The Oulipo movement seems to be very different from the Surrealism movement as the ideas and concepts behind it seem to be revolved around creativity and the different ways in which creativity can be fostered through specifically putting constraints on an artist. This movement known as the Ouvroir de literature potentielle which is translated into “workshop of potential literature,” has the goal of creating potential works of art through experimentation as it intentionally places constraints on artists in hopes that this will foster unique and very creative forms of art (WikiOulipo). This idea of literature potential further translates into the seeking of new structures and patterns that can be used by artists in any way they want which only fosters creativity and the use of the imagination even more (WikiOulipo). With this, this unique literature evolves out of these constrained writing techniques that essentially make the writing task at hand more difficult for the artist to accomplish. Even though these constraints often make an artist’s task more difficult, they produce profound outcomes that often yield completely new and interesting works of art. Although it may seem that these writers are setting themselves up for disaster in choosing to be subjected to follow specific constraints, these constraints ultimately act as a means to trigger new ideas and inspirations that may have never been found otherwise. Considering these constraints are often very specific and nonnegotiable, the artists are ultimately forced to dig into and rely on their creative minds to come up with ideas that abide by the specific rules therefore making every piece of work from this movement fascinating and completely unique.
Unlike the Oulipo movement that centered itself on the idea of using constraints as a means to produce creativity, the Surrealism movement also focused on the idea that it is necessary to dive into one’s imagination to create new art forms but was done through different ideas and concepts. Considering the Surrealism movement was heavily influenced by Marx and Freud, the artists within it hoped that the human psyche had the power to reveal the contradictions of the everyday world as this could foster creative ideas (theartstory). Even though they shared much of the anti-rationalism of the Dada movement, Surrealist artists focused more on the accessing of subconscious thoughts as a means to unite them against issues they felt were plaguing modern society such as war (theartstory). Furthermore, the Surrealist movement focused on exposing the inner worlds of sexuality, violence and desire which often fostered unusual behavior and unusual, taboo forms of art. Unlike the Oulipo movement, the Surrealist artists did not have any specific constraints on them and how they would make art as they seemed to follow the opposite approach in that they believed no constraints should be forced upon them as these constraints would stop them from creating the art they wanted to make. This lack of constraints ultimately gave them the ability to create anything they wanted to which is evident when looking at the bizarre, erotic and untraditional pieces of artwork created during this movement. Ultimately, the Surrealism movement was similar to the Oulipo movement in that its intentions were to use the imagination in order to create very unique and fascinating forms of art. Unlike the Oulipo movement though, this was done without having any constraints placed upon the artists which essentially allowed them to dive into and connect to the subconscious, erotic mind and therefore produced the profound pieces of art we see today. In regards to the idea of maintaining tradition within both of these two movements, it seems as if they are completely different as one seems to completely abandon the idea of tradition whereas the other seems to respect it. In looking at the Surrealist movement, it is obvious that these artists believed that traditional art should be replaced with anything “anti-art” as these artists were fed up with modern society and its ways. This perception fostered the ridiculousness, the absurd and the basic disregard for traditional art form during this movement. This movement disregarded the conscious, formal production of art and instead focused upon the unconscious, informal production of art as it centered on the subconscious mind for inspiration which often resulted in themes that were not seen up until this point such as erotic, sexual behavior, violence and desire (theartstory). On the other hand, when looking at the Oulipo movement, it seems as if these artists were not generally focused upon making art that would contradict the traditional art forms but rather were interested in the idea of how these formal art forms could be changed by placing specific constraints on the artist. It seems as if the artists of this movement were more interested in the many different and creative forms of art that could evolve from putting these constraints and rules on the artists as this seemed more revolutionary to them than contradicting and criticizing the traditional forms of art.
After having learned about both the Surrealist movement and the Oulipo movement, it is difficult to determine whether or not one was more revolutionary than the other. Considering I have heard about the Surrealist movement many other times before taking this class whereas this is the first time I have heard about the Oulipo movement, it does seem as if the Surrealist movement is more recognized by the public and therefore is well known. I think that because the Surrealist movement for the most part seems to have died down in the past decades whereas traces of the Oulipo movement can still be found today in present society, it seems as if the Oulipo movement may be more lasting in the idea that artists today are still using constraints as a means to make creative and unique forms of art. Although I do not believe that surrealistic aspects do not exist at all, I feel that in today’s society, the ideas that were prevalent during the Surrealism movement have just evolved into greater concepts making it difficult to pinpoint if a particular artist is heavily inspired by this movement alone.
In learning about the Oulipo movement and how it focuses around the idea to specifically put constraints on an artist in order to make them use their imagination and create unique forms of art, I definitely agree that having these restrictions seem to make it more creatively stimulating for an artist. Before, I had never really thought about what it would be like if there were no constraints put on me for projects or papers as I have become so accustomed to being handed specific guidelines on what I need to do. Now though, when I think about what it would be like if I did not have any constraints or rules, I believe that it would be more difficult for me to create something as thinking of having absolutely no guidelines on what to do is actually pretty scary. I feel that if I was completely free to choose and do whatever I wanted, this would be more frustrating as I believe having constraints essentially makes it easier to create something as these limits tie an artist down to make something specific.
Finally, after having watched the movie “The Five Obstructions,” the idea that constraints often make it easier for an artist to create art is portrayed. This is obvious through the fact that Jorgen is given specific constraints for each of the different obstructions for which ultimately gives him insight on what he specifically needs to do. When Lars von Trier assigns him one of the obstructions for which has absolutely no constraints or specific rules though, Jorgen seems to freak out and is apprehensive to follow the requests. It is obvious that Jorgen begins to feel even more pressure as having no constraints and guidelines causes him to rely only on his imagination and creativity in hopes that this will help him make something Lars von Trier likes. Even though up until this point Jorgen seemed to be in disbelief by the almost impossible constraints Lars Von Trier assigns to him, it is obvious that when he is given no constraints, creating the obstruction becomes much more difficult to accomplish as up until this point he knew exactly what Lars Von Trier wanted and therefore was able to create obstructions that pleased him.
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