A 1947 American experimental feature color film written, produced, and directed by surrealist artist and dada film-theorist Hans Richter.
The film was produced by Kenneth Macpherson and Peggy Guggenheim.
Collaborators included Max Ernst, Marcel Duchamp, Man Ray, Alexander Calder, Darius Milhaud and Fernand Léger. The film won the Award for the Best Original Contribution to the Progress of Cinematography at the 1947 Venice Film Festival.

Joe/Narcissus (Jack Bittner) is an ordinary man who has recently signed a complicated lease on a room. As he wonders how to pay the rent, he discovers that he can see the contents of his mind unfolding whilst looking into his eyes in the mirror. He realises that he can apply his gift to others (“If you can look inside yourself, you can look inside anyone!”), and sets up a business in his room, selling tailor-made dreams to a variety of frustrated and neurotic clients.

Director:
Hans Richter
Writers:
Joseph Freeman (screenplay), Hans Rehfisch (screenplay)
Stars:
Jack Bittner, Libby Holman and Josh White

Originally produced for a French television audience, this portrait of the surrealist artist Salvador Dali details the dreamlike inspiration behind many of his avant-garde creations. Set in Dali’s hometown of Lligat, Spain, the artist himself takes the viewer on a tour of the creative process that is behind his remarkable body of work. Journey into the subconscious of one of the most influential artists of the 20th century and take a look at the world through Salvador Dali’s eyes with this program that he both designed and performed. The documentary is directed by Jean-Christopher Averty, with narration provided by Orson Welles.

An Exquisite Corpse video project created by the artists Bernard Dumaine and Steve Smith.
Steve’s Section of Video: 0:00.00 – 3:58.20
Bernard’s Section of Video: 3:58.20 – 7:17.40
Soundtrack: “Soundscape 4″ by Luciftias.

Steve created his section then snipped off a short section from the end and sent it to Bernard Dumaine who created his half of the video inspired by the short snippet that Steve had sent.

(Information Links)
Exquisite Corpse
Bernard Dumaine

The first in a series of videos paying homage to the work of Salvador Dali. In this video you will see a presentation of Dali’s works from 1910 to 1927,
starting with the painting “Landscape Near Figueras” which Dali painted in 1910 at the age of six and ending with the 1927 piece entitled “Still Life by the Light of the Moon.”

Creator: Steve Smith
Soundtrack: Doc & Lena Selyanina
Title Track: “As Soon As I Close My Eyes ( I can’t recall what my face is like.)”
Software: Windows Movie Maker

The video was created spontaneously from images of x-rays, a microscopic creature and the strings of a piano. The soundtrack by Doc & Lena Selyanina was downloaded from the Internet Archives.

Completed in 1991 by the German producer Peter Schamoni, this 90-minute program includes remarkable footage of the German-born artist Max Ernst, who moved to the United States during World War II and later became an American citizen (throughout, the artist speaks in English, French, and German). In this magnificent production, great effort was made to obtain archival material of Max Ernst’s life story as well as historical footage of the times he lived in. A soldier in World War I, Ernst was violently opposed to war, suffering periods of internment in concentration camps, which strongly reinforced his life-long desire for liberty. His marriage to Peggy Guggenheim, though short-lived, opened up the New York art world to him. During his prolific career, he also made collages and painted murals in the home of his friend Paul Edward, the French poet. His surrealist artwork was later influenced by his 12 years of living in Sedona, Arizona. When he would come to a “dead end with painting,” he began making sculptures, which was for him “like taking a vacation.” As a documentary about art, this program is superb, both for the quality of the cinematography and the visual metaphors that relate landscape and political events to the artist’s paintings. –Anne Barclay Morgan

Links:
Max Ernst / Wikipedia Entry

Max Ernst / ” A Week of Kindness”

The publication “Imagine the Imagination/ New Visions of Surrealism” will be published February 10, 2010.  My Dream Matter No. 23 has been encluded in this publication. I am honored to be amoung the artists in this book, many of them I admire greatly. To view slide shows of the artists works visit The Visionary Gallery.

