theartsdesk in Paris: Surrealist Blues

Surrealism is still going strong in Paris, but will it survive the computer age?

by Anne BillsonSunday, 25 October 2009

Sans titre by Jacques-André Boiffard© Collection du Centre Pompidou

I've been having rather a surreal autumn here in Paris. First, I was lucky enough to catch the last day of Une semaine de bonté at the Musée d'Orsay, where the original collages were on display in five colour-coded chambers. For those not in the know, Max Ernst's graphic novel avant le fait is a series of 182 collages made out of printed images cut from old books, and was first published in 1934, in a series of five pamphlets. The title means, "A Week of Kindness", but the contents are anything but kind.

Photos of Hans Bellmer's dolls would probably be banned as paedophile art if they were taken today.

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Permalink Submitted by Paul Brazill (not verified) on Sun, 25/10/2009 - 01:50

Since the days of Emin and her crew, going to most art exhibitions is like listening to a translated joke from a foriegner whose English is JUST about good enough. You're more relived when it's over, than anything else. The surrealists, however, came up with the goods. This sounds like a cracking exhibition and a top article.

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