SurrealistArtandWriting1919–1939

SurrealistArtandWritingoffersafreshanalysisofSurrealism,theavant-gardemovementthat,initssearchforcontemporarylyricismandimagery,unitedliteratureandarttopoliticsandpsychology.ExaminingSurrealism'smainphasesfromavarietyofperspectives,JackSpectoremphasisestherebellionoftheprotagonistsagainsttheirmiddle-classeducation.InManifestosandManifestationstheSurrealistspromotedMarxistoverliberalpolitics;FreudianpsychoanalysisoverFrenchpsychiatry;HegeliandialecticsoverCartesianlogic;andtheoutmoded,psychotic,orchildishovermodernistart.ThisstudyoffersacoherentoverviewoftheexcitingandimportantinterwarperiodinEurope.Inparticularitplacesavant-gardeideasandimagerywithinthehistoricalandpoliticalcontextsofthe1920sand30s,integratingthemintocontemporaryartisticandideologicalcurrents.