Friday 19 July 2013

The Star Alphabet of E.L.T. Mesens

Dada and Surrealism in Brussels, Paris and London

The Star Alphabet of E.L.T. Mesens
Mu.Zee, Oostende
July 6-November 11, 2013
website: http://www.muzee.be/mesens/

Édouard Léon Théodore Mesens (1903-1971) was one of the most important international protagonists in the art world of the first half of the 20th century. He was a flamboyant and talented artist: a musician, poet, publisher, photographer, curator, art dealer and collector. This exhibition brings the fascinating story of Dadaism and Surrealism to life via Mesens’ exceptional collages, writings and publications.
Part of the Surrealist movement from the very beginning, E.L.T. Mesens was one of its most powerful driving forces. He played an active role in the European international art scene and, from as early as the 1920s, could count people like the Romanian poet Tristan Tzara, the Dutch artist Theo van Doesburg and the French composer Erik Satie as friends.
 
Mesens is the man who gave René Magritte international fame and who introduced Surrealism to England. He was friends with numerous artists, including Roland Penrose, Lee Miller, Kurt Schwitters, Max Ernst, André Breton and Man Ray. From 1938 to 1950 he was director of The London Gallery where René Magritte, Paul Delvaux, Giorgio de Chirico and Pablo Picasso all exhibited their work. Mesens completely dedicated his life to poetry and the imagination. In the 1950s, he focused on making collages and initiated major exhibitions in the Casino of Knokke.
 
Discover Dada and Surrealism in Brussels, Paris and London. The exhibition The Star Alphabet of E.L.T. Mesens contains numerous works of art, writings and archive photos by René Magritte, Man Ray, Lee Miller, Paul Klee, Max Ernst, Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, Paul Delvaux, Yves Tanguy, Amedeo Modigliani, Desmond Morris, Kurt Schwitters and many others!
 
A catalogue is available.

Tuesday 9 July 2013

Forthcoming Publications

Generation Dada
The Berlin Avant-Garde and the First World War
Michael White
Yale University Press
Publication date: 31 Oct 2013
ISBN: 9780300169034
288 pages - 20 colour images + 130 black-&-white illustrations
See more at: http://yalebooks.co.uk/display.asp?K=9780300169034


For the Berlin Dadaists, their identity as a collective - Club Dada, to members - was an integral part of their artistic practice. But the circumstances that brought together the likes of George Grosz, John Heartfield, Raoul Hausmann and Johannes Baader - renamed Propaganda Marshall, Monteurdada, Dadasoph and Oberdada within the organization - have remained largely unexamined until now. Drawing on extensive archival research, this book documents the group's beginnings in wartime Berlin and reveals how these relationships influenced its provocative acts, which were inextricably tied to the era's chaos and brutality. Studying how the Dadaists saw themselves as a new generation - in contrast to their pacifist forbears, the Expressionists - the book sheds light on key developments and events, such as the First International Dada Fair, held in Berlin in 1920. It also offers the first serious consideration of the group's role in constructing its own legacy, even as the works were deliberately rooted in the ephemeral.


After Dada
Marta Hegemann and the Cologne avant-garde
Dorothy Rowe
Manchester University Press
Publication date: September 2013
ISBN 978-0-7190-9007-3
240 pages -
See more at: http://www.manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/cgi-bin/indexer?product=9780719090073

What happened in 1920s Cologne ‘after Dada’? Whilst most standard accounts of Cologne Dada simply stop with Max Ernst’s departure from the city for a new life as a surrealist in Paris, this book reveals the untold stories of the Cologne avant-garde that prospered after Dada but whose legacies have been largely forgotten or neglected. It focuses on the little-known Magical Realist painter Marta Hegemann (1894–1970). By re-inserting her into the histories of avant-garde modernism, a fuller picture of the gendered networks of artistic and cultural exchange within Weimar Germany can be revealed. This book embeds her activities as an artist within a gendered network of artistic exchange and influence in which Ernst continues to play a vital role amongst many others including his first wife, art critic Lou Straus-Ernst; photographers August Sander and Hannes Flach; artists Angelika Fick, Heinrich Hoerle, Willy Fick and the Cologne Progressives and visitors such as Kurt Schwitters and Katherine Dreier.

