Carly Kazempoor
Surrealists Didn’t Particularly Like Him
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Surrealism was a cultural movement that focused on using the unconscious to unlock the power of imagination. According to Wikipedia, “Artists painted unnerving, illogical scenes, sometimes with photographic precision, creating strange creatures from everyday objects, and developing painting techniques that allowed the unconscious to express itself.” Sounds like a pretty accepting group, right? Maybe not.
Despite being a major icon in the Surrealist movement, his fellow Surrealists didn’t take kindly to him at first. Many of them were communists, and tried to banish Dalí from their movement over his fascist sympathies – with André Breton hosting a meeting in 1934 accusing Dalí of “glorification of Hitlerian fascism.” That may seem a bit harsh, but it’s worth noting that Dalí DID have a bit of a fascination with Hitler that the Surrealists found unsettling – even including the nazi leader in his work. “I often dreamed of Hitler as a woman,” recalled Dalí. “His flesh, which I had imagined whiter than white, ravished me…” Interesting.