Surrealist art techniques (Part I)

Automatism and creative routine

Automatic writing or random associations are used by creators to create surreal works. An example is Lynch, who has publicly acknowledged that writing based on automatism is a key part of his creative process. When an artist is working on a screenplay or a piece of literature, he writes incessantly, for example, without taking his hand off a piece of paper. Eventually, in this process, the consciousness switches off and the words or sounds on the piece of paper begin to emerge from the subconscious. By combining his creative process based on automatism with a daily transcendental meditation twice a day, Lynch also transfers automatism into a way of life: wearing the same clothes every day, eating the same food every day, even small pleasures such as drinking a milkshake at a nearby café become routine (83). This example of Lynch's is a good illustration of the importance not only of the technique itself, but also of the preparation for it. On the other hand, in this context, it is also worth mentioning the fact that people have a limited number of creative decisions to make, so that when they give up deciding what to wear or what to eat, the energy is transferred to the more important, creative potential (84).

Finally, even when filming a scene in a movie, the factor of automatism plays a key role and becomes, so to speak, a unique, visual automatic writing in space. Jodorowsky, too, supports the liberation of imaginative thoughts, telling his own story as a young artist: 'I want an inner talent. Talent is something natural, you either have it or you don't. I am the monster of my own imagination. I can't invite imagination into my work. When I was at university, there were two paths in front of me: intellect and imagination. I chose imagination. I didn't want to be an intellectual, even though I was one. I had to tame my imagination and work hard to open it up"(85). And indeed, looking at Jodorowsky's works, such as The Holy Mountain, it is clear that underneath the unpredictable, surreal situations, there is an intellectual subtext that allows us to reflect on the different realities that exist in the human world, even if, in the plot, it is unconscious. On the other hand, one should take note of Jodorowsky's thoughts that creativity does not depend on him, that he does not create anything and that he is just a mediator who experiences the creative process as a dream, as if he receives the energy from somewhere and transmits it. It is this kind of creation, probably without even naming it, which is a stream of the subconscious, full of symbols, archetypes, mysticism and, finally, unique images. On the other hand, when the great artist talks about his creative process, although he stresses that he has no special creative process and that it is not necessary, Jodorowsky has been engaged in automatic writing every day for over 20 years, before which he burns a stick of incense, and his work is also inseparable from the study of Tarot cards (86).

Although the latter examples are from the field of cinema, in terms of automatism, it seems to have more potential in design. In a design world where function and logic still take centre stage, and the rest of the works are often just illustrative replicas of the capitalist world, such an obsessive, compulsive and mystical creative process can lead to interesting results. Finally, looking at the field of original design, it begins to seem that the Eidhoven Academy of Design is not just one of the best academies in the world, but that its graduates, in particular, often have a clear creative lineage, which is notable for not shying away from the individual automatism approach.

David Lynch.

83 A DEEP DIVE INTO DAVID LYNCH'S CREATIVE PROCESS. Huckmag.com . [Žiūrėta 2021 m. spalio.20 d.]. Prieiga per internetą: https://www.huckmag.com/shorthand_story/david-lynch-interview-creative-process/

84 Why Successful People Wear the Same Thing Every Day. Inc. .[Žiūrėta 2021 m. spalio.25 d.]. Prieiga per internetą:

https://www.inc.com/craig-bloem/this-1-unusual-habit-helped-make-mark-zuckerberg-steve-jobs-dr-dre-successful.html 41

85 10 Lessons on Filmmaking from Director Alejandro Jodorowsky. Filmmaker Magazine. [Žiūrėta 2021 m. spalio.25 d.]. Prieiga per internetą: https://filmmakermagazine.com/72541-10-lessons-on-filmmaking-from-director-alejandro-jodorowsky/

86 Alejandro Jodorowsky Explains How Tarot Cards Can Give You Creative Inspiration. Open Culture. [Žiūrėta 2021 m. spalio.25 d.]. Prieiga per internetą: https://www.openculture.com/2016/10/alexander-jodorowsky-explains-how-tarot-cards-can-give-you-creative-inspiration.html