Wednesday 3 July 2013

Oxford History of Modernist Magazines

The Oxford Critical and Cultural History of Modernist Magazines.

Volume III: Europe 1880-1940
Edited by Peter Brooker, Sascha Bru, Andrew Thacker, and Christian Weikop
Oxford University Press        
1,528 pages
ISBN 978-0-19-965958-6                                                    

The third of three volumes devoted to the cultural history of the modernist magazine in Britain, North America, and Europe, this collection contains fifty-six original essays on the role of 'little magazines' and independent periodicals in Europe in the period 1880-1940. It demonstrates how these publications were instrumental in founding and advancing developments in European modernism and the avant-garde.

Expert discussion of approaching 300 magazines, accompanied by an illuminating variety of cover images, from France, Italy, Germany, Spain and Portugal, Scandinavia, Central and Eastern Europe will significantly extend and strengthen the understanding of modernism and modernity. The chapters are organised into six main sections with contextual introductions specific to national, regional histories, and magazine cultures. Introductions and chapters combine to elucidate the part played by magazines in the broader formations associated with Symbolism, Expressionism, Futurism, Dada, Surrealism, and Constructivism in a period of fundamental social and geo-political change. Individual essays, situated in relation to metropolitan centres bring focussed attention to a range of celebrated and less well-known magazines, including Le Chat Noir, La Revue blanche, Le Festin d'Esope, La Nouvelle Revue Française, La Révolution Surréaliste, Documents,De Stijl, Ultra, Lacerba, Energie Nouve, Klingen, Exlex, flamman, Der Blaue Reiter, Der Sturm, Der Dada, Ver Sacrum, Cabaret Voltaire, 391, ReD, Zenit, Ma, Contemporanul, Formisci, Zdroj, Lef ,and Novy Lef .

Contents

Peter Brooker: General Introduction: Modernity, modernism, magazines

France
Peter Brooker: Introduction
1: Diana Schiau Botea: Performing writing: Le Chat Noir (1881-95), Le Courrier français (1884-1913), Gil Blas illustré (1891-1903), Les Quat'z'arts (1897-8)
2: Alexia Kalantzis: The 'little magazine' as publishing success : Le Scapin (1885-6), La Pleiade (1886-90), Le Mercure de France (1890-1965)
3: Elisa Grilli and Evanghelia Stead: Between symbolism and avant-garde poetics: La Plume (1889-1905), L'Ermitage (1890-1906), and La Revue blanche (1890-1905)
4: Anne-Rachel Hermetet: Modern classicism: La Nouvelle Revue française (1909-43) and Commerce (1924-32)
5: Willard Bohn: Apollinaire and 'the new spirit': Le Festin d'Esope (1903), Les Soirées de Paris (1912 -June 1913; Nov. 1913- July 1914), L'élan (1915-Feb 1916; Dec.1916)
6: Simon Dell: After Apollinaire: SIC (1916-19), Nord-Sud (1917-18) and L'Esprit Nouveau (1920-5)
7: David Hopkins: Proto-Dada. The New York connection: The Ridgefield Gazook (1915), The Blind Man (1917), Rongwrong (1917), 391 (1917), TNT (1919), New York Dada (1921)
8: Ruth Hemus: A Dada Season: 391 (1919-24), Cannibale (1920), Projecteur (1920), Dada (1920-1), Le Coeur à Barbe (1922)
9: John Attridge: Eclecticism and its discontents: Les Ecrits nouveaux (1917-22) and La Revue européenne (1923-31)
10: Raymond Spiteri: 'Que faire les surréalistes?': Littérature (1919-24), La Révolution surréaliste, (1925-9), Le Surréalisme au service de la révolution, (1930-3)
11: Eric Robertson: 'A shameless, indecent saintliness': Georges Bataille, Documents (1929-31), and Acéphale (1936-9)
12: Jed Rasula: Dangerous games and new mythologies: Cercle et Carré (1930), Art Concret (1930), Abstraction-Création (1932-5); Minotaure (1933-9).

