Investigating Sex

Surrealist Research 1928-1932

In January 1928, the surrealists initiated their remarkable “researches into sexuality” with a series of round-table conversations involving key figures such as André Breton, Yves Tanguy, Louis Aragon, Man Ray, Max Ernst and Antonin Artaud. The transcripts, in all their bizarre and fascinating detail, are presented here. While there is plenty of humor—not all of it intentional—the speakers were trying scrupulously to record every aspect of sexual love, cataloging preferences and positions, quality and quantity. This book is a unique historical record of sexual practice and ethics; a fundamental text for understanding the surrealist movement and, for all its idiosyncrasies, a document that still retains an extraordinary vitality today.