Exhibition - George Brandt: Notes From the Unconscious: Automatic Drawings - Chicago 1981

Automatic drawing, also known as automatism, is an artistic technique developed by the surrealists in the early 1920s. It involves creating a work of art without conscious control or thought and with no preconceived subject or composition in mind. The goal is accessing material directly from the unconscious mind as part of the creative process, not unlike a medium channeling a spirit, the artist lets the pen or brush travel across the paper without rational control.

Automatism was an important part of the global Surrealist movement and as such was a major contribution to Modern as well as Contemporary art. The term is originally taken from physiology where it refers to unconscious bodily motions such as breathing or dreaming. In 1924, Andre Breton, in the Manifesto of Surrealism defined Surrealism as “psychic automation in its pure state”. Surrealists were among the first to explore this method in art and writing, which in the 1950s went on to influence Art Informel in Europe and Action Painting as well as Abstract Expressionism in the United States.

All of the automatic drawings in this exhibition were produced in the first seven months of 1981. My art practice at the time consisted of daily morning drawing sessions using a brush and india ink on paper. Depending on its complexity I made at least one or two drawings every day and once started, each drawing was finished in the same session. I consider each of these drawings to be a record of my state of mind at the time that I made it and in that sense, these drawings taken together, constitute something akin to a personal journal. With the exception of three framed pieces, all of the drawings in this show are being exhibited for the first time.