Paris and the Surrealists PDF
Preview Paris and the Surrealists
GEORGE MELLY O. rraz Photography by WOODS L ** $35.00 Paris and the Surrealists GEORGEMELLY MICHAELWOODS Photographyby CourcCiUs "i? A>*'VT^Wtiqiivlles**A m 17 "Thelocalitiesthatwepassedthrough. . . eventhe mostcolorlessones, werepositivelytransformedbya ^CcurceUtir* — spellbindingromanticinventivenessthatneverfaltered y ^W rTace de *tf andthatneededonlyastreet-turningorashop-window t* * ^^ Theatre ~\\e*Clvicl_iy toinspireafreshoutpouring." andrebreton W?* Parisseducedand intoxicatedtheSurrealists, 4 Col thosebizarreand inspired poets,writersand *° urn, painterswhoweretogainalmostmythicstatus YJLdBot ^ aftertheir Parisiandebutinthe 1920s. Torealize ^ A- 12 eg BSeoxpuiAtoanl 15 0f\ theambiguityand latentpossibilitiesofthecity, andtoevokewonderbytransmutingmundane experienceintoastonishingimages, are fundamentaltenetsofSurrealismthatatonce *JL suggestthemovement'sbirthplace: Paris. Thetext,whicheloquentlyconveysthe Palm* Surrealistwayofthoughtandlife, issetoffby thehauntingandatmosphericphotographsof MichaelWoods. CapturingthespiritofParis, thesepicturesarefilledwith bothechoesofpast Aero > associationsandacute, wittyperceptionsofnew OUT ( "Surrealist"additionstothecityscape. Words andimagesjointoleadusinthe footstepsofthe Surrealists: followingthem fromthecafesofthe LeftBanktothetheaters, restaurantsand nightclubsofMontmartre; shadowingthemon theirnocturnalexcursionsthroughtheempty streets. , Motet GeorgeMellyoffersnotonlyanarrative -W historyofSurrealism, butalsoananalysisofthe majorworksofSurrealistliterature, allofwhich fe *> areimbuedwiththeessenceofParisandthe ° C* I shocking, evenscandalous, influenceofamour V fouwhichsoenrapturedtheSurrealists. In <* 10 #* Si3>»9"™*» parallel, hedescribeshisownloveaffairwith «* t Surrealismandthecityofitsbirth; revealing thateven nowtheSurrealistspiritlivesonas partortheverysoulofParis: "Surrealismis dead. LongliveSurrealism." JpmtvIaptA. 4 With 104duotone illustrations ?i Canetiere. ^ Onthejacket: (front) theentrancetothe Narcisse JimztrParnasse nightclub, Place Pigalle; (back) ashopwindowin * ^+ _+Aa- ^ the PassageVerdeau. PlJQenfei Hnr-Hi>rpa .) (JL'Orncato f MttC Arxg 30^1. GEORGE MELLY MICHAEL WOODS Photography by Paris "f^e Surrealists With 104illiuitratioiui ' THAMES AND HUDSON : GEORGEMELLY wouldespeciallyliketothank ConroyMaddox, forhisgeneroussupplyofinformationandloanofbooks. MarcelJean, veteran Surrealist, andlongtime Iriend. He isthegreat historianofthemovementhelefttoserve. Candy,whotypedthisessayonthewordprocessor, andTom, whonotonly correcteditbutalsocontributedsomanyvaluablesuggestions. MichaelWoods, forhiscalmfanaticismandhis'eyeinasavagestate'. DedicatedtothememoryofE. L. T.Meseitd MICHAELWOODSwouldliketothank: PeterWood, lorhisresearchintoSurrealistplacesin Paris. BrionyGriffithsand PeterGreenway, fortheirinvaluablehelpand companionshipduringmymanyvisitstothatcity. Lutz Becker, forhisadviceandvisualexpertiseregardingthephotographs. M. Gard, AssistantManagerofHotel Blanche. Graeme Neale, AssistantManagerofthe NationalWestminsterBank, Kensington,whotookaninterestintheproject, andfinanciallysustained meuntilitwasfinished. ForMichaelAldridge On hall-title page: A shop window in the Passage des Princes. In 1928 Man Ray made a film entitled Etoile de mer (Starfuih). Any copyofthis book issued by the publisher as a paperback is sold subject to the condition that it shall not byway oftrade orotherwise be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the publisher's prior consent in any form ol bindingorcoverotherthan that in which it is published and without a similar condition includingthese words being imposed on a subsequent purchaser. © 1991 George Melly and Michael Woods First published in the United States in 1991 by Thames and Hudson Inc., 500 Filth Avenue, NewYork, New York 10110 Library ofCongress Catalog Card Number 90-72121 All Rights Reserved. No part ofthis publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or byany means, electronic or mechanical, includingphotocopy, recording orany other information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. Printed and bound in Hong Kong ' CONTENTS Preface PAGE 7 1 'The eye ecciitj in a davage dtate PAGE 13 2 'The blinddwimmer PAGE23 3 T L*fleece burnd yet' PAGE 51 4 'Whogoed there?' PAGE77 5 A majority ofone' PAGE 147 A calla lily PAGE 155 Bibliography PAGE 158 Index PAGE 158 f A * A If 11 1 I [
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