The question of the surrealist object and the objects of Arthur Bispo do Rosário: convergences

Abstract

Throughout the surrealist adventure, Breton acknowledged that, beyond poetry, the visual arts are also capable of presenting man to himself, as they can highlight and develop two seemingly opposing worlds − the objective and the subjective. Our aim is to demonstrate how Surrealism's original contribution to the visual arts took the form of the object. To this end, we will briefly address the debate within the movement on the visual arts to focus attention on the question of the Surrealist object, from a perspective that goes beyond the subversion of the traditional media of painting and sculpture, aiming at challenging the relationship of the object with its utilitarian and marketable function and, at the same time, recover the human spirit's capacity to merge with the sensible world. This perspective allows us to demonstrate convergences with the objects of Brazilian artist Arthur Bispo do Rosário, whose life demanded the creation of a work at once enchanting and in tune with its time.