Book contents
- Surrealism
- Cambridge Critical Concepts
- Surrealism
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Illustrations
- Notes on Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction: Surrealism’s Critical Legacy
- Part I Origins: Ideas/Concepts/Interventions
- Chapter 1 The Surrealist World
- Chapter 2 Psychoanalysis
- Chapter 3 Surrealism and the Demand of Politics
- Chapter 4 Modern Science
- Chapter 5 Surrealism and Dreams
- Chapter 6 Surrealism and Eros
- Part II Developments: Practices/Cultures/Material Forms
- Part III Applications: Heterodoxies and New Worlds
- Select Bibliography
- Index
Chapter 3 - Surrealism and the Demand of Politics
from Part I - Origins: Ideas/Concepts/Interventions
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 23 July 2021
- Surrealism
- Cambridge Critical Concepts
- Surrealism
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Illustrations
- Notes on Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction: Surrealism’s Critical Legacy
- Part I Origins: Ideas/Concepts/Interventions
- Chapter 1 The Surrealist World
- Chapter 2 Psychoanalysis
- Chapter 3 Surrealism and the Demand of Politics
- Chapter 4 Modern Science
- Chapter 5 Surrealism and Dreams
- Chapter 6 Surrealism and Eros
- Part II Developments: Practices/Cultures/Material Forms
- Part III Applications: Heterodoxies and New Worlds
- Select Bibliography
- Index
Summary
Surrealism was indelibly linked to the idea of revolution. This is evident in the name of the two reviews closely linked to the movement – La Révolution surréaliste and Le Surréalisme au service de la revolution – and its long history of engagement with revolutionary political movements, from the French Communist Party in the 1920s to the student movement in the 1960s. This chapter explores the dynamic of Surrealism and politics to argue that a tension between politics and culture not only animates the history of the movement, but is in fact constitutive of Surrealism. In this context the demands of politics repeatedly interrupt Surrealism’s efforts on a cultural level; yet, as Surrealism is incorporated into the annals of art and literary history, the priority given to its cultural achievements can eclipse the demands of politics.
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- Surrealism , pp. 63 - 77Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2021