Surrealism & The Subconscious: Distortions, Mirrors, and Dreamscapes in Nude Art
Reality is boring. The Surrealists believed this to be true. The Modernists spent their time creating ordered geometric patterns but the Surrealists explored the dark and unsettling contents of the human subconscious.
For the nude photographer, surreal nude art offers a distinct challenge: how do you photograph something that doesn’t exist? How do you capture a dream? The solution requires scientists to violate all existing laws of physics. The human body becomes a psychological map through artists who use distorted views and mirrored reflections and unorthodox viewing angles.
The Mirror as a Fragile Reality
The mirror in classical art functioned as a symbol which demonstrated how people developed their habit of self-absorption. The artists of Surrealism use this technique to break down objects into separate parts. The mirror demonstrates that our complete self exists in pieces because it shows two identical versions which can be damaged with ease.
One of the masters of this was the Hungarian photographer André Kertész. Kertész used his 1933 series Distortions to position nude models beneath circus-style funhouse mirrors. The research produced alarming results which displayed human bodies that stretched like taffy and bodies that vanished while their heads continued to float in space.
Why do this? Because the subconscious doesn’t see the body as a cohesive whole. Our dreams together with our inner doubts show us as having different body parts which include our weighty leg and our stomach that expands and our eye that seems to drift in mid-air. The distorted nudes from Kertész reveal our inner emotions better than any flawless glamour photograph. Modern photographers achieve this psychological effect through their use of broken mirrors and Mylar sheets and water reflections instead of digital editing.
The Uncanny Valley of the Doll
The historical value of Hans Bellmer’s disturbing work matches his Surrealist preoccupation with the automataton or doll concept which Man Ray also explored. They often photographed mannequins as if they were real women, and real women as if they were mannequins.
The Uncanny effect produces its strongest reactions when it appears in dreamlike environments. The model who displays rigid doll-like body movements and face covering through a mask or cloth transforms into a space which enables viewers to insert their personal mental images. She has transformed into a Dream Figure which exists as a machine ghost within the image.
Distortion Through Optics and Liquids
Reality becomes distorted without the need for a carnival mirror. The Surrealists used their cameras to pass through different liquid materials as part of their artistic practice. A body submerged in a bath, seen through the rippling surface, loses its solidity. The material turns into a liquid state which changes its shape during each respiratory cycle.
Technique Tip: You should attempt to take photos through a water-filled glass container or position a thick glass surface with textured surface between your camera lens and your subject. The artist wants viewers to doubt everything they observe in the artwork. Is it a leg? A landscape? A monster?
Visualizing the Invisible
Surreal nude art exists beyond the creation of unusual images. The artwork shows how fear and desire and memory create hidden forces which operate beneath what we see in people. Body distortion shows its ability to transform during this process instead of collapsing. We demonstrate that we exist as living beings who change constantly because we consist of both our dreams and our anxieties.
