Surrealism has had a profound effect on all art following the movement. Now that I am taking a surrealism class, I recognize more and more the surrealistic nature of my own work. I have been attempting to grasp a solid description of what the term actually means since the beginning of the class. To me, surrealism is when an image does not filter through my mind smoothly. Rather, bits and pieces of juxtapositions get caught in the cogs of my mind, and trigger something deeper that I can't quite articulate. Although, I feel it. So therefore, surrealism is not just when it is labelled by art critics, historians and artists as surrealism. There are moments of the surreal everywhere. 

The illustrator Ben Shahn plays with some of these surreal juxtapositions throughout his work. It is in the way the plays with proportions and scale. The way that his bold lines clash with gritty color that creates an almost collage effect. Shahn had a keen ability of meshing the expressive with bold and clear forms. It is a perfect balance for an illustrator. He brought all kinds of elements to the table including the surreal in a compact and registerable image. It is something that I as an illustrator, strive for in my work.