Overview

"The Animal Surreal situates Surrealism within the burgeoning field of Animal Studies by examining Surrealist representations of nonhuman animals through the lens of Darwinian theory. Unlike Marx and Freud, Darwin was rarely cited by name as a source for the Surrealists, and yet his influence is present in various ways, such as the frequent inclusion of ""natural history"" imagery and the exploration of themes of mutability and mutation. Animals and our relationship to them furthermore constitute a significant source of inquiry for Surrealism, as evidenced by Max Ernst’s human-bird alter-ego Loplop, their avid interest in the praying mantis, the adoption of the Minotaur as emblem, and the frequently recurring birds, insects, horses, dogs, cats, giraffes, elephants, lions, and cows, among others, represented in Surrealist poetry, painting, and film. The Animal Surreal proposes that the Surrealists portrayed such animals as if they were literal embodiments of Surrealist themes such as the marvelous and the uncanny, and it documents the numerous ways in which the Surrealists willfully engaged the politics of the animal other in ways that implicitly, and on occasion explicitly, challenged what Freud would call ""human narcissism."""

Full Product Details

Author:   Kirsten Strom
Publisher:   Taylor & Francis Ltd
Imprint:   Routledge
Weight:   0.317kg
ISBN:  

9780367787233

ISBN 10:   0367787237
Pages:   168
Publication Date:   31 March 2021
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Tertiary & Higher Education ,  Undergraduate
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

Table of Contents List of Illustrations Acknowledgments Chapter 1: An Introduction to Animals, Darwin, and Surrealism Chapter 2: The Darwinian Uncanny Chapter 3: A Darwinian Marvelous Chapter 4: Les Espaces des Animaux: The Politics of Space in Human-Animal Relationships Chapter 5: Hybridity, Variability, and Mutation Chapter 6: Max Ernst, Loplop, Totems, and Taboos Chapter 7: Les Animaux et leurs femmes, les femmes et leurs animaux Chapter 8: Madness, Animals, Automatons, Automatism Chapter 9: Human Animality: Natural and Sexual Selection in the films of Luis Buñuel Chapter 10: The Other Darwinism: Surrealism and Social Darwinism Chapter 11: Animality, Documents, and the Early Bataille Chapter 12: Humans, Animals, and Sacrifice in Bataille’s Later Writing Notes on Surrealist Participants Works Cited Author and Artist Index Subject Index

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Author Information

"Kirsten Strom is a professor of art history at Grand Valley State University where she was a recipient of the Pew Teaching Excellence Award. She has published articles and book chapters on a range of topics including postmodern design, ""dance anthropology,"" animal studies, and Surrealism."

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