SURREALISM
Surrealism grew from the Dada movement, with artists determined to express their art in the world of dreams and the unconscious. They incorporated most of the Dada’s improvisation techniques. There were two types of Surrealists: the Naturalistic Surrealism and the Biomorphic Surrealism. Naturalistic surrealism represented art that seemed to metamorphose into a dream or nightmare image. On the other hand, Biomorphic Surrealism expressed forms in the abstract that evoked living forms such as plants and bodies. The Biomorphic Surrealism used both automatism and the collage art to represent their forms. Automatism referred to creating art without conscious thought accessing material from the unconscious mind. Automatism was inspired by Sigmund Freud, who used automatic drawings to explore the unconscious mind.
Frida Kahlo was called a surrealist by Andrea Breton, the founder of the movement, though she rejected the label. In Frida Kahlo’s My Dress Hangs There, 1933, Frida appropriates images and symbols about New York City, such as the telephone, a toilet, and a sports trophy that came together as a collage. The Collage was Frida’s way of criticizing the rapid industrialization and capitalism in New York. She also had conflicted feelings of wanting to stay in Mexico, but her husband needed her in New York. Her clothes and personalities exacerbated the conflict because they were seen as outlandish.
She painted the portrait during the great depression, which left many unemployed, starving, and destitute. A picture is shown of men in the second left lining up for bread, which represented the majority of the public. She also juxtaposed the enormous skyscrapers to the tiny, unrecognizable people, which helps to make her outrage of industrialization clear. Her traditional dress is featured, which represents the colors of the Mexican flag, red, green, and white. The dress is a representation of freedom and economic independence of the Mexican women. She shows how out of place she feels by not appearing in the picture as she does in her other pictures and placing the dress in an out of place position.
Near the top left of the painting is a church with stained windows. Contrary to the traditional windows which were represented by biblical figures, this window is featured with a cross and a dollar sign. This depicts the crawling hypocrisy and corruption in the church. The painting can be compared to her Borderline between the US and Mexico, which also reflects America’s capitalism. However, the pink color of her dress and her face appearance contract with My Dress Hans there painting. The Borderline painting also has a touch of nature, which has been destroyed in My Dress Hangs There.
Frida’s painting seems to use the collage style and involves the psyche. However, they are not founded on dreams but from her personal experiences, which differentiates her from the Naturalistic Surrealism movement.