The Freudian Origins of Surrealism

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Ayanna Nahmias, Editor-in-ChiefLast Modified: 23:53 p.m. EDT, 15 August 2011

Sigmund Freud, Photo in LIFE Magazine

The surrealist movement is in part based on the groundbreaking work of psychologist Dr. Sigmund Freud's theories on free association, dream analysis, and the unconscious.

By tapping into the unconscious and portraying it unfettered through painting and photography, the viewer is afforded the opportunity to live vicariously in the waking dreams.

In the Nahmias Report we have featured the works of the painters Rene Margritte, Frida Kahlo, Francis Picabia, Salvador Dali, and Max Ernst, and encourage you to learn more about these artists and view their works by following the links above.

Some may look at the work of surrealists and conclude that these people must have been mentally unstable. Quite the contrary, most of these artists refused to subvert their inner realities to the conventions of the epoch in which they were born.

They chose instead to push further into the frontiers of the unconscious by translating the ethereal mysteries of their minds on to canvassed landscapes which continue to fascinate, repulse, and intrigue viewers.

Salvador Dalí said it best, "there is only one difference between a madman and me. I am not mad."

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Fernando Botero | Amedeo Modigliani

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Ayanna Nahmias, Editor-in-ChiefLast Modified: 00:31 AM EDT, Sunday, 7 August 2011

An Odalisque (Turkish: Odalık) was a female slave in an Ottoman seraglio. She was an assistant or apprentice to the concubines and wives, and she might rise in status to become one of them. Most odalisque were part of the Imperial Harem, that is, the household, of the sultan.

Many artists, especially classical artist such as Jean August Dominique Ingres, who in 1814 painted the Grand Odalisque, often portrayed female nudes in this style. Hence the original use of the word as a noun has morphed within the field of paintings into an adjective which used to describe a particular style of portraying a female nude.

Two of into my favorite artists, Amedeo Clemente Modigliani (July 12, 1884 – January 24, 1920 and Fernando Botero Angulo (born April 19,1932 - present), depict stylized Odalisque at opposite ends of the spectrum. Both artists portray women in exaggerated proportions, Modigliani chose to elongate his figures, while Botero chose to accentuate corpulence. I find in each a more  natural, albeit caricature, portrayal of women because these artists do not seek perfection through idealization.

Whereas the nudes of the great artists like Michaelangelo strive to not only portray physical perfection of the body types of their age, it seemed as if the artists sought to imbue the canvas with the very essence of the model's soul.  By contrast, Modigliani and Botero seek to explore other aspects of painting and the female nude.

Modigliani was born into an Italian-Jewish family from Livorno, Italy.  He moved to Paris in 1906 where he met a female poet,  Anna Akhmatov who became the inspiration for many of his paintings."

"One of the key-elements of Modigliani's portraitism were the slated heads, derived from Byzantine cariatides because of the horizontal placement of the eyes and mouth coupled with the curvature of the nose. The portraits subtlety is due to Modigliani's unique talent, but its essence, the facial constructions one of the most important artistic inventions of modern art." Source:  Paintings.Name

Amadeo_Modigliani Reclining Nude

Amadeo_Modigliani Reclining Nude

Such directness in figurative portraiture forms the basis for abstract art, and in fact, Picasso would later use this mask-like depictions of the human face in many of his paintings.

Born in 1932 in Medellin, Colombia, as Fernando Botero Angulo, he has worked in landscapes and still-lifes, but his fame rests on paintings and sculpture of human figures with almost comically exaggerated, rounded features. Colombians have loved him for decades, at least since he won first prize at the Salon de Artistas Colmbiano in 1959, and find his work emblematic of their nation’s identity.

The Latin American artist is often quoted as saying that he paints "the world as he sees it." His work though in the style of caricature is immediately recognizable, and captivating or repulsive depending upon the viewer's perception of corpulence. For those who like 'Zaftig' women, Botero's preference for bigger, richer, models versus thin and emaciated body types that are currently in vogue, makes his work fascinating and engaging.

