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in Artaud’s film. Artaud is intrigued by the “expanding and manipulation [of the] spatial dimension”, as well as the “jarring interaction
of elements of control and chance.” 31 Short argues that this is where the surrealist motivations are expressed; when the “opposites
meet and collide – divisions between reality and fiction, and between the individual and an engulfing society.” 32 Artaud is able to use
theater as a catalyst for surrealist experiences, in that there is an audience as well as performers. This dialogue cannot literally
appear in architecture; but perhaps the architecture can act as the performer and the visitor can be the audience.
Surrealist Film
Artaud’s exploration into the medium of cinema as a surrealist led the way for directors Luis Bunuel and Salvador Dali to
collaborate and create the most famous surrealist films, Un Chien Andalou and L’Age d’Or. Michael Richardson questions Bunuel’s
authorship to L’age d’Or because it was actually a collaborative script written by the surrealist group, including Max Ernst, Gaston
Modot, Jacques Prevert, and Jean Aurenche. 33 Richardson even goes so far as to comment on Bunuel’s true intentions with
surrealism, referring back to his resignation from the surrealist group in 1932 in order to join the communists. 34 Richardson does
acknowledge Dali’s influence in Bunuel’s films, but does not delve into that topic. An interesting point made by Richardson was that
Bunuel does not ever talk about what he thinks about L’Age d’Or35 , similarly to how Chris Rodley, author of Lynch on Lynch, reveals
that David Lynch despises and refuses to discuss an analysis of what his movies are about. 36 Robert Short, on the other hand,
focuses on how the films came about, and the relationship between Dali and Bunuel. Short describes how Un Chien Andalou was
surrealist even in its creation due to the chance encounter that Dali and Bunuel were both available and ready to create a surrealist
film, and the process of writing the script together. 37 Short goes through the film scene by scene, pointing out potential symbolic
31 Robert Short. The Age of Gold: Dali, Bunuel, Artaud: Surrealist Cinema. New expanded ed. Los Angeles, Calif: Solar, 2008, 43-47
32 Ibid, 48.
33 Michael Richardson. Surrealism and Cinema. Oxford; New York: Berg, 2006, 29.
34 Ibid, 33.
35 Michael Richardson. Surrealism and Cinema. Oxford; New York: Berg, 2006, 33.
36 David Lynch, Chris Rodley. Lynch On Lynch. Rev. Ed. Ed. London: Faber, 2005, xi.
37 Robert Short. The Age of Gold: Dali, Bunuel, Artaud: Surrealist Cinema. New expanded ed. Los Angeles, Calif: Solar, 2008, 64.
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