Green 1 Controlled Chaos: Surrealism's Impact on the Art World The Surrealist movement, which began in the 1920s, was unlike anything the art world had ever seen before . While Surrealist painters borrowed techniques from previous “ism” movements, for example Impressionism and Cubism, the leading painters of this movement had acquired a new and shocking style. Surrealism, as an artistic movement, emphasized the importance of expanding one's mind to accommodate other representations of "reality." Surrealist artists channeled their subconscious and their works reflected images of total mental liberation. Unlike previous art movements, Surrealism has come the closest to truly reflecting the human dream state. While this essay explores the scope, techniques, and lasting impact of the Surrealist art movement, it should be noted that this movement transcended the boundaries of the world of visual arts. The influence of surrealism can be felt in the fields of literature, cinema, music and philosophy, among others. The Surrealist movement began in 1920s Europe, with Paris as the unofficial base for the movement. Surrealism is usually connected to the Dada movement. Dadaism attacked conventional forms of aesthetics and emphasized how absurd and unpredictable the process of artistic creation was. They created pieces of “non-art” to show, in protest, how insignificant European culture had become (de la Croix 705). The Dada movement was declared dead around 1922 when it had become an "over-organized" movement, but it planted the seeds of Surrealism (de la Croix 706). Although the Dada movement provided the foundation for Surrealism, Surrealism was lighter and much less violent than its predecessor. Dadaism provided the basis for Su...... middle of paper ......had a strong impact on artists of the 1960s and 1970s, including Andy Warhol and Jeff Koons, and its impact it is extended to contemporary arts, which have yet to be fully evaluated (USA Today Magazine 2005). More than just an expression of the subconscious, surrealism redefined the future of art, fashion and popular culture. Although Surrealism is said to have died with Breton's death in 1966, its effects are still felt today. We experience surrealism in our daily lives with the constant flow of disjointed images, seen most prominently today in advertising. Surrealism taught us not only to tolerate, but to appreciate the strange flow of discontinuities. This lesson is hugely important living in an increasingly multicultural and heavily media-based society, where there is a fusion of different images and sounds experienced in every aspect of life..