Urrealism is a deepening of Surrealism. It was born from the violence of 9/11/2001, waging creativity in response to a rising destructive urge around the globe. The Urrealist method is a shared creative activity, a "conversation" done with any creative form in a spirit of mutual respect. A complete Urrealist work includes an initial "statement" with its "answer". The series, Constellations, by Joan Miro and Andre Breton, in the book, Signe Ascendant, is the historic root of this method, though working in tandem was often a process preferred by the surrealist Pope.[http://urrealist.com/gallery03.html#chiffres] He worked with Paul Eluard on Conception Imaculee. His co-writer on Les Champs Magnetiques was Philippe Soupault.
Developing the capacity to create, to understand a response, to respond to creation with creation, has not only the effect of inspiring more creation, but also brings about an expanded awareness called Urreality. Urreality is present when the phenomenon of synchronicity joins the shared creative act to dreams, events, and physical sensations that Nabokov described as a tingle between the shoulder blades, and what Emily Dickinson described as a white hot energy that removed the top of her head. The Surrealists noticed this in their surrealist games and automatic writing. Placing original works together brings out unconsciously shared themes, images, and forms. André Breton, described this as "a frequent encounter of elements with similar associational origins." Max Ernst , in a darker tone, called this, mental contagion. It is possible to awaken to the deeper layers that are present.
The prefix, 'Ur', is taken from the writings of Dr. Lee Irwin and Dr. Eugene Monick. Irwin employed the prefix to describe expanded reality he called, ur-space. He described ur-space as: the womb of all becomings, the Spacio-Psychronic Continuum, or multiverse. Monick took up the prefix in his term, Urperson. For him, the Urperson is an update of the ancient Greek notion of Anthropos. He described this wholeness as: original, whole/divided, enlightened/endarkened/initiated, creator/creatrix. Urrealism, by taking its "Ur" from the Irwin and Monick sheds the "Sur" of Surrealism, along with the Freudian psychology and 20th century cosmology of its times. The psychological underpinnings of Urrealism run deeper, through Jungian analytical psychology, archetypal psychology, ecopsychology and spiritual psychology as elucidated by Robert Sardello. The cosmology of the 21st century is marked by an ever-expanding universe and a quantum physics where the human activity of perceiving is known to shape quantum events.
Lastly, Urrealism, as a creative space to be shared, engages in its activism by inviting individuals into the shared space, the means of entry being the original, creative work. The Surrealists represented a rejection of a culture that had lost its imagination. It was a call to escape and remake from the outside. The Urrealist mode is to remain engaged in the culture, inviting the people inward to awaken to their own creativity.
SourceS Breton, A. "What is Surrealism?" . (1934). Breton, A. (1952). Conversations: The Autobiography of Surrealism.(Mark Polizzotti, trans.). New York, NY.: Paragon House.
Irwin, L. [irwin@cofc.edu]. "Ur-space: Thoughts on the Spacio-Psychronic Continuum. Private e-mail message to F. Christopher Reynolds, [spiriman@aol.com]. 30 May, 2001.
Monick, E. (1993). Evil, Sexuality and Disease in Grunewald‚ Body of Christ. Putnam, Conn.: Spring Publications.
Reynolds, F. C. (1999). Unio Mentalis: The Mind of the Land. (CD). Berea, Oh.: Shirtless Records.
Reynolds, F. C. (2006). Abstract Impressions: Kandinsky's Urrealist Paintings. http://www.urrealist.com/kadinsky.htm
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