The Low Countries
Sascha Bru: Introduction
13: Sascha Bru: 'The will to style': the Dutch contribution to the avant-garde: Leiden: De Stijl (1917-32), Mécano (1922-3), Amsterdam: Wendingen (1918-32), i10 (1927-9), Groningen: The Next Call (1923-6)
14: Daphné de Marneffe: Antwerp circles.Languages, locality, and internationalism: Ontwaking (1896, 1901-1910), De Boomgaard (1909-11), Résurrection (1917-18), Het Roode Zeil (1920), Sélection (1920-33), Ruimte (1920-1), Het Overzicht (1921-5), De Driehoek (1925-6), Lumière (1919-23), Ça Ira (1920-3)
15: Francis Mus and Hans Vandevoorde: 'Streetscape of new districts permeated by the fresh scent of cement'. Brussels, the avant-garde, and internationalism: La Jeune Belgique (1881-7), Van Nu en Straks (1893-1901), L'Art libre (1919-22), Le Disque Vert (1922-5), Variétés (1928-30), 7 Arts (1922-8).

Spain and Portugal
Peter Brooker: Introduction
16: Lori Cole: Madrid. Questioning the avant-garde: Helios (1903-4), El Nuevo Mercurio (1907), Prometeo (1908-12), Los Quijotes (1915-18), Cosmópolis (1919-1922), Grecia (1918-20), Ultra (1921-2), Ambos (1923), Litoral (1926-7,1929), Mediodía (1926-9), Carmen y Lola (1927-9), La Gaceta Literaria (1927-32), and Gallo (1928).
17: Geoff West: 'Noucentisme' and the avant-garde in Barcelona (1916-36) : La Revista. Quaderns de publicació quinzenal (1915-36) Vell i nou. Revista d'art (1915-19, 1920-1), Revista nova (1914, 1916-17), 391 (1917), Troços (1916, 1917-18) ; L'Instant. Revue franco-catalane d'art et littérature (1918-19), Un enemic del poble (1917-19), Arc-voltaic (1918), Proa (1921), L'Amic de les arts (1926-8), Hèlix (1929-30), A.C. Documentos de actividad contemporánea (1931-7), D'ací i d'allà (1918-36).
18: Clara Rocha: Modernist magazines in Portugal. Orpheu and its legacy: Orpheu (1915), Exílio (1916), Centauro (1916), Portugal Futurista (1917), Contemporânea (1915, 1922-6), Athena (1924-5), Sudoeste (1935), Presença (1927-38; 1939-40).

Italy
Sascha Bru (MDRN): Introduction
19: Francesca Billiani: Political and aesthetic transgressions. Florentine reviews à la mode: Il Marzocco (1896-1932), Il Regno (1903-5), Il Leonardo (1903-7), Hermes (1904), and La Voce (1908-14)
20: Luca Somigli: Past-loving Florence and the temptations of futurism: Lacerba (1913-15), Quartiere Latino (1913-14), L'Italia futurista (1916-18), La Vraie Italie (1919-20)
21: Mariana Aguirre: The return to order in Florence: Il Selvaggio (1924-43), Il Frontespizio (1929-40), Pègaso (1929-33), Campo di Marte (1938-9)
22: Eric Bulson: Milan, the 'rivista', and the de-provincialization of Italy: Le Papyrus (1894-6), Poesia (1905-09), Il Convegno (1920-40), Pan (1933-5), Corrente di vita giovanile (1938-40)
23: Vivien Greene: Bizantium and emporium: fine-secolo magazines in Rome and Milan: Fanfulla della Domenica (1879-1919), Cronaca Bizantina (1881-6), Il Convito (1895-1907), Cronaca d'Arte (1890-2), Vita Moderna (1892-5), Emporium (1895-1964)
24: Chris Michaelides: Futurist Periodicals in Rome (1916-39). From effervescence to disillusionment: Avanscoperta (1916-17), Cronache d'attualità (1916-22), Noi (1917-25), Roma futurista (1918-20), Dinamo: Rivista futurista (1919), Le Futurisme (1922-31), La Ruota dentata (1927), 2000 Giornale della rivoluzione artistica (1929), Futurismo (May 1932- Nov. 1933), Sant'Elia (Oct. 1933-Sept. 1934), Artecrazia (Oct. 1934- Jan. 1939).
25: Arianna Bove: 'The old was dying but the new could not be born'. Revolutionary magazines in Turin: Energie Nuove (1918-20), L'Ordine Nuovo (1919-20), Rivoluzione Liberale (1922-4), Il Baretti (1924-6).

