The Québec Automatistes were a groundbreaking group of artists and intellectuals founded in the early 1940s in Montreal by painter Paul-Émile Borduas. Influenced by surrealism, they embraced spontaneous, subconscious creation in art—a method known as automatism. The group challenged prevailing cultural and artistic norms, advocating for creative and social freedom. Their publication of the Refus global manifesto in 1948 became a touchstone for artistic and political change in Quebec.
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