Surrealism and the Art of Crime

The Surrealist movement of the early twentieth century may seem to the casual observer remote from the harsh realities of life. Eburne (comparative literature and English, The Pennsylvania State University) sees beyond the melting clocks to the fascination the surrealists had with violent crime. Beginning in 1919, the artists and writers of the movement began to view the apparatus for reporting, detecting and judging acts of violence as social constructs needing deconstructing. By examining specific cases that fascinated the Surrealists as well as their own work, Eburne argues that the movement was a part of the voice for social change. Their ability to see murder as an act performed both by individuals and governments, as witnessed throughout the first half of the twentieth century, was a precursor of movements of the latter half. Moving from anarchists to "insurgents" to family murder to the rise of the "serie noir" (a literary form of crime fiction still in vogue), Eburne gives a thoughtful evaluation of crime as seen through Surrealism. Annotation 穢2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)