University of Illinois Chicago
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Surrealism: A Marvelous Freedom, An Outside In Exaltation of Surrealism

thesis
posted on 2024-08-01, 00:00 authored by Rachel Dukes
My thesis research analyzes the capacity an Afro-Surrealist methodology has to create meaningful connections and experiences for Black gallery and museum visitors. Generally speaking, Afro-Surrealism as a movement is the creative analysis of Black life. Afro-Surrealist work unearths the joy, pain, absurdity, humor, and artistry of the everyday experience of Blackness. As outlined in D. Scot Miller’s Afro-Surrealist Manifesto, Afro-Surrealism posits the present tense action emotion of being when sharing and experiencing art. My research draws from both Afro-Pessimist, Black Feminist, and Afro-Surrealist discourse in art, literature, and film and applies these theories to gallery and museum work. Expanding on Suzanne Césaire’s definition of Black Surrealism as freedom, a return to ourselves, and a “blossoming outwards in all directions”, my thesis presents a unique contribution to the museology field by exploring the application of art theory to practical gallery and museum work. Afro-Surrealism is a broad concept that describes the creative response to the everyday experience of Blackness. This thesis proposal assumes that art holds the spiritual capacity to shift our understanding of ourselves and our position within the world, therefore, Afro-Surrealism is a necessary tool to create a memorable and emotional experience within the exhibition space for Black visitors. As a museological approach, Afro-Surrealism counters exhibitions that center static representations of Black life by producing narratives that are either traumatizing, overly academic, or overly optimistic or aspirational. An Afro-Surrealist framework does not deny the validity of these narratives, but instead enhances the power of the artwork by cultivating a relationship between the work, the Black visitor, and the artist. This “spiritual” connection is commonly lost in exhibition spaces for the sake of the institution and its majority non-Black patronage. An exhibition that leverages Afro-Surrealism places the experience of the most marginalized Black museum visitor at the forefront and considers the creative connections necessary to generate resonances for this visitor. An Afro-Surrealist framework (across an array of creative methods) abstracts the present moment by depicting Black life as it is- peculiar, yet beautiful. The discussion of Black life as odd is one that is explored throughout Afro-Pessimist theory which suggests that Black life is defined and confined to the ruptures of the transatlantic slave trade and thus global anti-blackness. Afro-Surrealism within my definition, is the beauty that emerges from the social death of Black life as defined by Jared Sexton; put otherwise, Afro-Surrealism is the creative response that is only unearthed from the position of what Franz Fanon describes as the nonbeing.

History

Advisor

Dr. Therese Quinn

Department

Museum and Exhibition Studies

Degree Grantor

University of Illinois Chicago

Degree Level

  • Masters

Degree name

MA, Master of Arts

Committee Member

D r . L u c y M e n s a h , D r . M a d h u D u b e y , P r o f e s s o r L a M a r G a y l e s

Thesis type

application/pdf

Language

  • en

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