Presented by Fiona Finnigan

A look at Romanticism, Dada, and Surrealism, art style id the 19th and early 20th century inspired by dreams, chaos, and the subconscious mind,

Surrealism is a cultural movement that mostly developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to leader André Breton, to “resolve the previously contradictory conditions of dream and reality into an absolute reality, a super-reality”, or surreality. It produced works of painting, writing, theatre, filmmaking, photography, and other media.


Fiona Finnigan received her Masters in the History of Visual and Material Culture (that’s the history of stuff!) from Southern Illinois University. She has a particular interest in Turn of the Century Decorative objects. When she isn’t reading or writing about art, she likes to work on her steampunk gear and do every kind of needlework know to mankind.


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Chicago Steampunk Exposition