Episode 73: Tim Bascom—As I See It: What Essayists Can Learn from Visual Artists

Until the early 20th Century, almost all literary artists, including essayists, felt compelled to picture recognizable figures and images that seemed “factual.” The famous surrealist artist René Magritte began to break down that barrier by putting two unrelated objects in juxtaposition, challenging viewers to see an object differently than how it was originally perceived. We’ll look at images from Magritte and others to see how visual art might be used as inspiration for text on the page, and allow writers to recognize freedoms they may not have fully realized.