surrealist

comparative more surrealist · superlative most surrealist

1. artOf, or relating to the modernist art movement surrealism; (by extension) having a similar surreal aesthetic or narrative.

   The sharply written script, buoyed by its surrealist bent, facilitates the plot well enough that the impracticalities aren’t too distracting.

   2023 January 18, Shamira Ibrahim, “The Film That Accurately Captures Teen Grief”, in The Atlantic

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   In true surrealist tradition, many of his ideas, [Quentin] Dupieux says, come from dreams – but “the ones that come to you when you’re half asleep, when you doze off during the day for five minutes. The brain keeps working, and you get these great ideas.”

   2021 July 4, Jonathan Romney, “‘I want to make people laugh’: Quentin Dupieux, the fun auteur of French cinema”, in The Observer, →ISSN

   Like the show’s spiralling structure, this is modelled on classic surrealist exhibitions devised by Marcel Duchamp, luring you in to lose yourself in reveries.

   2024 September 6, Jonathan Jones, “Surréalisme review – monstrous, deviant, glorious fun as the movement hits 100”, in The Guardian, →ISSN

   In the Belgian capital around 230 of his works are on show at the Musée Magritte (£8, musee-magritte-museum.be), including his surrealist films (there’s also a superb museum shop).

   2024 September 15, Sarah Turner, “Dream ’scapes: Europe’s 10 best surrealist trips for art lovers”, in The Guardian, →ISSN

plural surrealists

1. A surrealist artist.

   Of all the modernist art movements, it was the surrealists who were best at enjoying their revolution.

   2024 September 6, Jonathan Jones, “Surréalisme review – monstrous, deviant, glorious fun as the movement hits 100”, in The Guardian, →ISSN

   1 more example

   Joseph Cornell is often considered the first and greatest American surrealist, said to have influenced creators as diverse as iconic French dadaist Marcel Duchamp and beloved speculative-fiction novelist William Gibson.

   2011 September 21, Maria Popova, “'Dime-Store Alchemy': Joseph Cornell's Surrealist Boxes”, in The Atlantic