Photography and the Surreal Imagination at The Menil Collection

Photography and the Surreal Imagination at The Menil Collection by Olaf WilloughbyApril 18, 2020

©Lee Miller, Joseph Cornell, 1933, printed ca. 1988. Gelatin silver print, 12 1/16 × 9 1/2 in. (30.6 × 24.1 cm). The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Gift of Clinton T. Willour in memory of Dominique de Menil, 98.20. © Lee Miller Archives

We continue to share exhibitions that are no longer available to public access. Photography and the Surreal Imagination is currently on display.

Conversation between two people walking along (six feet apart). Question, ’Did you see the speed that COVID 19 is spreading in Europe?’. Answer, ’Yeh man, it’s surreal’. The word surreal has slipped into popular culture meaning weird, bizarre. It has only a passing acquaintance with the Surrealist art movement that was founded on values far more nuanced.

The Menil Collection Exhibition, ‘Photography and the Surreal Imagination’ of 62 works offers an excellent guide to these values. It is interesting to view art movements as the product of pendulum swings, reactions running counter to prevailing social trends. Surrealists were reacting to the forces of reason and science born in the Age of Enlightenment and were part of the post WW1 burst of creative energy. They embraced Freudian philosophy, seeing the sub-conscious as key to a new world of art. Their ideal was to free the mind from rational thought. They set out to shock through writings, paintings, drawings, and photographs involving symbolism and chance. The camera was a tool not simply to reproduce but to reinvent and revolutionize reality.

©George Platt Lynes, Untitled, 1941. Gelatin silver print, 9 9/16 × 7 5/8 in. (24.3 × 19.4 cm). The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, The Allan Chasanoff Photographic Collection, 91.849. © George Platt Lynes Estate

P028-1/2, 11/30/05, 5:14 PM, 16G, 4634x4446 (343+908), 100%, Cruz 080205, 1/120 s, R67.3, G57.4, B71.7

©Francesca Woodman, House #3, Providence, Rhode Island, 1976. Gelatin silver print, 6 1/4 × 6 1/4 in. (15.9 × 15.9 cm). Private collection, Houston. © 2019 Estate of Francesca Woodman / Charles Woodman / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Surrealism is associated with Andre Breton who published The Surrealist Manifesto in 1924 but the Menil Collection exhibition goes further. It is well rounded in covering the works of artists associated with the movement both prior to and after the manifesto. So, in addition to the well-known Surrealists like Max Ernst and Man Ray, there are also works by Atget, Cartier Bresson and even a color image from Allison Janae Hamilton from 2015. It is the inclusion of these images from artists working in the Surrealist style that adds depth and breadth to this exhibition.

©Max Ernst, Health through Sport (La santé par le sport), ca. 1920. Gelatin silver print mounted on board, 39 3/8 × 23 5/8 in. (100 × 60 cm). The Menil Collection, Houston. © Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris

Eugène Atget, French, 1857 - 1927 Corsets, ca. 1910-1920 Gelatin silver print 9 1/4 × 6 7/8 in. (23.5 × 17.5 cm) Photograph

©Eugène Atget, Boulevard de Strasbourg, Corsets, 1912, printed later. Gelatin silver print, 9 1/4 × 6 7/8 in. (23.5 × 17.5 cm). The Menil Collection, Houston

©Lisette Model, Fashion Show, Hotel Pierre, New York, 1940-46. Gelatin silver print, 15 15/16 × 19 1/2 in. (40.5 × 49.5 cm). The Menil Collection, Houston, Gift of Julie Pratt. © 2019 Estate of Lisette Model

Man Ray Le souffle, 1931 Photogravure 19/500 14 3/4 × 10 7/8 in. (37.5 × 27.6 cm) FO84-10.05MF [#Beginning of Shooting Data Section] Nikon D3X 2017/03/29 15:12:54.00 Time Zone and Date: UTC-6, DST:ON RAW (14-bit) Image Size: L (6048 x 4032), FX Lens: 60mm F/2.8D Artist: Copyright: Focal Length: 60mm Exposure Mode: Manual Metering: Matrix Shutter Speed: 1/8s Aperture: F/8 Exposure Comp.: 0EV Exposure Tuning: ISO Sensitivity: ISO 200 Optimize Image: White Balance: Auto, 0, 0 Focus Mode: AF-S AF-Area Mode: Single AF Fine Tune: OFF VR: Long Exposure NR: OFF High ISO NR: OFF Color Mode: Color Space: Adobe RGB Tone Comp.: Hue Adjustment: Saturation: Sharpening: Active D-Lighting: OFF Vignette Control: OFF Auto Distortion Control: Picture Control: [SD] STANDARD Base: [SD] STANDARD Quick Adjust: 0 Sharpening: 3 Contrast: 0 Brightness: 0 Saturation: 0 Hue: 0 Filter Effects: Toning: Map Datum: Image Authentication: OFF Dust Removal: Image Comment: [#End of Shooting Data Section]

©Man Ray, The Breeze (Le souffle), from the series Electricity (Électricité), 1931. Photogravure, 14 3/4 × 10 7/8 in. (37.5 × 27.6 cm). The Menil Collection, Houston. © Man Ray Trust / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris

[#Beginning of Shooting Data Section] Nikon D3X 2015/06/04 16:47:17.49 Time Zone and Date: UTC-6, DST:ON RAW (14-bit) Image Size: L (6048 x 4032), FX Lens: 60mm F/2.8D Artist: Copyright: Focal Length: 60mm Exposure Mode: Manual Metering: Matrix Shutter Speed: 1/8s Aperture: F/8 Exposure Comp.: 0EV Exposure Tuning: ISO Sensitivity: ISO 200 Optimize Image: White Balance: Color Temp. (3030K), 0, 0 Focus Mode: AF-S AF-Area Mode: Contrast AF AF Fine Tune: OFF VR: Long Exposure NR: OFF High ISO NR: OFF Color Mode: Color Space: Adobe RGB Tone Comp.: Hue Adjustment: Saturation: Sharpening: Active D-Lighting: OFF Vignette Control: OFF Auto Distortion Control: Picture Control: [SD] STANDARD Base: [SD] STANDARD Quick Adjust: 0 Sharpening: 3 Contrast: 0 Brightness: 0 Saturation: 0 Hue: 0 Filter Effects: Toning: Map Datum: Image Authentication: OFF Dust Removal: Image Comment: [#End of Shooting Data Section]

©Henri Cartier-Bresson, Florence, Tuscany, 1933, printed 1985. Gelatin silver print, 9 3/8 × 14 1/4 in. (23.8 × 36.2 cm). The Menil Collection, Houston. © Henri Cartier-Bresson/Magnum Photos

©Jay DeFeo, Untitled (for B.C.), 1973. Photocollage of gelatin silver prints, 6 7/8 × 6 7/8 in. (17.5 × 17.5 cm). Private collection, Houston. © The Jay DeFeo Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

©Allison Janae Hamilton, Scratching at the wrong side of firmament., from the series Sweet milk in the badlands, 2015. Inkjet print, 24 × 36 in. (61 × 91.4 cm). The Menil Collection, Houston, Purchased in part with funds provided by Betty Moody and Kerry Inman. © Allison Janae Hamilton

Tags: Allison Janae Hamilton, Eugène Atget, Francesca Woodman, George Platt Lynes, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Jay DeFeo, Lee Miller, Lisette Model, Man Ray, Max Ernst