Surrealism and the Sacred: Power, Eros, and the Occult in Modern Art
Editorial Reviews
Book Description
A vital new interpretation of the personalities, historical forces and intellectual paradigms that created Surrealist art.
From archaic fetishism, found objects, dream images and free association, Surrealist artists and writers - such as Giorgio de Chirico, Max Ernst, Salvador Dali, Meret Oppenheim and Wolfgang Paalen - transformed the ordinary into the extraordinary by deliberately evoking the ambivalence of sacred power. Surrealism and the Sacred traces the conflict between the secular and sacred forces from prehistory and paganism through the Renaissance and the occult revival of the 19th century to the Surrealist movement of the 20th century. Against the tyranny of reason and the European bourgeoisie, Surrealists drew from occultism, Asian religions and mysticism, and psychoanalysis to create an uncanny and creative state of mind that continues to have a profound effect on the modern imagination. This remarkable book challenges conventional assumptions about modern art and its larger meanings in the history of knowledge.
About the Author
Celia Rabinovitch has written for The Dictionary of Art, C Magazine, and Artweek. A Canadian artist, she has had one-person exhibitions of her paintings in Canada, Europe, and the U.S. She has been a Program Director for Fine Arts and Graphic Design at U.C. Berkeley Extension and has taught at Cabrillo College, California College of Arts and Crafts, and Syracuse University. She has a Ph.D in the history of art and religion from McGill University, and an M.F.A. from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. She lives in the Bay Area.
Surrealism and the Sacred: Power, Eros, and the Occult in Modern Art,Celia Rabinovitch,Westview Press,0813365570,20th Century Art,20th century,Art,Art & Art Instruction,Arts, Modern,History - General,History - Modern (Late 19th Century to 1945),History - Surrealism,Occultism in art,Subjects & Themes - Religious,Supernatural in art,Surrealism
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