Surrealist art;

World of Art

by Sarane Alexandrian

Surrealism was a groundbreaking movement, distinct from cubism and geometric abstraction. Its goal was to free the subconscious mind's resources in both art and life. Sarane Alexandrian chronicles surrealism's evolution from its Dada anti-art roots in 1916-20 to Andre Breton's death in 1966, marking its end as a formal entity. He explores a wide range of surrealist artists, from icons like Dal, Mir, Duchamp, Tanguy, and Magritte to lesser-known figures, offering a comprehensive account of the 20th-century culture that pursued a sense of magic.

Genres: Art, Art History, Nonfiction, Art Design, Reference, History

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1969

About the author

Sarane Alexandrian (15 June 1927, Baghdad – 11 September 2009, Ivry-sur-Seine) was a French philosopher, essayist, and art critic.

Alexandrian's initiation to Dada and surrealism came in the summer of 1943 when, aged 16, he met Raoul Hausmann who was staying in Peyrat-le-Château near Limoges as a refugee. From 1947, he served as the last secretary of André Breton and became an essential figure of the surrealist current.

Alexandrian was an advocate of the philosophy Nietzsche advanced in The Gay Science (Die fröhliche Wissenschaft). He headed the journal Supérieur Inconnu (a title provided by Breton), which exalts four values shared by the surrealists and Alexandrian: dreams, love, knowledge, and revolution. Catherine Millet is one notable contributor to the magazine.

Alexandrian was a friend of Victor Brauner, and remained an admirer of Charles Fourier, and an ardent defender of Mata Hari.

Reviews

[Sladjana Kovacevic · Rating 5 out of 5]

SURREALIST ART-SARANE ALEXANDRIAN
✒"Surrealism as it was practiced,by the group of artists and poets who began the movement will remaine an honored and irreplaceable model for all those creators who see art not as the search for an aesthetic,but as the bringing into action of ineffable states of being,mysteries of the universe."
🎨Ovo je najopsežnije delo o nadrealizmu,i ako želite do pročitate samo jednu knjigu u kojoj je pokret najšire obuhvaćen,preporučujem. Takođe može biti odlična polazna tačka za dalje istraživanje.
🎨U knjizi su navedeni svi pravci pre i posle nadrealizma,svi oblici umetnosti i svi nadrealni elementi u delima drugih pokreta.
🎨Ovo je i geografski sveobuhvatno delo. Pominju se umetnici iz Japana,Danske,Rumunije,Jugoslavije,Čehoslovačke ...uz svima poznate Dalija,Magrita i Bretona,naravno.
🎨Na kraju su kratke biografije svih umetnika koji se pominju
🎨I ne manje važno-231 ilustracija. Ja sam vam prenela samo delić za koje smatram da su manje poznate.
#7sensesofabook #artbooks #literature #readingaddict #knjige #bookstagram

[Art · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worth it for the illustrations alone (although one wishes they were all in color), Sarane Alexandrian's review of the Surrealist movement from its origins and predecessors through the early 1960s is full of rich anecdotal detail. However, the choice to favor insider knowledge (from Alexandrian's role as secretary to Andre Breton, the founder of surrealism) over a more objective standpoint sometimes makes the presentation a little less lucid. But this is not to say that this reader didn't learn a lot, despite already knowing about Duchamp, Ernst, Chirico, Miro, Dali, Magritte, Man Ray, Giacometti and others. There are indeed a lot of different artists (many of whom I had not heard of) who had some affiliation with the surrealist movement. The focus on the ways that art openings were created to be spectacles is especially reminiscent of the later Fluxus movement (which makes sense because both were influenced by dadaism). If only Alexandrian had been able to include more about surrealist film in this book!

[Andre' Delbos · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick read from an insider's view. This is a brief 'history of' beginning and ending with Andre Breton.

[Rhys Fearnley · Rating 3 out of 5]

my interested definitely waned towards the end but a passionate and broad history of my favourite art movement.
Andre Breton ftw

[Chris Bertagnole · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just couldn’t enjoy this one.

[Khanh · Rating 2 out of 5]

skimmed for school. it's okay. gets quite boring, but the illustrations are good

[Samuel Valentino · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good introduction to a subject I've wanted to read about for a long time. The author is very knowledgeable, and in fact knew many of the people involved. Many incidents are cited from his memory, or from events he in which he was a participant!

He's also a good writer. In fact, he's so good that it somewhat negatively impacts the subject. He will lovingly describe a work of art, saying what an effect it would have on the viewer, which made me look forward to actually seeing it. Once I did, however, I was more often than not disappointed in the actual result and/or execution. And, just to forestall any objections about my getting it, I'm a graduate of art school. So it's just that no matter how well an art piece is described, some Surrealists (and, for that matter, artists in general) are better at realizing their art than others.

Overall, though, I'm glad to learn more about the movement.

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I nabbed it from Netstation for Spike, but ended up reading it myself having only intended to look at the pictures.

I found it an interesting overview that introduced me to some new and interesting artists. I had no idea that the Surrealists saw themselves as a limited group with a coherent, albeit evolving, philosophy: I had always taken the word as a label applied to a particular style, in the way that music is slotted into Classical or Baroque or Romantic categories.

The book was at its strongest when describing the elements of a particular artist's style, but pragmatic me still found a lot of the rationale pretentious ... a dismissive way of saying not really comprehensible to the more rational, scientificy mind that I have.

[Lola · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was my way of kicking off more study of surrealist artists to inspire me in my own works. I would rather start with a book than the Internet when doing this to give myself blinders. I discovered artists I'd never seen or heard about, and the book is WELL stocked with examples of work! For the purposes of inspiration and discipline, this book worked like a charm, and is a joy for anyone who likes to live weird.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic! A comprehensive survey of the Surrealist movement (1920s- 1950s). The latter fourth, which includes the occultism and fizzle of surrealist art, was a bit bland. The first half is perfectly ... dare I say, thrilling? Hmm, might be thrilling. Or some other word like thrilling. Double constants like... dazzling? Now I sound like a fop. It's good.

[jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great book to read, it wasn't boring at all. It follows the history of the surrealist movement from it's conception in the literary circles of paris, through the collection of of beautiful paintings the surrealist painters created. It led me to some other great writings by Andre Breton.