ARTS & CULTURE
Midnight in Paris: Surrealism at the Crossroads, 1929
A major exhibition
examining the crisis of
Surrealism in Paris in 1929
inside the dynamic artistic
movement as it struggled to
gain an identity. Including
several new Dali works on
loan to the museum, this
thought-provoking exhibit
examines the works,
friendships and clashes
of an avant-garde group
of some 20 artists seeking
cultural and political
meaning at a tumultuous
time in history.
“In 1929 Paris, Surrealism
was coming to a
crossroads,” executive
director Hank Hines said
during the media preview.
“There was much discussion
… what purpose should
it serve? That tension is
evident in these works. We
see the personalities of 20
artists who discussed this
world and chose directions,
It shows their aspirations,
their desires. It’s a very
serious show.”
Organized by The Dalí
Museum and the Centre
Pompidou in Paris, the
show includes some 65
works in a variety of media
drawn largely from the
collection of the Musée
National d’Art Moderne in
Paris.
Midnight in Paris: Surrealism
at the Crossroads, 1929,
presents a diverse palate of work from painters Salvador Dalí
and René Magritte, to sculptors Hans Arp and Alexander Calder,
42 StPeteLifeMag.com January/February 2020
other Surrealists, turning
them into international
celebrities.
Dimly lit throughout, visitors
are encouraged to wander
as though one is walking
the streets of Paris at night.
This is one of the more
serious and sophisticated
exhibits put on by the
Dali in recent years, with
some adult content not
appropriate for children.
In one gallery, a display of
propaganda, poetry and
journals on Surrealism
is accompanied by stark
photography such as images
taken at a slaughterhouse,
discussion.
The invention of Surrealism
is credited with French poet
André Breton and several
other poets in Paris in
1924. The three were soon
joined by other writers and
artists who wished to put
imagination at the basis of
their work. Experimenting
with psychological theories
about dreams and the
unconscious, a creative
period began in Paris,
drawing in followers who
contributed works from
paintings, collages and
sculpture to cinema and
photography.
Dali’s eccentric personality
helped the movement gain
an international audience.
Despite the freedom of expression that Surrealism encouraged,
the diverging views of the artists created dissent. They broke into
camps which argued about the meaning of art and the direction of
Surrealism. Dali is only in his late 20s at this point, but is already
Dali Museum
BY MARCIA BIGGS
/StPeteLifeMag.com