Surrealism: Movement in art and literature from 1924 to 1945 where artists attempted to give visual representation to dreams, fantasies, and the

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1 IMAGINING MAGRITTE Surrealist René Magritte (Belgian, ) and his painting The Listening Room are the inspiration for this mixed-media AAYF project. Students preconceived notions of perception and reality will be challenged while they learn an important lesson in one-point perspective.

2 Surrealism: Movement in art and literature from 1924 to 1945 where artists attempted to give visual representation to dreams, fantasies, and the unconscious mind. Surrealism emphasized real objects in unreal situations, surprise, contradiction and shock.

3 Trained as an artist René Magritte ( ) Belgium First painted in the Impressionistic Style Influenced by Dr. Sigmund Freud, who claimed that people did things because of what was hidden in the unconscious mind, a part of your brain that senses or reacts without you knowing. The images found in surrealist works are as confusing and startling as those of dreams.

4 Inspiration: The Listening Room Mixed Media: A work of art for which more than one type of art material is used to create the finished piece. Collage: An artistic composition made of various materials (e.g., paper, cloth, or wood) glued on a surface. Scale: Relative size, proportion. Used to determine measurements or dimensions within a design or work of art. Everything we see hides another thing There is an interest in that which is hidden and which the visible does not show us. Magritte

5 Interesting Facts Magritte s Museum is as surreal as his work. Magritte s work became wildly popular in the psychedelic 60s and several album covers of the period featured variations of his images. Magritte s Bowler Hat Man Painting was the star in the major motion picture, The Thomas Crown Affair.

6 The Room One-point perspective: A way to show three-dimensional objects on a two-dimensional surface. Lines appear to go away from the viewer and meet at a single point on the horizon known as the vanishing point. Vanishing point: The single point in a picture where all parallel lines that run from the viewer to the horizon line appear to come together. The vanishing point is generally placed at the viewer's eye level.

7 Creating The Room (DK-2 nd ) Use the cardstock to trace a rectangle in the center of their 9x12 horizontally positioned watercolor paper. Use your finger and touch the center of the paper. Draw a dot there, this is your vanishing point.

8 Creating The Room (DK-2 nd ) Draw the 4 diagonal lines connecting the corners of the template rectangle with the 4 corners of the outside of the paper, using the ruler as a guide. Use ruler to draw the window on the left-hand wall. Line up ruler with dot in center of page and create the top and bottom lines of the window. Then draw two vertical lines creating the sides of the window. Optional: If the students are capable, have them use the same ruler technique to draw the lines on the floor to create the checkerboard floor.

9 Creating The Room (3 rd -5 th )

10 Creating The Room (3 rd -5 th )

11 Back to All Students Paint the room using the watercolors. Not necessary to put much detail on the flat wall in the middle, as it will be covered with an apple! Set your painting aside and clean up your watercolors. Questions for the artists: 1. Is your painting surreal yet? 2. How will you make it Surreal? 3. Is your artwork a collage yet?

12 Apple Time! Draw an apple almost as big as the paper. Color your apple in with the chalk pastels. Light source is from the left. Remember the window in your room? You can choose red or green, but use the other colors to make it realistic looking. Whites, pinks for red apple highlights/whites, yellows for green apple highlights. Use browns and blacks to shade the dark areas. Blow excess chalk into garbage can. NOT YOUR NEIGHBOR S DESK! Cut out your apple and paste it into your room.

13 Time to Reflect How would you explain Surrealism to someone who had never seen it? Why are these other Magritte paintings considered Surrealism? DK-1: What made Magritte s paintings so surprising? What kinds of lines did you use? 2-3: How did you make your painting surreal? Can you tell a short story about what is happening in your picture? 4-5: How did you use perspective and scale in your artwork? Describe the technique you used to make your apple look three-dimensional?

14 Learn more about René Magritte Browse in the adult nonfiction section of the PV Library under MAGRITTE for more information and pictures of Magritte s work. Enjoy these juvenile titles too: BOLTON Surrealism by Linda Bolton GAFF 20 th Century Art : Realism and Surrealism by Jackie Gaff RAIMONDO Imagine That!: Activities and Adventures in Surrealism by Joyce Raimondo WENZEL René Magritte: Now you See It -- Now You Don't by Angela Wenzel Juvenile Picture Book Dinner at Magritte's by Michael Garland Websites to Visit: