Paris and the Surrealists

168 Pages·1991·28.849 MB·English

by  George Melly, Michael Woods

GEORGE MELLY
O.
rraz
Photography by
WOODS
L
**
$35.00
Paris and the
Surrealists
GEORGEMELLY
MICHAELWOODS
Photographyby
CourcCiUs "i? A>*'VT^Wtiqiivlles**A
m
17
"Thelocalitiesthatwepassedthrough. . . eventhe
mostcolorlessones, werepositivelytransformedbya
^CcurceUtir* —
spellbindingromanticinventivenessthatneverfaltered y ^W rTace de *tf
andthatneededonlyastreet-turningorashop-window t* * ^^ Theatre ~\\e*Clvicl_iy
toinspireafreshoutpouring." andrebreton
W?*
Parisseducedand intoxicatedtheSurrealists, 4 Col
thosebizarreand inspired poets,writersand *°
urn,
painterswhoweretogainalmostmythicstatus YJLdBot
^
aftertheir Parisiandebutinthe 1920s. Torealize ^ A- 12 eg BSeoxpuiAtoanl 15 0f\
theambiguityand latentpossibilitiesofthecity,
andtoevokewonderbytransmutingmundane
experienceintoastonishingimages, are
fundamentaltenetsofSurrealismthatatonce *JL
suggestthemovement'sbirthplace: Paris.
Thetext,whicheloquentlyconveysthe Palm*
Surrealistwayofthoughtandlife, issetoffby
thehauntingandatmosphericphotographsof
MichaelWoods. CapturingthespiritofParis,
thesepicturesarefilledwith bothechoesofpast Aero >
associationsandacute, wittyperceptionsofnew OUT
(
"Surrealist"additionstothecityscape. Words
andimagesjointoleadusinthe footstepsofthe
Surrealists: followingthem fromthecafesofthe
LeftBanktothetheaters, restaurantsand
nightclubsofMontmartre; shadowingthemon
theirnocturnalexcursionsthroughtheempty
streets. , Motet
GeorgeMellyoffersnotonlyanarrative -W
historyofSurrealism, butalsoananalysisofthe
majorworksofSurrealistliterature, allofwhich fe
*>
areimbuedwiththeessenceofParisandthe ° C*
I
shocking, evenscandalous, influenceofamour
V
fouwhichsoenrapturedtheSurrealists. In <* 10 #* Si3>»9"™*»
parallel, hedescribeshisownloveaffairwith «* t
Surrealismandthecityofitsbirth; revealing
thateven nowtheSurrealistspiritlivesonas
partortheverysoulofParis: "Surrealismis
dead. LongliveSurrealism." JpmtvIaptA.
4
With 104duotone illustrations
?i Canetiere. ^
Onthejacket: (front) theentrancetothe Narcisse JimztrParnasse
nightclub, Place Pigalle; (back) ashopwindowin * ^+ _+Aa-
^
the PassageVerdeau.
PlJQenfei
Hnr-Hi>rpa
.) (JL'Orncato f
MttC
Arxg
30^1.

GEORGE MELLY MICHAEL WOODS
Photography by
Paris
"f^e
Surrealists
With 104illiuitratioiui
'
THAMES AND HUDSON
:
GEORGEMELLY
wouldespeciallyliketothank
ConroyMaddox, forhisgeneroussupplyofinformationandloanofbooks.
MarcelJean, veteran Surrealist, andlongtime Iriend. He isthegreat
historianofthemovementhelefttoserve.
Candy,whotypedthisessayonthewordprocessor, andTom, whonotonly
correcteditbutalsocontributedsomanyvaluablesuggestions.
MichaelWoods, forhiscalmfanaticismandhis'eyeinasavagestate'.
DedicatedtothememoryofE. L. T.Meseitd
MICHAELWOODSwouldliketothank:
PeterWood, lorhisresearchintoSurrealistplacesin Paris.
BrionyGriffithsand PeterGreenway, fortheirinvaluablehelpand
companionshipduringmymanyvisitstothatcity.
Lutz Becker, forhisadviceandvisualexpertiseregardingthephotographs.
M. Gard, AssistantManagerofHotel Blanche.
Graeme Neale, AssistantManagerofthe NationalWestminsterBank,
Kensington,whotookaninterestintheproject, andfinanciallysustained
meuntilitwasfinished.
ForMichaelAldridge
On hall-title page: A shop window in the Passage des Princes.
In 1928 Man Ray made a film entitled Etoile de mer (Starfuih).
Any copyofthis book issued by the publisher as a paperback is sold
subject to the condition that it shall not byway oftrade orotherwise be
lent, resold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the publisher's prior
consent in any form ol bindingorcoverotherthan that in which it is
published and without a similar condition includingthese words being
imposed on a subsequent purchaser.
© 1991 George Melly and Michael Woods
First published in the United States in 1991 by
Thames and Hudson Inc., 500 Filth Avenue,
NewYork, New York 10110
Library ofCongress Catalog Card Number 90-72121
All Rights Reserved. No part ofthis publication may be reproduced or
transmitted in any form or byany means, electronic or mechanical,
includingphotocopy, recording orany other information storage and
retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher.
Printed and bound in Hong Kong
'
CONTENTS
Preface
PAGE
7
1
'The eye ecciitj in a davage dtate
PAGE
13
2
'The blinddwimmer
PAGE23
3
T
L*fleece burnd yet'
PAGE
51
4
'Whogoed there?'
PAGE77
5
A
majority ofone'
PAGE 147
A
calla lily
PAGE 155
Bibliography
PAGE 158
Index
PAGE
158
f A *
A
If
11
1
I
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