Scandinavia
Peter Brooker: Introduction
26: Bjarne Søndergaard Bendtsen: Copenhagen. From the ivory tower to street activism: Ny Jord (1888-9), Taarnet (1893-4), Ungt Blod (1895-6), Vagten (1899-1900); Klingen (1917-20); Kværnen (1920), Buen (1924-25), Sirius (1924-25), Kritisk Revy (1926-8); Baalet (1921-2), Bjerget (1923), Pressen (1923-4), I Morgen (1925,1927); Clarté (1926-7), Monde (1928-31); linien (1934-9), konkretion (1935-6)
27: Eirik Vassenden: Norway. The Province and its Metropolites: Impressionisten (1886-90), Exlex (1919-20), PLAN (1933-6)
28: Mats Jansson: Crossing borders. Modernism in Sweden and the Swedish-speaking part of Finland: Thalia (1909-13), Ny konst (1915), flamman (1917-21), Ultra (1922), Quosego (1928-9), kontakt (1931), Spektrum (1931-3) and Karavan (1934-5).

Germany, Austria, Switzerland
Christian Weikop: Introduction
29: Timothy W. Hiles: Reality and utopia in Munich's premier magazines: Simplicissimus (1896-1944) and Jugend (1896-1940).
30: Jessica Horsley: 'There you have Munich': Der Blaue Reiter (1912), Revolution (1913), Der Weg (1919)
31: Andreas Kramer: Between art and activism: Pan (1895-1900; 1910-15), Die weissen Blätter (1913-21), Das neue Pathos (1913-19); Marsyas (1917-19)
32: Douglas Brent McBride: A critical mass for modernism in Berlin: Der Sturm (1910-1932), Die Aktion (1911-1932), Sturm-Bühne (1918-1919)
33: Christian Weikop: Transitions: from Expressionism to Dada: Neue Jugend (1914; 1916-17), Die freie Strasse (1915-18), Club Dada (1918)
34: Christian Weikop: Berlin Dada and the carnivalesque: Jedermann sein eigner Fussball (1919) and Der Dada (1919-20)
35: Sabine T. Kriebel: Radical left magazines in Berlin: Die Pleite (1919, 1923-4); Der blutige Ernst (1919); Der Gegner (1919-22); Der Knüppel (1923-7); Eulenspiegel (1928-31); AIZ/VI (1924-38)
36: Stephen Bury: 'Not to adorn life but to organize it': Veshch. Gegenstand. Objet: Revue internationale de l'art moderne (1922), G (1923-6)
37: Erika Esau: 'The magazine of enduring value': Der Querschnitt (1921-36) in context
38: Kathleen Chapman: Dresden. 'Collectivity is dead, long live mankind': Der Komet (1918-19), Menschen (1918-21), Neue Blätter für Kunst und Dichtung (1918-21)
39: Timothy O. Benson: Hamburg and Kiel: Radical Bildungsbürgertum: Die Schöne Rarität (1917-1919), Die Rote Erde (1919-1923), Der Sturmreiter (1919-1920), Kündung
40: Lynette Roth: Cologne.The magazine as artistic and social imperative:Der Ventilator (1919); Bulletin D (1919); Die Schammade (1920); Stupid (1920); a bis z (1929-33)
41: Dorothea Dietrich: Hannover. 'True art' and 'true DADA': Das Hohe Ufer (1919-20), Der Zweemann (1919-20), Der Marstall (1920), and Merz (1923-32)
42: Patrick Rössler: Frankfurt, Leipzig, and Dessau. 'neue typographie' - the new face of a new world: das neue frankfurt and die neue linie
43: Diane Silverthorne: Vienna's 'Holy Spring' and beyond: Ver Sacrum (1898-1903), Almanach der Wiener Werkstätte (1911), Hohe Warte (1904-9), Deutsche Kunst und Dekoration (1897-1932)
44: Edward Timms: From the Hapsburg Empire to the Holocaust: Die Fackel (1899-1936) and Der Brenner (1910-54)
45: Debbie Lewer: The avant-garde in Swiss exile 1914-20: Der Mistral (1915), Sirius (1915-16), Cabaret Voltaire (1916), Dada (1917-19), 391 (No. 8, 1918), Der Zeltweg (1919), Almanach der Freien Zeitung (1918).

