Surrealist ABC

Normally, the world Surreal is used as a synonym for extraordinary. While we embrace this meaning as a good description of our clan, our name –SURREAL– goes a lot further. Surrealists has been around since the dawn of man, and they have either been hailed as geniouses or, when jealousy or punity have reigned, thrown in dark cells. Surrealists always go further than normal realists, whether that means further into oblivion or further into human understanding.

Above all, they have always led the way for others to follow. “Thinking outside the box” is a modern saying which may not encapsulate the whole notion of surrealism, but goes a long way towards it.

We are just a clan in a PC game you say, what does that have to do with us? A lot! Read below to find out just how much.

External sources:

Some definitions:

1. Surrealist works feature the element of surprise, unexpected juxtapositions and non sequitur; however many Surrealist artists and writers regard their work as an expression of the philosophical movement first and foremost, with the works being an artifact. (Wikipedia)
2. having a strange dreamlike atmosphere or quality. (Merriam-Webster)
3. [surrealism is] characterized by fantastic imagery and incongruous juxtapositions; “a great concourse of phantasmagoric shadows (www.thefreedictionary.com)

Our own take

First of all, note that surrealism is NOT a political standpoint, or anything close to it. It’s a way of deciphering reality, and a way of using creativity to reach higher insights (and in our case: achieving excellence in Power Soccer by confusing our opponents).

Looking deeper, we can say this about surrealism as movement and state of mind:

• The surrealist knows that it’s when you don’t understand something, that you can learn from it
• surrealism is essentially irrational, meaning trying to predict it is useless
• surrealism doesn’t stem from smart thinking, but from mindless passion and extraordinary bravery
• all great minds are considered surrealists at first; finding new paths always means breaking free from tradition
• a true surrealist sees the real world for what it is, not what she has been taught it could be
• for a surrealist, the realist view seem surrealistic in it’s never-ending chains of circular arguments that never reaches conclusions
• the surrealists’ display may be confusing to the non-surrealist, but the end produce is plain to see: there is nothing confusing about triumph

Images

Still not sure what surrealism is? Flick through these typically surreal images and keep your mind open:

Further studies

If you really wan’t to get your head around surrealism (or get it twisted), there is an online print of The Surrealist Manifesto by André Breton.

If you want more pics to gasp over, head over to the official René Magritte site.