UPDATE: The book is now published and available to the public. Visit the following link to view the book and the list of artists appearing within its pages. Imagine the Imagination

UPDATE: The book can now be purchased at BEINART INTERNATIONAL SURREAL COLLECTIVE.

A mixed medium creation using technical pens, acrylic inks, and watercolor work combined in the finally stage with assemblage in photoshop. This piece was created with the print or poster size of 52″x 78″ in mind. Digitally hand signed by Steve Smith in lower right hand corner.

To view at a larger size : LINK

To view at Dream Matter Designs : LINK

My work has evolved slowly over many years. In 1979, while talking to my high school art teacher, I absentmindedly dipped an old paintbrush in some india ink and began moving it around on the paper. My mind was focused on the conversation, and I paid little attention to the piece of art I was creating. When I looked down, I was excited by what I saw. Suggestive forms–a hint of a face, skeletal outlines, and more–were harmoniously placed on the paper. I was amazed that all of this had emerged unconsciously.

This was the beginning of the journey. Repeatedly, I attempted to create an intuitive drawing, but I could not achieve the same result that I had that day in my art class; I was trying too hard. I passed up an opportunity to attend art school, feeling that formal instruction would interfere with the mindset I was trying to achieve, and I continued to paint and draw whenever I
could. It was over twenty years before I created another piece that had the quality I was looking for. Dream Matter no. 1 was completed in 2003. It was three months in the making, drawn with simple graphite pencils and erasers.

While working on that first piece in the series, I was unknowingly following the principles of spontaneity and absence of conscious control outlined by the original Surrealists in the Surrealist Manifesto of 1924. As I was drawing, a concept began to form. During this time I was listening to the lectures of Alan Watts on the topic of Taoism, and I began to see a connection between my Dream Matter concept and the metaphysical teachings of Taoism; In the Taoist laws of reality,
I saw a foundation for the way I wanted to approach the art. The idea of “li,” or organic patterning, was what I wanted to achieve in my work.

As the work evolved over the years and I was more able to work in the correct mindset, I began to see more organic patterns and morphing of the imagery. This was something I had hoped would emerge. It allows each viewer to have a unique experience when they see a Dream Matter piece. People seldom see the same imagery, and it seems to be a very personal experience for some viewers. It’s exciting to be able to offer this in my art, and remains an important goal for me. I enjoy giving the viewer something that captures their attention, entertains the mind, and possibly
leaves them wondering.

In searching for other artists who are attempting to draw in a spontaneous manner, I’ve been fascinated to discover very similar forms and imagery in their work, which reinforces the idea that by freeing the mind and letting go of conscious control, we allow ourselves to tap into and express the underlying fabric of the universe. These fellow artists have expressed very similar ideas about the mindset involved in this type of drawing or painting and the feeling that they’re
allowing something organic to emerge rather than creating something from their individual concepts.

Alan Watts said, “When you make something, you put it together–you assemble parts, or you carve an image out of wood or stone, working from the outside to the inside. But when you watch something growing, it works in an entirely different way; it doesn’t assemble parts. It expands from within and gradually complicates itself expanding outwards…like a bud blossoming… like a seed turning into a plant.” Dream Matter emerges in this way.

The process has evolved over the last several years; I’ve combined charcoal with graphite in several of the drawings, resulting in darker more mysterious works. I’ve also experimented with other mediums, and continue to explore new techniques that will allow Dream Matter to emerge in various forms.

It’s a process that morphs and changes just as the work itself does. It continues to fascinate and hold my attention, sometimes bordering on obsession. I’m often surprised when I look up and see a new face or form that I’d never noticed before in a Dream Matter that has been on the wall for several years. It seems to be a reflection of the way reality and perception morph in our everyday lives. It’s a journey of discovery that, for me, offers insight into our existence, the mind, imagination and reality, and I look forward to observing and participating in its continuing evolution.

Dream Matter No. 19 / ZOOM & PAN

A video created using images of Dream Matter No. 19 with the words of Alan Watts that influenced the concept behind Dream Matter.