In defining surrealism, most people agree that it emphasizes the world of fantasy as opposed to the real world. In its effort to reflect the urges of the subconscious mind, surrealism often uses dream imagery. In some cases, it goes a step further and uses the imagery of nightmares. An example of dream-like fantasy in surrealist art can be seen in The Persistence of Memory, a painting created by Salvador Dali in 1931. This painting shows a dream landscape filled with melting watches. One watch is draped over a strange dead creature, and another is being attacked by ants. It is apparent that these strange images relate to the overall theme of the painting. Thus, the melting watches and other images serve as symbols for a situation in which "time is abolished" (Alexandrian, 1985, p. 103). It is obvious that the bizarre images and they way they are juxtaposed with one another are meant to reflect the subconscious world of dreams.
There are various reasons why surrealism became so important to fashion advertisers in the 1930's. One reason was that it helped to catch the consumer's attention. As noted by Marchand (1985), surrealism and other modern art styles were useful in ads because they helped "shock the audience into fresh perceptions" (p. 145). This perspective was also noted by Rosenberg & Hartley in their 1930 text The Art of Advertising. According to those authors, the "unconventional arrangement of line and tone has distinct shock quality" (p. 43). Of course, the purpose of using surrealistic elements in advertising art was not merely to shock or disturb viewers. Rather, such elements were used for the purpose of capturing the consumer's attention. In this way, the consumer was more likely to remember the product brand name at a later date.
Another reason for the use of surrealism in fashion ads is that it reflected the popular style of the time. Advertising can be basically defined as the act of call...