When I was an adolescent, I abandoned my country at 23 years to come to Paris to know Andre Breton, the 'Pope of Surrealism.' And for three years, I was there working with him being a surrealist.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
I think it was more personal, but I certainly tried to adapt certain concepts of Surrealism.
But surrealism is present in most of my pictures.
As far as the style, I was fascinated by surrealism.
It's very hard to say I'm surrealist. It's like saying I'm poetic. It's not something you want necessarily to be aware of.
Really, I do not know whether my paintings are surrealist or not, but I do know that they are the frankest expression of myself.
To be a surrealist means barring from your mind all remembrance of what you have seen, and being always on the lookout for what has never been.
I was a 'runaway girl' from France who married an American and moved to New York City. I'm not sure I would have continued as an artist had I remained in Paris because of the family setup.
My life's been surreal from start to finish.
I became a librarian at the Sainte-Genevieve Library in Paris. I made this gesture to rid myself of a certain milieu, a certain attitude, to have a clean conscience, but also to make a living. I was twenty-five. I had been told that one must make a living, and I believed it.
When I was 18, I left Dublin and moved to Paris. I didn't speak French. I didn't know anyone. I felt like a fish out of water.