Motivation is tough. I can hardly stay motivated to even stay focused on things that normally interest me. There is this sense of "what's the point?"
I remember when I was employed as a maintenance worker in a park, sitting around the lunch room table, wanting to sneak out a mathematics textbook or even Schopenhauer's WWR, how an older worker would berate me for "wasting my time with that sh1t," how I should be learning about something practical like "wall-paper".
Now, I am not one for "high art" but I am impressed with artists since I can barely draw cartoons. I try to stick to geometric figures.
You are taking a course that is required? I don't know how you would motivate yourself. Take it as a life experience, I suppose. There are many different kinds of people in this world. You can't fake interest though. You may feel "outside" of it. I even feel this way about mathematics sometimes, always just curious. So much seems to be a farce. We are conditioned to think everything we put energy into must have a purpose. Maybe this has to do with roots in agricultural societies where one had to work hard to extract sustenance from the earth. Industrialization is also grounded in the hard realities of practical mechanics.
I think that, in ancient times, universities were reserved for the "leisure class" or even "priestly class", so what was studied was supposed to be useless. In fact, usefulness was never a high priority in the classic University.
Sorry I don't have any tips or tricks for you. I see my own interest in studying mathematics as kind of deviant in that many might suggest I just find some humble employment to occupy my time rather than studying areas of math that may just frustrate me.
You may want to zero in on one character that interests you. The only connection I feel with "Surrealist Art" would be Artaud. He was a madman. Many people are mad. Use this as an opportunity to look into Antonin Artaud. If you can fit this into the course, it may be enough to motivate you. And remember, people are strange. One is weirder than the next.
We are a strange creature, and we are here on earth to fart around. Unfortunately for those who attempt to impose order on this chaos, not all of us can be molded into productive chimpanzees who follow instructions.
Anyway, all I can suggest is to try to include
...
When I took a philosophy class, Schopenhauer was not covered by the professor, so I taught the professor about Schopenhauer in my papers.
So, be safe. Be careful out there. People are running amuck. Take it all in stride and be safe.