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Learning to Look | Before Surrealism

2025 marks the centennial of the first Surrealist exhibition. Learning to Look will take a deep dive into Surrealism with a series of lectures exploring different aspects of this influential movement. This program is presented in partnership with the Patchogue Arts Council and the in-person portion of this program will take place at MoCA LI.

Join ZOOM program with Meeting ID: 880 1524 8901 and Passcode: 419010

Two artistic movements from previous decades played influential roles in the development of Surrealism. Symbolism, which began in the late 1800s, used allegorical imagery to explore inner subjectivity. Symbolist artists include Paul Gauguin, Gustave Moreau, Odilon Redon, Edvard Munch, and Henri Rousseau.

Dada, a direct antecedent to Surrealism, emerged in response to the perceived absurdity of World War I. Dada artists embraced chance, spontaneity, and irreverence. Many of them would later become key figures in Surrealism, including Jean Arp, Marcel Duchamp, Max Ernst, Man Ray, and Kurt Schwitters.

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