For students of art history, even a cursory review of his work reveals a Baroque influence. One could reasonably argue that Botero uses the distortion of proportion as commentary on social mores and the stature of the subject.

Botero, Reclining Nude

Botero, Reclining Nude

Perhaps the tendency of Baroque art toward abundance and heightened proportion helped form his signature style. But for his part, Botero claims not to have known or understood the sources of his art when he began painting, calling it entirely intuitive.

Botero’s Baroque inspiration was recognized in the title of a major exhibition of his work, “The Baroque World of Fernando Botero,” which toured museums in North America from 2007 through 2008. The accompanying catalog, published by Yale University Press (2007), is the most extensive study of his life and work to date. Featuring 100 works from the artist’s private collection, the volume provides an informed review of his considerable body of work. Source:  Antique Trader

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Child Pornography Nightmare | Dreamboard

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Ayanna Nahmias, Editor-in-ChiefLast Modified: 09:55 AM EDT, 5 August 2011

Death of Marat I, Edvard Munch, 1907U.S. federal government officials announced the arrests of 52 people involved in an international online child pornography ring that  exploited children through a bulletin board with the moniker "Dreamboard."

The arrests were the culmination of an investigation launched in late 2009. Code named 'Operation  Delego," this phase of the investigation was an out growth of an earlier sting instigated to capture online child sexual predators. To date a total of 72 defendants have been charged and more than 500 additional people have been indicted for their participation in this heinous child sexual exploitation and rape ring.

'Dreamboard,' a members-only, online bulletin board created and operated to promote pedophilia, first came to the attention of authorities in 2009. Members hail from five continents and 13 countries including Canada, Denmark, Ecuador, France, Germany, Serbia and Sweden.

In a perverse parody of due diligence, the board's administrators rigorously screened applicants to validate that future participants' predilections were prurient enough for membership. When applying for membership applicants were required to submit  compromising pornographic images of themselves with children 12 years or younger.

Upon being granted membership, pedophiles had immediate access to graphic images and videos of adults molesting children 12 years old and under, often violently. To remain in 'good standing' participants had to frequently update their profiles with new images and videos of children as they raped them.

“The members of this criminal network shared a demented dream to create the preeminent online community for the promotion of child sexual exploitation but for the children they victimized, this was nothing short of a nightmare,” U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said in an August 3rd statement.

The indictments and arrests were conducted in three separate phases over the two-year span of the operation. Each of the 72 defendants are charged with conspiring to advertise and distribute child pornography and 50 of them are also charged with engaging in child pornography enterprise.

Of the 52 defendants arrested yesterday, 13 have pleaded guilty; while 20 of the 72 remain at large and are known only by their online identities.

Four of the 13 people who pleaded guilty have been sentenced  to prison terms ranging from 20 to 30 years in prison.

The travesty of these crimes is that many of the perpetrators will probably remain free because of the veil of anonymity the Internet provides.  Additionally, though the sentences of 20 to 30 years may seem lengthy, they pale by comparison to the life sentences these men have meted out to their victims.

The physical, sociological and psychological damage perpetrated against these children will last a lifetime and will affect each member of our society tangentially or directly.  Many of the victims have not been identified and because the geographic footprint of this criminal enterprise; it is likely that the number of children brutalized by this perverse consortium could run into the thousands.

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Eid Mubarak 2011 | Happy Ramadan

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Ayanna Nahmias, Editor-in-ChiefLast Modified: 01:45 AM EDT, 3 August 2011

To all of our Muslim readers we would like to wish you a very Happy Ramadan.  Having just broken the fast with our dear friends from Tunisia, we are privileged to have had the opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to diversity and the values of religious tolerance that we espouse.

"Toleration isn't much. But it is the first step towards curiosity, interest, study, understanding, appreciating and finally valuing diversity. If we can get everyone on the first step of tolerance, at least we won't be killing each other." ~ Anon (taken from the Native American Indian Traditional Code of Ethics. Inter-Tribal Times, 1994-OCT)

Eid Mubarak!

Eid Mubarak

Eid Mubarak

"There will be peace on earth when there is peace among the world religions." ~ Hans Kung, Theologian

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