NewsPronto

 
Men's Weekly

.

USA Conversation

The Conversation USA

The Conversation USA

How the surrealists used randomness as a catalyst for creative expression

  • Written by Mark Robert Rank, Professor of Social Welfare, Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis
imageInstead of drawing a bath, surrealist Salvador Dalí decides to draw in a bath.Bettmann/Getty Images

A century ago, French writer and poet André Breton penned his “Manifesto of Surrealism,” which launched an art movement known for creating bizarre hybrids of words and images.

These juxtapositions, often generated through...

Read more: How the surrealists used randomness as a catalyst for creative expression

More Articles ...

  1. Pope Francis may have surprised many by inviting comedians to the Vatican, but the value of humor has deep roots in Catholic tradition
  2. What people say today about the first televised presidential debate, between Nixon and JFK, doesn’t match first reactions in 1960
  3. How does hail grow to the size of golf balls and even grapefruit? The science behind this destructive weather phenomenon
  4. For many Olympic medalists, silver stings more than bronze
  5. Diplomacy, sanctions and soft power have failed to deter Iran’s anti-West agenda − could a new Iranian president change that?
  6. College may not be the ‘great equalizer’ − luck and hiring practices also play a role, a sociologist explains
  7. The world’s fourth mass coral bleaching is underway, but well-connected reefs may have a better chance to recover
  8. More women in venture capital doesn’t mean more funding for female-led businesses, new research suggests − here’s why
  9. Service dogs can reduce the severity of PTSD for veterans – new research
  10. As debate approaches, presidents are blamed for events over which they have little control
  11. Extreme heat waves aren’t ‘just summer’: How climate change is heating up the weather, and what we can do about it
  12. Journalism’s trust problem is about money, not politics
  13. Populism can degrade democracy but is on the rise − here’s what causes this political movement and how it can be weakened
  14. FDA authorized the sale of menthol-flavored e-cigarettes – a health policy expert explains how the benefits may outweigh the risks
  15. Journalism has become ground zero for the vocation crisis
  16. Lead water pipes created a health disaster in Flint, but replacing them with cheaper plastic − as some cities are doing − carries hidden costs
  17. When people are under economic stress, their pets suffer too – we found parts of Detroit that are animal welfare deserts
  18. Kidneys from Black donors are more likely to be thrown away − a bioethicist explains why
  19. Genetic testing cannot reveal the gender of your baby − two genetic counselors explain the complexities of sex and gender
  20. US charitable giving dipped to $557B in 2023, but outlook is getting brighter
  21. Escalating Israel-Hezbollah clashes threaten to spark regional war and force US into conflict with Iran
  22. ‘I love this work, but it’s killing me’: The unique toll of being a spiritual leader today
  23. Rocks on Rapa Nui tell the story of a small, resilient population − countering the notion of a doomed overpopulated island
  24. Making art is a uniquely human act, and one that provides a wellspring of health benefits
  25. Boost your immune system with this centuries-old health hack: Vaccines
  26. Paying reparations for slavery is possible – based on a study of federal compensation to farmers, fishermen, coal miners, radiation victims and 70 other groups
  27. Philly has highest STI rates in the country – improving sex ed in schools and access to at-home testing could lower rates
  28. Southern Baptists may have rejected a constitutional amendment opposing female pastors, but that does not mean they are changing their views on women’s leadership in church
  29. Elder fraud has reached epidemic proportions – a geriatrician explains what older Americans need to know
  30. Is Earth really getting too hot for people to survive? A scientist explains extreme heat and the role of climate change
  31. What Frederick Douglass learned from an Irish antislavery activist: ‘Agitate, agitate, agitate’
  32. Central banks face threats to their independence − and that isn’t good news for sound economic stewardship (or battling inflation)
  33. Calls to US poison centers spiked after ‘magic mushrooms’ were decriminalized
  34. From glowing corals to vomiting shrimp, animals have used bioluminescence to communicate for millions of years – here’s what scientists still don’t know about it
  35. Supreme Court unanimously concludes that anti-abortion groups have no standing to challenge access to mifepristone – but the drug likely faces more court challenges
  36. Supreme Court sides with Starbucks in labor case that could hinder government’s ability to intervene in some unionization disputes
  37. An homage to the dad joke, one of the great traditions of fatherhood
  38. The US is losing wetlands at an accelerating rate − here’s how the private sector can help protect these valuable resources
  39. Supreme Court justices secretly recorded – the legal issues and what they mean for the rest of us
  40. Space weather forecasting needs an upgrade to protect future Artemis astronauts
  41. Ukraine’s draft woes leave the West facing pressure to make up for the troop shortfall
  42. People ambivalent about political issues support violence more than those with clear opinions
  43. Civil rights leader James Lawson, who learned from Gandhi, used nonviolent resistance and the ‘power of love’ to challenge injustice
  44. Philadelphia’s 200-year-old disability records show welfare reform movement’s early shift toward rationing care and punishing poor people
  45. Cities with empty commercial space and housing shortages are converting office buildings into apartments – here’s what they’re learning
  46. Spikes, seat dividers, even ‘Baby Shark’ − camping bans like the one under review at SCOTUS are part of broader strategies that push out homeless people
  47. Inflation is cooling, but not fast enough for the Fed: Policymakers now expect only one rate cut in 2024
  48. Microrobots made of algae carry chemo directly to lung tumors, improving cancer treatment
  49. Columbia Law Review article critical of Israel sparks battle between student editors and their board − highlighting fragility of academic freedom
  50. American womanhood is not what it used to be − understanding the backlash to Dobbs v. Jackson