A Short History of Surrealism
A short history of surrealism
In the Beginning the Literary Revolution Immediately after World War I (1914-18), the cultural sensibility of Europe was in a lively state. Young people who were left after the high-minded propaganda were brought to a state of heart felt protest, it was feared that the best people were killed in the war and that the discoveries and innovations before the war would be lost. Although Europe was certainly not without genius, the war had brought a rift in the European art community. Dada was making its mark, and the anti-art manifestations of Marcel Duchamp were building up until 1916, when an uproar was organized and promoted by Tristan Tzara. Ironically Dadaism was directed against art, particularly academic art, but also against the political society as a whole. The pamphlet Der Dada proclaimed the death of art and that Dada was politics. There were 20,000 copies printed of Der Ventilator, founded by Max Ernest and Hans Arp with Baargeld. They organized an exhibition of art which brought the police to the little restaurant where it was held. The means used by this agitation passed at the time for anti-art, but they very soon became - to some extent Surrealism - an integrated part of the renewal of artistic activity. A number of technical resources and creative approaches applied by Surrealists were invented by the Dada movement. Most Surrealists took part in Dada meetings and the first text published Les Champs Magnetiques was not classified as surrealist at first but much later on it was. It was written in the sprit of Dadist, but it also proves by the power of the imagination and certain experimental seriousness, that Breton in spite of all the dada fuss never lost hold of thread of his poetry and symbolism. Francis Picabia arrived in Paris at the same time as Tzara. He came from America by way of Barcelona, where the journal 291 became 391 in 1917. This review-pamphlet reached nineteen issues by 1924. on
In the Beginning the Literary Revolution Immediately after World War I (1914-18), the cultural sensibility of Europe was in a lively state. Young people who were left after the high-minded propaganda were brought to a state of heart felt protest, it was feared that the best people were killed in the war and that the discoveries and innovations before the war would be lost. Although Europe was certainly not without genius, the war had brought a rift in the European art community. Dada was making its mark, and the anti-art manifestations of Marcel Duchamp were building up until 1916, when an uproar was organized and promoted by Tristan Tzara. Ironically Dadaism was directed against art, particularly academic art, but also against the political society as a whole. The pamphlet Der Dada proclaimed the death of art and that Dada was politics. There were 20,000 copies printed of Der Ventilator, founded by Max Ernest and Hans Arp with Baargeld. They organized an exhibition of art which brought the police to the little restaurant where it was held. The means used by this agitation passed at the time for anti-art, but they very soon became - to some extent Surrealism - an integrated part of the renewal of artistic activity. A number of technical resources and creative approaches applied by Surrealists were invented by the Dada movement. Most Surrealists took part in Dada meetings and the first text published Les Champs Magnetiques was not classified as surrealist at first but much later on it was. It was written in the sprit of Dadist, but it also proves by the power of the imagination and certain experimental seriousness, that Breton in spite of all the dada fuss never lost hold of thread of his poetry and symbolism. Francis Picabia arrived in Paris at the same time as Tzara. He came from America by way of Barcelona, where the journal 291 became 391 in 1917. This review-pamphlet reached nineteen issues by 1924. on