The last time I visited the AGO was in January of this year. A mid-week day off, in the midst of a serious emotional upheaval, looking at art seemed ideal. A way to immerse myself in something that someone else had created. I could focus on the curves and shapes, the purples and greens and bright canary yellows. For the first time in a long while I didn't think about my own life. I wanted to sink into a Waterhouse painting and let the scent of roses and cedar permeate my skin and hair.
A lazy walk through the gallery and we found ourselves surrounded by Picasso, Chagall, Miro. He milled about and I found myself rooted in front of an explanation of Surrealism. According to the writer, at the core of human existence lay the base "irrational" urges to love, to desire, and to destroy. At the time, this resonated within me, and I scribbled it down in my journal, feeling thoughts of my own life creep back into my mind. The urge to do any of these things is irrational because we do so without properly thinking through the consequences. We unconsciously destroy aspects of our lives that are strong and seemingly concrete. Desire runs rampant and it takes hold of you, shakes you to the very foundations you rely on to stand.
The Surrealists sought to transform the manner in which people saw the world and life and love. They wanted no control, no outside logic or reason. No political or social confines. To delve deep into your own head and feel out your innermost thoughts and ideas and feelings, void of constraints or inhibitions. A feat which I find near impossible.
The last part of the poster that I remember is one sentence: "We must change life."
But how?
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