Surrealism: Desire Unbound - Softcover

Mundy, Jennifer; Ades, Dawn

4.36

89 ratings by Goodreads

9781854373656: Surrealism: Desire Unbound

Softcover

ISBN 10: 185437365X ISBN 13: 9781854373656

Publisher: Tate Gallery Publishing Ltd, 2001

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Desire was one of the defining themes of surrealism. Influenced by the Freudian notion that sexual instincts were fundamental to the development of the psyche, the surrealists saw desire as a path to self-knowledge. Published to accompany the exhibition of international surrealism held at Tate Modern, summer 2001, this title features essays that are intended to provide a wide-ranging exploration of the theme of surrealism and desire. Key works by artists such as Duchamp, Magritte, Ernst, Dali, de Chirico, Giocometti, Bellmer, Claude Cahun, and Dorothea Tanning are illustrated and discussed, as well as surrealist films and books, and photographs by Man Ray, Brassai and others.

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Review:

Surrealism: Desire Unbound is not only a wonderfully produced catalog 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 fewer than 300 color illustrations), the book really owes its strength to the quality of the essays, 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, which she (and others, see particularly Surrealism and Women) has 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 fetishization of women within surrealist photography. David Lomas walks us through the influence of Freud (arguably the first theorist of desire and psychoanalysis) 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 problematize the issues surrounding sex, gender, and identity (the subtitle 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. This is a big, beautiful, and bold book that does the surrealists proud. --Mark Thwaite, Amazon.co.uk

About the Author:

Jennifer Mundy is a Curator at Tate. Dawn Ades is Professor of Art History and Theory at the University of Essex

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