The Subversive Eye at The Dali

Posted on by The Wandering Art Historian

Andre Breton published The Surrealist Manifesto in 1924 which makes 2024 the centennial anniversary of the founding of Surrealism. To celebrate, The Dali in St. Petersburg, FL is hosting a powerful and timely exhibition. When you think of Surrealism, painters’ names like Salvador Dali and Rene Magritte quickly come to mind. Yet, Surrealism had a much larger scope. Beginning first in literature and expanding into experimental theatre, Surrealism was intended to be a mindset and a way of life, not simply an art movement for the history books.

With this in mind, The Subversive Eye currently on view at The Dali, is an expertly curated experience, complete with informative (but not overwhelming) didactics, showcasing the profound connection between Surrealism and photography. The accompanying exhibition catalogue is reasonably priced with a couple of decent essays and all of the images (and more) featured in the exhibition.

As a former museum educator, I am always impressed when an art institution goes the extra mile to connect with its visitors. The Dali does this consistently with their exhibitions and The Subversive Eye is no exception. At the end of the gallery experience, visitors are welcomed into an interactive area in which they are encouraged to create their own surreal images. Considering that everyone has a camera in their pocket (by way of smartphone, of course), this felt like a natural opportunity to encourage creativity and reinforce what visitors learned from the exhibition.

Surrealists were early adopters of photography. Once the technology advanced enough to make cameras smaller and portable and lenses faster, they were quick to build darkrooms and start experimenting. Photography was the tool that allowed Surrealists to capture both the real world and the other world – the world of the accidental and uncanny – at the same time. Because that’s kind of how photography works, right? Technically, it allows for a legitimate and accurate reproduction of the world around us. But a photograph isn’t the world around us… it’s only an image and images can be manipulated.

I really enjoyed the interactive area of the exhibition! Creating my own surreal images helped me understand all the choices an artist makes when taking a photograph. It also encouraged me to look at simple, ordinary objects in a different way, highlighting the “enigma of the ordinary” that fascinated the Surrealists.

Here are a few of the surreal images I created…

Read more about The Subversive Eye at The Dali by visiting this link…

A New Show at the Dalí Museum Honors the ‘Subversive Eye’ of Surrealist Photography

To plan your visit to The Dali, please visit…

The Subversive Eye: Surrealist and Experimental Photography from the David Raymond Collection

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I am writer and artist with a degree in art history who loves to talk to people about art. I have spent the last seven years building up The Wandering Art Historian “brand” as a way to connect with people who want to learn more about art. I give lectures and presentations and teach classes and host book club discussions with a creative or artistic connection. I also write about local artists, events, museums, and exhibitions to promote the arts in Central Florida. In 2021, I had a creative crisis. I struggled with authenticity in the art making process. I decided to make myself vulnerable and find out what a real, genuine Adrienne H. Lee artwork would look like. The process was challenging and emotional and revelatory. I learned that if necessity is the mother of invention, then authenticity is the mother of reinvention. I reinvented myself and learned an entirely new medium. The resulting artwork surprised me, and it will surprise you, too. Some people wish for a fairytale ending. For me, the fairy tale is only the beginning.