Surrealism

Have you ever seen a clock melting like soft cheese. Or a train puffing smoke out of a fireplace. In your dreams, anything can happen. I am the idea that helps artists paint those funny, wonderful, and strange dream pictures. I love putting things together that don't usually belong, like a lobster on a telephone or an elephant with long, skinny spider legs. It’s a little silly and a lot of fun. I help people make art that is full of surprises, just like when you are dreaming in your cozy bed at night. It makes pictures feel magical and new.

Hello there. My name is Surrealism. I was born in a beautiful city called Paris, France, a long, long time ago in the 1920s. A group of friends, led by a writer named André Breton, decided that the best ideas come from our dreams and our amazing imaginations. They thought that the thoughts we have when we’re not even trying to think are the most creative ones of all. So, on October 15th, 1924, André wrote down all his ideas about me in a special book. He wanted to help everyone let their daydreams and sleepy-time dreams come out to play on paper, in paintings, and in stories. It was a brand new way to think about art and being creative.

I help artists and writers surprise you. I show them how to listen to the quiet, creative part of their minds. Because of me, you can see paintings that look like they came straight from a dream. I remind everyone that it’s okay to be different and to imagine impossible things. So the next time you draw a purple lion or imagine you can fly, you’re using a little bit of my magic. Your imagination is a wonderful place, and I’m here to help you explore it. Keep dreaming your big, wonderful dreams.