Surrealism in Egypt : Modernism and the Art and Liberty Group

ISBN-13: 9781784536510 / Angielski / Twarda / 2016 / 352 str.

Sam Bardaouil

Opis

In the thick of the Second World War, the Cairo-based Surrealist collective Art et Liberte were pioneering new art forms and mounting subversive exhibitions that sent shockwaves across local artistic circles. Born with the publication of their Manifesto Long Live Degenerate Art on December 22nd, 1938, the group rejected the convergence of art and nationalism, aligning themselves with a complex, international and evolving Surrealist movement spanning cities such as Paris, London, Mexico City, New York, Beirut and Tokyo. Art and Liberty created a distinct reworking of Surrealism, which provided a generation of disillusioned Egyptian and non-Egyptian artists and writers, men and women alike, with a platform for cultural reform and anti-Fascist protest. Surrealism in Egypt is the first comprehensive analysis of Art and Liberty s artworks, literature and critical writings on Surrealism. By addressing the group s long-lost and often misconstrued legacy, and drawing on a substantial body of previously unpublished primary documents and more than 200 field interviews, the author charts Art and Liberty s significant contribution towards a new definition of Surrealism. Moving beyond the polarizing dichotomies of Saidian Orientalism, this book rewrites the history of Surrealism itself advocating for a new definition of the movement that reflects an inclusive vision of art history."

Recenzje

Ultimately, this book not only shines a bright light on a key moment in the development of surrealism in Egypt but also makes room for new comparative studies using Art and Liberty as one substantial reference point to better comprehend the complexities of surrealism as a transnational movement. Riad Kherdeen, University of California, Berkley H-Net.org

Spis treści

IntrofuctionSection IWar, Poverty and a Manifesto: In the Backdrop of Art and Liberty I. Chapter 1In the Thick of War: The Impact of WWII on the Literary and Pictorial Imagery of the Art and Liberty Group (page 51)I. Chapter 2Poverty is a Social Matter. And an Artistic One Too: The Art and Liberty Group and the Plight of the Working Class (page 115)I. Chapter 3Fascism at Home: Towards a New Reading of Art and Liberty's Manifesto of December 22, 1938 (page 148)- - -Section IITo the Rescue: Art and Liberty and the Reworking of Surrealism from CairoII. Chapter 4Surrealism at Work in Cairo: Art and Liberty's Subjective Realism, or When "Surrealist" Art Becomes "Free" Art (page 243)II. Chapter 5Beyond Regionalist Modernisms: Art and Liberty and British Post-Surrealism (page 318)II. Chapter 6From Theory to Action: The Exhibition Practices, Performances and Surrealist Events of the Art and Liberty Group By Way of ConclusionArt and Liberty: A Legacy Interrupted. A Legacy All the Same (Page 404)- - -Appendix 1Plates of Artworks by the Art and Liberty Group (Dropbox)Appendix 2Plates of Archival Materials and Primary Documents Related to the Art and Liberty Group (Dropbox)Appendix 3Transcripts of Select Writings by and about the Art and Liberty Group

O autorze

Sam Bardaouil (Ph.D.) is an art historian and curator whose research focuses on the international expression of modernism. He has taught at universities such as the American University of Beirut and the Tisch School of the Arts, New York University, and published in academic journals such as Dada/Surrealism, Qantara, and the International Journal of Humanities. He is co-founder of Art Reoriented, a multidisciplinary curatorial platform based in Munich and New York. Among their many exhibitions, Art Reoriented curated the critically-acclaimed Lebanese Pavilion at the 55th Venice Biennale (2013), the groundbreaking, international exhibition Tea with Nefertiti (2012 - 2014) and Art et Liberte: Rupture, War and Surrealism in Egypt (1938 - 1948) at the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Reina Sofia in Madrid, the Kunstsammlung 21 in Dusseldorf and the Tate Liverpool (2016 - 2018).