A line that sticks with me from the surreal manifesto is the following:
“Let us not mince words: the marvelous is always beautiful, anything marvelous is beautiful, in fact only the marvelous is beautiful.”
It’s an interesting idea. Breton mentions “The Monk”, and one can see how it applies without too much stretching of the imagination. The Monk is a classic work of gothic fiction, but incredibly fanciful, yet grim. It does, however, adhere to that all-powerful ideal of the sublime, and I think surrealism is likely the nature extension of that.
I could hear echoes of that in the surrealist show tonight. The overload of images, they very WEIRDNESS of the exhibits, reached for an overwhelming sensory experience. I especially liked the exhibit (forgive me, I forget its title and its author) that placed by the door, showing images on a computer screen with heavy breathing over the headphones. Don’t ask me why, I’m really not sure. But you could feel what it was reaching for – surrealism can be incredibly effective at placing the viewer in a more visceral moment.
Thinking again about what I was speaking to in my earlier post - I wonder how many of the exhibits tonight emphasized an ‘individual’ experience over a ‘community’ experience. I hate to disprove myself, but I think there was a fine balance. Pieces like the “Collections” (random items pinned to the wall), I think, speak to a ritualistic, highly personal pursuit. Others, like the servers in costume, depended on a person-to-person interaction. probably a subject best reserved for class discussion next week.
Overall, enjoyable night for sure.
