Surrealism in photography has got many different interpretations. The actual word is defined as: “A 20th-century avant-garde movement in art and literature that sought to release the creative potential of the unconscious mind, for example by the irrational juxtaposition of images.”
It was first created in 1924 by a poet called Andre Breton. It was created in France, specifically in Paris. Here is an example of his work:
It was fully packed with a strong ideological ideas which resulted in the movement growing into such fame. Surrealism was much later than Dada and Symbolism. Whilst these two concept were focused irrational and subversive visual arts, Surrealism was quite different.
Surrealism is mostly concerned with the spiritualism, Marxism and Freudian psychoanalysis. The outcomes that were produces were very direct. They demonstrated an unusual perception. The aim was to show an unconscious representation, this meant there was a lot of freedom. Their ideas mainly went against morality and aesthetical qualities. The idea of showing an the subconscious mind intertwining with the conscious inspired them to look at dream imagery.