Criticism Of The Reality And The Surreal Unreal

Andre Breton was the founder and leader of French surrealism movement. Under his leadership, the surrealism had become the most influential avant-garde art group in Paris and finally the organization with international influence during the 1920-30s. As an avant-garde poet, he is actively engaged in the creation of surrealist literature and also the author of numerous articles on the avant-garde art theory and criticism, these articles had played a crucial role in promoting the surrealism art, as well as the overall development and dissemination of French avant-garde. The first part of this paper sorted and summarized Breton's activities of art criticism. The second part analyzed the viewpoints of his art criticism, and integrated into two basic directions: pursuit of new and innovative spirit of modernism and presentation and expansion of subjectivity. On this basis, the third part focused on the concepts and methods of Breton's art criticism. Firstly, regarded his art criticism as a part of France art criticism system and analyzed the changes of his critical concepts and methods. Secondly, this part discussed the specific points of conversion of his criticism methods in the view of words and images. Thirdly, by discussing Henri Lefebvre's theory and Breton's art criticism, this part put forward the following views:on one hand, Breton's art criticism had already been involved in the field of cultural practice concerning about critique of everyday life; on the other hand, Breton's surrealism thoughts created a field of thoughts which has a continuous relationship with French post-structuralism thoughts. The last part is a rethinking of Breton's art criticism combining with the conditions of the development of modernism. First discussed the difficulties faced by his criticism. Second, this part made a summary of the relationship between his theory of art criticism, as well as his activities, and the development of modernism. Finally, by summarizing the art criticism of French literary style represented by Breton in the view of modern art and art criticism, this part argued that Post-modernism art criticism has diversified content and methods, and it is also true of modernism art criticism. The art criticism of French literary style is also a significant part of modernism art criticism, it is a kind of another modernism cultural criticism in different with the formalism way, and also it had played a significant role in pushing the development of modernism art and exploring the process of modern art theory.