Date: Tue, 2 Jul 1996 17:53:09 +0200 (MET DST)
From: p_petiot-AT-euronet.nl (PETIOT_Pierre)
Subject: Re: exhibition, further thoughts


>You wrote: 
>>
>>As part of the exhibition itself it might be appropriate to
>>clarify the way Surrealism differs from various of its
>>"sibling-movements", such as abstract expressionism, pop,
>>Cobra, situationism, and other movements such as dada and
>>post-modernism (plus all the versions of "neo-dada"). We all
>>know, that many people have rather strange ideas about
>>what Surrealism really is, and this might be one way of finally
>>getting things right. It could be used as a kind of introduction
>>to the exhibition.
>>What do you think?
>>
>>Frank
>>
>Well, Frank, I have to side with Michael's answer here... it would not 
>be a good idea to go to deeply into this snake pit. Now, I happen to be 
>one of those "people (that) have rather strange ideas about what 
>Surrealism really is".   

I am thinking of improving "strange ideas", myself

>And, while I'de LOVE to have my opinions "be 
>one way of finally getting things right", I am afraid all it would end 
>up doing is break things further apart.
>
>Barrett, I and Celine were in near daily conversation reguarding this 
>question, for at least a year. We each had all the best will in the 
>world to make it work, and while we eventually put a tiny dent in its 
>surface, we never reached anything satisfactory as a conclusion. 
>Perhaps it is impossible.
>
>Remember, EACH COUNTRY had their own ways of expressing what it was 
>they thought Breton was saying, and the various things that emerged 
>were all quite different, and still Breton included these under his 
>umbrella.

[Ah! Non William, please... No countries anymore (or I send you in Bosnia, 
Rwanda or Burundi to get a feeling how life looks like when you try to 
refine about countries). ]

But don't you understand that the magic is precisely that "the various 
things that emerged 
were all quite different, and still Breton included these under his umbrella".
Pierre PETIOT
See also...
http://www.euronet.nl/users/p_petiot/poiein/poiein.html
http://www.euronet.nl/users/p_petiot/index.html