Dorothea Tanning- Surrealist Art

Dorothea Tanning, born in Galesburg, Ill in 1910 received her training at Chicago's Knox College in Chicago, made an impact on New York at an early age. Where a meeting with French Surrealist Artist Max Ernst, among others, would make a life changing impact on her life1 transforming herself into one of the foremost surrealist artist of our time.

It was difficult to choose an image of Dorothea Tanning's Surrealist Art because not only of her vast portfolio of work but of the quality. The question was; Which painting available for me best symbolises Dorothea Tanning's Surrealist Art? I couldn't answer the question effectively without doing the art and artist an injustice because that's a question best answered by the artist.

So, I chose the one to which I could best give an opinion. The image of Family Portrait struck me most because of how each family member's size, for me, speaks to their status in the family. The father figure shown here as a translucent, looming figure, larger than everyone else poses as the most important or influential member, perhaps even imposing. His eyes are round mirror like glasses yet showing no reflection. The next in size is a younger woman perhaps a daughter, prim and solemn being served by an older, matriarchal figure. The older woman in relation to the rest of the family is smallest in size suggesting a status of least importance. Her facial expression is solemn yet hard to see as her features are smaller and not as easy to see as the others which to me, suggest her feelings are of least importance as well.

I could be way of base here in my opinion as I don't really know what the artist was trying to depict. Either way, Dorothea Tanning has made an impression on me as an artist who's symbolism illustrates an insight into the human psyche that is unique. In my opinion that psyche speaks to how we view ourselves whether swisted, skewed or in degrees of good, evil or sanity.

For more about Dorothea Tanning Surrealist... http://www.thefreelibrary.com/DOROTHEA+TANNING-a075830825

1http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/tanning/, 2 photo from www.writedesignonline.com