surrealist manifestos were launched and artists met in the cafes
of Paris to experiment with ways of exploring the subconscious. Techniques included automatic
drawing and automatic writing. As Surrealism developed so did the techniques used by the
artists. These included using images cut from magazines and book illustrations collaged together
to make a new work.
Suggested Classroom Activity
One thing the artists who met in the cafes did to explore the mind was to play games
including Consequences. This game involves one person writing a line or a phrase and
then passing the paper on for the next person to add their contribution until you have an
absurd story. The artists invented a drawing version of this game which they called
Exquisite Corpse. Artists playing this game included Man Ray, André Breton, Yves
Tanguy, and Max Morise.
Activity
Have a go at this game yourselves. Fold a piece of A4 paper into four equal sections. In
the top section the first person draws the head of a creature. Make sure there are two
lines from the neck that are visible on the next fold and pass the paper to the next person.
The second person draws the upper body, the third the lower body and the fourth the
legs, feet or tail. When the paper is unfolded there should be a unique fantasy creature
produced as the product of four minds.
Surrealist Artists
Surrealist Sculpture Workshop
The putting together of objects that are not normally seen together and the exploration of
dreams were the biggest influences on artists. The Surrealist movement allowed a move
away from the restrictions of realism. The list of Surrealist artists is quite a long one and
includes some of the big names of 20th century art including: Joan Miró, Max Ernst, René
Magritte and Salvador Dalí. Watch this short film about the Lobster Telephone sculptures
by Salvador Dalí and Edward James.
Development Activity
There are a number of other resources on CultureStreet about artists influenced by
Surrealism in their work that can be used to support this lesson plan. You could start with
Joan Miro who made sculpture as well as paintings. There is also a Creative Writing
workshop from Seven Stories, Centre for the Children's Book in which students produce
imaginative writing that links to the experiments the Surrealists tried in the 1920's.
