British Museum Ethnographic Photography at the 1936 International Surrealist Exhibition
- Submitting institution
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Birmingham City University
- Unit of assessment
- 32 - Art and Design: History, Practice and Theory
- Output identifier
- 32Z_OP_D1007
- Type
- D - Journal article
- DOI
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10.1080/01973762.2020.1672358
- Title of journal
- Visual Resources
- Article number
- -
- First page
- 43-69
- Volume
- 36
- Issue
- 1
- ISSN
- 0197-3762
- Open access status
- Technical exception
- Month of publication
- -
- Year of publication
- 2019
- URL
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- Supplementary information
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- Request cross-referral to
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- Output has been delayed by COVID-19
- No
- COVID-19 affected output statement
- -
- Forensic science
- No
- Criminology
- No
- Interdisciplinary
- No
- Number of additional authors
-
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- Research group(s)
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- Proposed double-weighted
- No
- Reserve for an output with double weighting
- No
- Additional information
- This article firstly considers the pivotal role played by exhibition displays of African and Oceanic sculpture in the internationalisation of Surrealism during the 1930s. Secondly, it investigates the role of photographic reproduction in rendering indigenous artworks widely accessible to western audiences. Most extant literature regards Surrealist exhibitions as precursors to installation art—whilst important, this limited focus has marginalised the role of non-western works in their history.
This article presents the first study of African and Oceanic sculpture in Surrealist exhibitions, highlighting the need for further research on non-western sculptures in Surrealist displays. Foundational work by Rubin (1985) conveys iconographic affinities between African and Oceanic art and Surrealism, however, spiritual resonances remain unacknowledged by most academics. Thirdly, the article argues that Freud’s work does not align with Surrealist interests in the metaphysical. Freud’s <Totem and Taboo> (1913) is often cited as indicative of the Surrealist’s relationship with ‘primitive’ art, however religious belief is presented as a form of madness. Instead, the article contends that Surrealist exhibitions, by juxtaposing western and non-western art, transcended taxonomic display mechanisms common to ethnographic museum environments, whilst highlighting a common spirituality between Surrealist works and non-western sculptures.
Research was conducted through a series of qualitative methods by accessing and examining archival materials pertaining to the 1936 Surrealist exhibition at the Scottish National Galleries, including reviews charting the reception of African and Oceanic objects and a catalogue including the ten British Museum (BM) Photographs of ethnographic sculptures displayed at the exhibition. The BM photographs were sourced in conjunction with BM staff. Close analysis of ten high quality images ascertained that the selected sculptures contained strong religious symbolism. Comparisons were made to artworks of religious Surrealists (Cecil Collins, Paul Nash), widening the study of ‘international Surrealism’ to include the spiritual realm alongside political and artistic cultural exchange.
- Author contribution statement
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- Non-English
- No
- English abstract
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