Gallery 01:4
THE BUREAU OF SURREALIST ENQUIRIES Surrealism began as a literary movement in 1920, focussing on automatic writing, a technique for freeing the creative subconscious from moral and aesthetic inhibitions. The method comes from a Freudian form of treatment for traumatised soldiers that became popular during the First World War.
From 1924 to 1926, a centre for Surrealist studies was set up at 15 rue de Grenelle in Paris. It is staffed by clerks who record the public’s observations of strange coincidences, memorable dreams or forbidden desires. The aim is to collect testimonies about “the unconscious activity of the mind”. The office becomes a place to experiment and discuss their art, where the Surrealists further develop the Dadaist obsession with material objects into painting, photography, and film. The group promotes itself with slogans such as: If you love love, you will love Surrealism! They take the agency’s activities very seriously, but also believe that art can never serve a practical or political purpose. The short-lived research centre is never well attended by the public but is crucial to the movement’s international impact.
Over time, the Surrealist network gains international fame and publish fiery opinion pieces on current social issues and organise exhibitions in Paris, London, and New York. It is a group in constant flux, with new members joining and others leaving. Some are abruptly expelled for offences against Surrealist values, such as the wayward Salvador Dalí in 1935. André Breton remains the movement’s stable but increasingly autocratic leader. Paris-based artists such as Eric Grate and Greta Knutson-Tzara become key figures in the spread of Surrealism to Sweden. Authors and poets such as Gunnar Ekelöf and Artur Lundkvist, alongside the artists of the important Halmstad Group, are influential in Swedish Surrealism from 1930 onwards.
