Number 21, Issue 1 (2013) Dada and Surrealist Collections and Exhibitions

Part I: The Surrealist Collections (Guest editor: Pierre Taminiaux)

Revised proceedings of a conference held at Georgetown University in October 2011.

Part II: Exhibitions and Display in Dada and Surrealism (Guest editor: Kathryn Floyd)

Scholars are invited to submit articles for a forthcoming special section of the journal Dada/Surrealism on exhibitions and display practices.

The production of temporary displays of images and objects was one of many strategies with which the Dadas and later the Surrealists challenged audiences of fellow artists and “philistines” alike. Seminal exhibitions such as the 1920 International Dada Fair in Berlin or the 1938 Exposition Internationale du Surréalisme in Paris were part of a repertoire of intermedial approaches that included assemblage strategies, “curatorial” efforts, and performative practices. At all Dada and Surrealist exhibitions, from the most significant public affairs to smaller, more intimate displays, radical images and practices were joined directly to the immediate flux of time and space that define all “events,” as well as to the indeterminate realms of social exchange, artistic influence, and critical response. Although temporary, Dada and Surrealist exhibitions in Europe, the US, and other international centers also served as key markers of belonging and community that linked, if only briefly, the disparate artists, processes, and works that define these groups.

Dada and Surrealist exhibitionary activities also engaged, either in earnest or for the sake of critique, forms of display historically linked to the structures of the institutional “art world.” Whether in traditional gallery spaces or in theaters, pubs, cafés, and homes, their temporary displays expressed complex, sometimes contradictory, attitudes toward the artistic establishment. Single-artist and group shows often replicated the format of traditional installations, despite the innovative nature of the works on view. Frequently, however, they turned the standard exhibition format on its head.

While the temporary displays organized by Dadas and Surrealists themselves epitomized the wide variety of avant-garde exhibitionary practices, these same artists were simultaneously curated by a diverse collection of organizers from inside and outside their ranks. Early exhibitions at salons, galleries, and museums constituted initial efforts to define and historicize these artists and groups. Later exhibitions, especially in the 1950s and 60s, profoundly influenced a new generation of radicals, while recent blockbusters like the 2006 exhibition “Dada” (Washington, Paris, New York) have engaged mainstream audiences and attest to the contemporary canonization of the movements. These exhibitions also illustrate the on-going reappraisal of Dada and Surrealism and raise questions about the most effective use of spatial and temporal display to mediate the history of the avant-garde.

Scholars are invited to submit essays that examine temporary exhibitions from the histories of Dada and Surrealism including, but not limited to, studies that focus on the conceptual frameworks, layout and design, organizers and curators, ephemera (posters, catalogues, etc.), mediation (in texts, photographs, films, etc.), and responses to these events.

Other related topics are also very welcome:

• Dada and Surrealist concepts, strategies, or subject matter (expressed in any media) related to exhibitionary practices.
• The relationship of the concept of “display” or “exhibition” to other avant-garde formats (performance, collage, poetry, periodicals, etc.).
• The analysis of exhibitions about the Dadas and/or Surrealists, from early solo artist shows and group exhibitions to more recent blockbusters and innovative exhibits in museums, galleries, or on-line platforms.
• Methodological issues surrounding the reconstruction, analysis, or historicization of avant-garde exhibitions.
• The influence of Dada and Surrealist exhibitions on contemporary display strategies in installation art, new media, publication practices, mass media, etc.
• Any topic that illuminates the relationships between Dada and Surrealism and exhibitionary practices past and present.

Essays treating underrepresented areas of study or new theoretical perspectives are particularly welcome.

Please submit a 300-word abstract of the proposed article, along with a brief CV, by October 1, 2012 to Kathryn Floyd (kmfloyd@auburn.edu). The deadline for the submission of completed articles (6000-8000 words) is March 1, 2013.

Articles should follow the journal’s submission guidelines available at http://ir.uiowa.edu/dadasur/policies.html. Submitted articles will be reviewed by two specialists in accordance with the journal’s peer-reviewing policy.

Inquiries may be sent to Kathryn Floyd at kmfloyd@auburn.edu.