East-Central Europe
Peter Brooker: Introduction
46: Nicholas Sawicki: The view from Prague: Moderní revue (1894-1925), Volné sm%ery (1896-1949), Um%elecký m%esí%cník (1911-4), Revolu%cní sborník Dev%etsil (1922), %Zivot (1923), Disk (1923-5), Pásmo (1924-6), ReD (1927-31)
47: Laurel Seely and Tyrus Miller: Avant-garde journals in the Yugoslav crucible: Zenit (Zagreb 1921-3; Belgrade 1924-6); Zagreb: Dada-Jok (1922), Dada-Tank (1922), Dada Jazz (1922); Novi Sad: Út (1922-5); Ljubljana: Svetokret (1921), Rde%ci pilot (1922), Tank (1927)
48: Éva Forgács and Tyrus Miller: The avant-garde in Budapest and in exile in Vienna: A Tett (1915-6), Ma (Budapest 1916-9; Vienna 1920-6), Egység (1922-4), Akasztott Ember (1922), 2x2 (1922), Ék (1923-4), Is (1924), 365 (1925), Dokumentum (1926-7), RIMunka (1928-39).
49: Irina Livezeanu: Romania. 'Windows toward the West': new forms and the 'poetry of true life'. Revista celor l'alti (1908), Insula (1912), Chemarea (1912), Contimporanul (1922-32), 75 HP (1924), Punct (1924-5 ), Integral (1925-8), Urmuz ( 1925 ), Unu (1928-33)
50: Przemyslaw Strozek: Kraków and Warsaw. Becoming the avant-garde: Rydwan (first series 1912-14), Maski (1918-19), Wianki (1919-22), Formi'sci (1919-21), Nowa Sztuka (1921-2), Zwrotnica (1922-3), Blok (1924-6)
51: Lidia Gluchowska: Poznan and Lódz. Nationalist modernism and the international avant-garde: Zdrój (1917-22); Ing-Idysz (Jung Idysz) (1919), Tel-Awiw (1919-21).

Russia, the Soviet Union, and Ukraine
Peter Brooker: Introduction
52: Christina Lodder with Peter Hellyer: St. Petersburg / Petrograd/ Leningrad. From aesthetes to revolutionaries: Mir Iskusstva (1898-1904), Apollon (1909-17), Studiya Impressionistov (1910), Soyuz Molodezhii (1912-13), Iskusstvo Kommuny (1918-19)
53: Oleg Minin: Modernism upheld. Moscow journals of art and literature: Vesy (1904-9), Iskusstvo (1905), Zolotoe Runo (1906-9), and Mákovets (1922).
54: Christina Lodder: From futurist iconoclasm to socialist construction: Futuristy. Pervyi zhurnal russkikh futuristov (1914), Lef: Levyi front iskusstv (1923-5), Novyi Lef (1927-8), Internationatsional'naya literature (1933-45)
55: Emily Finer: 'A rift on the left front': Lef (1923-5) and Na postu (1923-5)
56: Oleh S. Ilnytzkyj: Under imperial eyes in Kyiv and Kharkiv magazines: Ukrains'ka khata (1909-14), Muzahet (1919), Mystetstvo (1919), Katafalk iskusstva (1922), Semafor u maibutnie (1922), Honh komunkul'ta (1924), Nova generatsiia (1927-30), Avangard: Al'manakh proletars'kykh myttsiv Novoi generatsii (1930).