Surrealism through its journals

One hundred years after the publication of the first Manifesto of Surrealism, an excursus on the movement through its magazines.

Published on the occasion of the centenary of the publication of the first Manifeste du Surréalisme (15 October 1924), the volume aims to reread the parabola of the movement through the study of some of the journals animated by its members. These journals are collective products that most effectively revealed Surrealism's interdisciplinary complexity and theoretical strength, as well as its contradictions and internal conflicts.

The extraordinary London exhibition Dada and Surrealism Reviewed edited by Dawn Ades in 1978 first focused on the centrality of periodicals in the overall economy of the movement. Rosalind Krauss does not hesitate to define these publications as "the true surrealist object"—works of art in themselves that challenge conventions and disciplinary boundaries through the mixing of languages and forms of expression.

The essays collected in this volume illuminate the role played by journals as veritable laboratories of Surrealism. In the introduction, Jacques Dürrenmatt explores Paulhan and Éluard's journal Proverbe (1920-21), while Franca Bruera and Elena Galtsova examine Littérature, particularly focusing on the contributions of women.

Andrea Zucchinali's essay traverses the crucial junctures of the periodical La Révolution Surréaliste (the movement's official journal) from 1924 until its closure in 1929. Gianluca Poldi contributes an analysis of La Révolution Surréaliste and other Surrealist journals that hosted reflections on the processes and materials of painting.

Arnauld Maillet reconstructs the experimental and pioneering character of the journal L'âge du cinéma, while Anna Maria Testaverde and Elena Mazzoleni analyse Comœdia's focus on the international theatrical avant-garde.

The "surreal without surrealism" in Italy during the Ventennio is the focus of Gabriele Gimmelli's contribution. With Elio Grazioli, we move to American soil, exploring the eclectic journal View. Alessandra Violi documents the Surrealist movement in Great Britain, from the small university magazine Experiment to Mass Observation, and Andrea Zucchinali offers a complete mapping of the journals at the end of the volume.