Some More Chances: Re-Playing Surrealist Games and Beyond
Workshop for anybody
by Inge Henneman & Yuki Okumura
Automatic writing, drawing, and other methods devised by the Surrealists in the 1920s were intended to free the imagination from rational order, and to exploit the unpredictable outcomes of chance and accident. Those solitary and collective games, procedures, and techniques were designed to unlock the unconscious, ‘igniting flares of unexpected wonder’. The invitation was to forget your talent.
Looking back from the contemporary perspective, however, their methods might still seem to stick to the tradition of artist as genius. What are the dormant potentials latent in their methods, and how could we activate them today?
Focusing on collective games of the Surrealists as well as those associated with Fluxus, postmodern dance, etc., this workshop is for young artists who would like to tap into the creative potential of chance. Through three sessions, we will play ‘updated’ versions of selected techniques revolving around words, images, and actions, each followed by a historical and theoretical input, an artistic footnote, and a conversation.
Does the indeterminacy provide fresh ways of making art? Does it help you discover unknown aspects of yourself? How do you balance between coincidence and control? Where do subjectivity and authorship reside when anonymous rules and parameters govern the process? With or without these question in mind, let’s have fun together.
(image: Mia Wang, ‘a small cooperative drawing marathon in a hustle’, 2023)
>> This workshop is part of the annual research festival ARTICULATE
