Main problem: this article deals with the research of surrealism which is not just one of ordinal modernism directions or one of many isms in the art of the 20th century, but which appears as a universal phenomenon in the culture of the epoch, reflecting its main features; surrealism has risen many issues substantive for culture modernity, and resolutions of which are worthy in-depth study. Purpose: to determine the meaning of the unconscious when building a surrealistic world picture and show the relationship and interinfluence of the arts and reality, real and imaginary within the frames defined by surrealism. Methods: the study is based on philosophical and art review of literary and art works performed by surrealists. In various manifestos and works made by surrealism figures it is traced the intention to penetrate into the depth of human psycho using dreams and different mental illnesses. It is known about the enormous impact that the discoveries made in the field of psychoanalysis had on the development of Surrealist philosophy. So, the method of free associations was popular, which was actively used by the Austrian scientist Z. Freud in his medical practice, talking with the patient and analyzing his dreams, the doctor with the help of key symbols revealed the cause of the neurosis, and the surrealists were attracted by the research of the Swiss psychiatrist C. Jung, devoted to the analysis of archetypes and symbols in the lives of various peoples. Results and their importance: practical significance of the study is related to the following circumstances: the necessity to make sense for the reasons of the crisis which encompasses the culture today, the search of possibilities and ways to recover it; u this work’s materials can be also used in research of creations of young Kazakhstan avant-garde artists. The research materials can also be used in the practice of teaching philosophy, cultural science, psychology, and other humanitarian disciplines and also in work of fine art experts and museum staff; based on the materials of this research, the special courses on culture philosophy, culturology, esthetics and theory of arts can be developed.