Surrealism in American Art


Articles from Resource Library in chronological order:

 

Also from the Web:

and the audio clip:

Man Ray: Surrealist Meets Architect from odeo.com Published on Oct 28, 2006 in Arts. Odeo says: "Who contributes more to the public perception of a building, the architect or the photographer? For Harwell Hamilton Harris, a California architect in the 1930s and 40s, the photographer who helped make Harrisâs buildings famous was one of the 20th centuryâs most celebrated Surrealists--Man Ray. Man Ray embraced the new ideas of art and culture, he was one of the leading spirits of DADA and Surrealism and the only American artist to play a prominent role in the launching of these two influential movements. He had never photographed architecture when Harris commissioned him to photograph three of Harris' most interesting houses. Man Rayâs architectural photos were unlike anything Harris had ever seen--and Man Ray never photographed architecture again. We, who are interested in architecture and art, are the better for Man Rayâs short, but memorable side trip into architecture, when two great artists--one a mild-mannered modernist, and one a Dada Surrealist--met on sunny hillsides in Los Angeles and Berkeley and created works of art, in architecture and photography. For more information about Man Ray and his art, read Ingrid Schaffner's book, The Essential Man Ray (2003,The Wonderland Press, Harry. N. Abrams, publishers). To see Man Ray's work online, visit www.manraytrust.com. And see what's surreal at www.tedwells.com. Photograph of the Weston Havens House, Architect: Harwell Hamilton Harris; Photo by Man Ray, Copyright Man Ray Trust"

 

Books:

Surrealism USA (exh. cat.). Isabelle Dervaux et al. New York and Germany: National Academy Museum and Hatje Cantz Publishers, 2005.

A boatload of madmen surrealism and the American avant-garde, 1920-1950. Dickran Tashjian. New York, NY : Thames and Hudson, 2001.

Surrealism and American art, 1931-1947 : Rutgers University Art Gallery, March 5-April 24, 1977. Jeffrey Wechsler, with collaboration and an introductory essay by Jack J. Spector. New Brunswick, N.J. : Rutgers, 1976.

Abstract & surrealist art in America New York, 1896-1989. Janis Sidney. Arno Press, 1969.

Surrealism in exile and the beginning of the New York school. Martica Sawin. Cambridge, Mass. : MIT Press, 1995.

Pacific dreams: currents of surrealism and fantasy in California art, 1934-1957. Edited by Susan Ehrlich. Los Angeles : UCLA at the Armand Hammer Museum of Art and Cultural Center, c1995.

Dada, Surrealism, and Their Heritage. William S. Rubin. New York, The Museum of Modern Art, 1968

 

Video:

Irving Norman: To Whom It May Concern. 27-minute documentary film by Susan Friedman.

Man Ray: Prophet of the Avant-Garde. This 60 minute 1997 Jackson Frost American Masters program looks at one of the most important artistic voices of the American modernist movement. Photographer, painter, filmmaker, poet, essayist and philosopher Man Ray brought innovation to every field he worked in, leaving behind a legacy of true genius. This program traces the artist's legacy from his beginnings in New York to his achievements in Paris and finally, to the impact his work left for future generations in a variety of fields The video also includes a previously unseen filmed interview found in the vaults of a Rotterdam museum and long-lost drawings from the artist's student days not seen since 1908. VHS/DVD. DVD includes extra Man Ray short films. Seee a trailer [01:31] via IMDb. View a similarly named video with Mel Sturat and Molly Barnes [28:01]

ALONSO G. SMTIH: A Half Century of Social Surrealism. by Scott Beale. The Web page for the video says: "Produced during Alonso Smith's final years, this half-hour documentary explores the life and work of one of America's most fascinating surrealist painters whose legacy is an amazing body of work that stands as a visual document of the last half of the 20th Century."


As of 8/25/06 TFAO Digital Library contained 120 pages referencing the word "Surrealism." To search TFAO's web site please click here.

TFAO also suggests these DVD or VHS videos:

Voyage of the Tin Man, T.L. Solien is a 30-minute video on the art of T.L. Solien who has received increasing national attention for his surreal, highly personal visions of the world. Drawing upon the struggles of daily life, the landscape and his imagination, Solien's work is interesting and full of surprise (quote courtesy Plains Art Msueum)

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