Answer One of the Questions Below

1) What if anything was new about Surrealism? What earlier developments, if any, prepared the way for Surrealism? What, if anything, about Surrealism had not been visible before?

Be sure to draw specific examples from across the course, not just from the readings about Surrealism, itself.

OR.

2) Imagine that you were a young artist just starting out in Paris in the 1920s. In what ways might it seem more natural to break with Western cultural traditions to you than it might have been for a young artist beginning work fifty years earlier? What historical changes made experimentation more likely? How might changes in the organization of the art world have encouraged you to strike out in new directions? What ideas about art and examples of artistic experimentation might have influenced your decision?

Be sure to support your answer with specific references to the readings and the web site, as well as from the lecture. Also be sure to include references to specific artists from The Banquet Years , Dada, and Surrealism.