Au-tom-a-tism [aw-tom–uh-tiz-uhm]. “A method of producing pictorial art, as paintings and collages, associated chiefly with the dadaists and surrealists, in which the artist strives to allow the impulses of the unconscious to guide the hand in matters of line, color, and structure without the interference of conscious choice.”
An example of automatic art would include the ink drawing below by Andre Masson (1924). Masson would force himself into a state of semi-consciousness by taking drugs or depriving himself of food and sleep. Surrealistic or automatic artists believed their artwork would be enhanced if they were not encumbered by rational control.
I have made a (sober) attempt at automatism, using the cutting technique, to use text to play with the word “second” from the book’s title, Second Home. I have attached my words to the inside cover image, arranged in the shape of a clock.
kathelarkin - studio fundamentals 