Product Description

The surrealist leader Andre Breton described desire as the "only master that man must recognize." One of surrealism's defining themes, desire was expressed variously in Dali's charged landscapes, Miro's lyric abstractions, and Bellmer's unsettling nudes. Influenced by Freud, the surrealists saw sexual desire as a path to self-knowledge - "a theatre of provocations and prohibitions in which life's most profound urges confront one another." Published to accompany a major transatlantic exhibition of international surrealism, this lavishly illustrated catalogue explores desire in surrealist art in both words and images. Key works by such artists as Duchamp, Magritte, Ernst, Dali, de Chirico, Giacometti, Bellmer, Oppenheim, and Cahun are illustrated and discussed, as are surrealist films and photographs by Man Ray, Brassai, and others.The volume also features some of the rare and beautiful books produced by the surrealists in their celebration of love, as well as a selection of fascinating manuscripts, letters, and documentary photographs that reveal the personal contexts of the group's exploration of desire. Essays by leading scholars show how the theme of desire was implicated in almost all aspects of surrealist activity - not only its art and writings, but also its political struggles and its ethical stances on issues involving individual liberty and the social control of sexuality. This attractive and provocative volume illustrates a vision of desire that embraces both sublime exaltation and dark carnality. It shows the unprecedented intensity with which the surrealists extolled love and the extent to which they depicted desire as implicated in every thought, action, event, and encounter.A major contribution to surrealist studies, this volume is edited by Jennifer Mundy, and has contributions from Dawn Ades, Katharine Conley, Neil Cox, Carolyn J. Dean, Hal Foster, Vincent Gille, Jean-Michel Goutier, David Hopkins, Radovan Ivsic, Julia Kelly, Annie Le Brun, David Lomas, and Alyce Mahon.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1201031 in Books
• Published on: 2005-02-28
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Surrealism: Desire Unbound is not only a wonderfully produced catalogue to accompany the Tate Modern's excellent surrealism exhibition but also a compelling addition to surrealist studies in its own right. As lavishly illustrated as you could hope for (no less than 300 colour illustrations) the strength of the book really lies in the quality of the essays that make up the catalogue's text, which come from some of the best art historians around. Professor Dawn Ades, the consultant editor, contributes "Surrealism, male-female" which builds on themes of sexuality, and the notion of the fluidity of the category of gender so important to the surrealists, that she (and others, see particularly Surrealism and Women and The Surrealist Look) previously addressed elsewhere (her book on Marcel Duchamp, a constant reference point for so much modern art, is particularly good); Hal Foster (well known for his argument that the 1990s saw the return to bodies and spaces in art in his thought-provoking The Return of the Real) adds a superb essay on the objectification and fetishisation of women within surrealist photography; David Lomas walks us through the influence of Freud (arguably the first theorist of desire) on surrealism; and Annie Le Brun rounds off the book with a look at the invention of desire by surrealism and its adoption by modernity. Desire, as a category and as an impetus, compelled much of the art and thinking of the surrealists and this excellent volume does much to explore and problematise the issues surrounding sex, gender and identity (the sub-heading of the essential Women in Dada which should certainly be consulted when broaching these issues) that obsessed these important artists and their often iconic art. For a beautifully documented study of previous exhibitions it's well worth checking out Displaying the Marvelous. Surrealism: Desire Unbound is a big, beautiful and bold book that does the surrealists proud. --Mark Thwaite

Review
The lavishly illustrated catalogue ... provides additional lenses through which to view the often hypnotic artworks and the affiliated groups of artists that produced them. Eleven essayists dissect desire in all its romantic, sexual, psychoanalytic, literary, and political manifestations. -- Robert Askins ArtNews [A] gripping album of Surrealist works in all media, from the movement's origins in interwar Europe to its legacy in contemporary art, with special attention to erotic content. Thematic essays offer as much historical sweep and critical penetration as any single book on the subject. -- Kenneth Baker San Francisco Chronicle This well-crafted book comprises a rich lode of 300 illustrations, many not published previously, and 12 essays (by as many contributors) devoted to the many aspects of surrealist desire. Since the notion of desire is central to surrealism, this volume is overdue and most welcome... A variety of presentations and explanations of events, artists works, and particular manifestations of surrealism provide useful background and detail, thus usefully complementing the annotated essays. Choice The theme of the exhibition is considerably enhanced and refined by its well orchestrated catalogue. -- Roger Cardinal Times Literary Supplement With qualifications, everything in the show possesses surreality--or convulsive beauty--providing we understand how to unlock it. The most helpful thing to understand is that aesthetics was never a central Surrealist preoccupation, so looking for an aesthetic experience here will not get you to first base. -- Arthur C. Danto The Nation

Arthur C. Danto, The Nation
With qualifications, everything in the show possesses surreality . . . providing we understand how to unlock it.

Customer Reviews

Cutting-edge catalogue to a landmark exhibition
This stylish catalogue to the exhibition at Tate Modern in London contains new essays by some of the best scholars around. The theme, as the title states, is that of desire and its liberation - pretty much the central tenet of the surrealist movement. Jennifer Mundy provides an overview of the subject, while David Lomas imparts his characteristic clarity of thought and exposition to the vexed question of surrealism and psychoanalysis. Julia Kelly makes an impressive debut on 'The touch in surrealism', while Neil Cox showcases his new work on the surrealists and the Marquis de Sade, with reference to Freud, Georges Bataille and Michel Leiris. Hans Bellmer's and André Masson's extraordinary illustrations to Sade and Bataille's 'Histoire de l'Oeil' are included; Carolyn J. Dean contextualises these and other sexually explicit surrealist images in terms of the history of pronography. French expert Vincent Gilles further discusses surrealist books and their erotic illustrations, as well as the tangled love affairs of the group, while the 'Grande Dame' of British surrealist studies, Dawn Ades, engages the issue of surrealism and gender. Another big name, Hal Foster, extends with his usual verve the debate on surrealist photography and fetishism begun by Rosalind Krauss's seminal 'L'Amour Fou' (1985). The book is profusely and lusciously illustrated not only with classic masterworks (such as Marcel Duchamp's moustachioed Mona Lisa, 'L.H.O.O.Q.'; Meret Oppenheim's furry teacup and saucer, 'Object (Le Dejeuner en fourrure)'; Bellmer's sadistic 'Poupées'; plus works by De Chirico, Ernst, Masson, Man Ray, Miro, Picasso, Giacometti, Dali, Kahlo, Tanning et al.), but also with less well-known objects and pictures: Claude Cahun's gender-bending photographic self-portraits, Joseph Cornell's obsessional boxes, and personal relics from the collections of André Breton and Robert Desnos stand out. Eileen Boxer's excellent layout blends the catalogue seamlessly with the essays, and images are often accompanied by pertinent commentary-boxes. All in all, a most desirable volume, for specialist and interested amateur alike.