The Surrealists Look at Art

The Surrealists Look at Art by Pontus Hulten

This is a collection of eight essential texts of French surrealism. The authors are André Breton, Paul Eluard, Tristan Tzara, Louis Aragon, and Philippe Soupault. Selected and introduced by Pontus Hultén, the French texts have been newly translated by Michael Palmer and Norma Cole. Some appear in English for the first time. This is perhaps the finest collection of surrealist texts in English. They have been carefully selected to display the fundamental concerns of the movement, the idiosyncrasies of each of the seminal authors, and the particular fusion of voice and idea that is essential to surrealism. These texts convey the quality of poetry that is the true vehicle for everything the surrealists intended to express. The edition is illustrated with reproductions of rare artworks from the period that have been lost, significantly modified through time, or that treat disappearance, or absence as their subject - traits especially pertinent to these texts. The book was designed according to the more formal aspects of French surrealism, as exemplified in Minotaure and in certain other books and publications of the period. Translated by Michael Palmer and Norma Cole. 

Published by The Lapis Press, Venice, California, 1990, 256 pages, 10 in. x 7 1/4 in., hardcover