Surrealism and its DADa

“Concepts of Modern Art” is a great book edited by Nikos Stangos. Every chapter is brilliantly described by an expert of that subject such a Vorticism or Fauvism. There are many beautiful and helpful explanations of origin, evolution and death of each movement but today I want to point out that of Dada and Surrealism. These two paragraphs are revealing and shocking due to its resemblance with activities carried out in pre-Columbian cultures, for instance. But it basically explains what Dada and Surrealism were, their intentions and their ends. I recommend its wholly lecture but anyway, here, the extract I underline.

Fountain, Marcel Duchamp, 1917

Tree, Child, Book.

    More than a month ago we performed our book launch in our Peter Pan’s discovered oasis. It sounds as a lie, Doesn’t it? I don’t know how you feel it but for me it was like a thousand years ago. Actually, what was a thousand year ago is the first text I sent you and started shaping what would be our book. Our Book! Be Calm, I’m not writing you to ask for anything else, I’m gonna leave you alone, as alone as  kilometers there are between us. This that you are reading is just a excuse to thank you and remind you none word had been born without your photographies, that the final result took from my texts as much effort as your images  coming out.