DPI WEEK 9

16/6/2025 - 22/6/2025

Tan Tzu Yu / 0374460

Group 2

Digital Photography & Imaging (GCD61204)

Weekly Post : Week 9

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Lectures: 

For this week's lecture, we were taught on Digital Surrealism , where we first talk about the difference of realism and surrealism then on how to create a surrealism art.

[Realism vs. Surrealism]

- Realism

Fig 1.0 : Realism

• Focuses on real life – things you see every day.

• Shows the ordinary, common world as it is.

• No fantasy or exaggeration — just what’s real.

• Example: A painting of a farmer working in a field, exactly how it would look in real life.

- Surrealism

Fig 1.1: Surrealism

• A creative twist on realism — like putting dreams on a canvas.

• Inspired by the subconscious mind and dreams.

• Filled with strange, unrealistic images that don’t follow logic (like a melting clock or a flying fish).

• Surrealism is about freeing the imagination and expressing thoughts or emotions beyond reality.

• Influenced by Freud's theories of the unconscious and artists from the Dada movement (which was anti-war and known for nonsensical, satirical art).

• Salvador Dalí is one of the most famous surrealist artists.

[Origins of Surrealism]

• Inspired by Sigmund Freud’s ideas of dreams and the unconscious mind.

• Grew out of Dadaism, an anti-war art movement known for nonsense, satire, and rebellion against traditional art.

• Key figure: Salvador Dalí, famous for his bizarre and dreamlike paintings like melting clocks and distorted landscapes.

[Surrealism in the Digital Era]

Today, surrealism is one of the most popular styles in digital art, thanks to tools like Photoshop and Procreate. Digital artists now blend:

• Photomontage

• Conceptual photography

• Symbolism

• And unexpected combinations of ordinary objects to create imaginative and emotional visuals.

[ How to Start Creating Surrealism Art ]

To start exploring surrealism in your own art:

1. Think of a dream or emotion – surrealism starts with an inner feeling or thought.

2. Sketch unusual combinations – mix objects or scenes that don’t usually go together.

3. Use symbolism – include elements that mean something deeper (e.g., a cage to represent restriction).

4. Play with space and scale – make small things huge or flip environments upside-down.

5. Explore digital tools – use Photoshop to layer, mask, blend, and create dreamlike visuals.

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Tutorial/Practical: 

For this week's tutorial and practical, we were roughly briefed on our final task: Moving Imagery and we were shown a video on how to do it. Then, we were allowed to ask for our final feedbacks on how we can improve or work as it is the submission week already, then we were also reminded to do our e-portfolio,upload our task 2 progress on our e-portfolio.

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Reflective Writing :

This week’s topic on Realism vs. Surrealism really clicked with me, especially because it ties in with what I’ve been doing for Task 2. I’ve been working on a piece that falls under digital surrealism, so learning more about the background and meaning behind surrealism helped me understand my own work better.

I used to think surrealism was just about weird or dreamlike art, but now I realise it’s much deeper — it’s about expressing thoughts, emotions, or subconscious ideas in a creative way. I found it interesting how surrealism doesn’t need to make logical sense, and that freedom makes it such an inspiring style.

Knowing that surrealism is one of the most popular digital art styles today also made me feel more connected to it. I enjoy experimenting with strange combinations and dream-like visuals, so this topic felt very relevant and exciting for me.

Overall, I feel like I’ve gained a better understanding of what digital surrealism really is, and I’m even more motivated to explore it further in my work.