Prehistoric Future

Max Ernst and the Return of Painting between the Wars

Nonfiction, Art & Architecture, General Art, Individual Artist, Art History
Cover of the book Prehistoric Future by Ralph Ubl, University of Chicago Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Ralph Ubl ISBN: 9780226029313
Publisher: University of Chicago Press Publication: November 6, 2013
Imprint: University of Chicago Press Language: English
Author: Ralph Ubl
ISBN: 9780226029313
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Publication: November 6, 2013
Imprint: University of Chicago Press
Language: English

One of the most admired artists of the twentieth century, Max Ernst was a proponent of Dada and founder of surrealism, known for his strange, evocative paintings and drawings. In Prehistoric Future, Ralph Ubl approaches Ernst like no one else has, using theories of the unconscious—surrealist automatism, Freudian psychoanalysis, the concept of history as trauma—to examine how Ernst’s construction of collage departs from other modern artists.

 

Ubl shows that while Picasso, Braque, and Man Ray used scissors and glue to create collages, Ernst employed techniques he himself had forged—rubbing and scraping to bring images forth onto a sheet of paper or canvas to simulate how a screen image or memory comes into the mind’s view. In addition, Ernst scoured the past for obsolete scientific illustrations and odd advertisements to illustrate the rapidity with which time passes and to simulate the apprehension generated when rapid flows of knowledge turn living culture into artifact. Ultimately, Ubl reveals, Ernst was interested in the construction and phenomenology of both collective and individual modern history and memory. Shedding new light on Ernst’s working methods and the reasons that his pieces continue to imprint themselves in viewers’ memories, Prehistoric Future is an innovative work of critical writing on a key figure of surrealism.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

One of the most admired artists of the twentieth century, Max Ernst was a proponent of Dada and founder of surrealism, known for his strange, evocative paintings and drawings. In Prehistoric Future, Ralph Ubl approaches Ernst like no one else has, using theories of the unconscious—surrealist automatism, Freudian psychoanalysis, the concept of history as trauma—to examine how Ernst’s construction of collage departs from other modern artists.

 

Ubl shows that while Picasso, Braque, and Man Ray used scissors and glue to create collages, Ernst employed techniques he himself had forged—rubbing and scraping to bring images forth onto a sheet of paper or canvas to simulate how a screen image or memory comes into the mind’s view. In addition, Ernst scoured the past for obsolete scientific illustrations and odd advertisements to illustrate the rapidity with which time passes and to simulate the apprehension generated when rapid flows of knowledge turn living culture into artifact. Ultimately, Ubl reveals, Ernst was interested in the construction and phenomenology of both collective and individual modern history and memory. Shedding new light on Ernst’s working methods and the reasons that his pieces continue to imprint themselves in viewers’ memories, Prehistoric Future is an innovative work of critical writing on a key figure of surrealism.

More books from University of Chicago Press

Cover of the book Gravity's Ghost and Big Dog by Ralph Ubl
Cover of the book The Newark Frontier by Ralph Ubl
Cover of the book Pick Up the Pieces by Ralph Ubl
Cover of the book A Companion to The Iliad by Ralph Ubl
Cover of the book The Constitution in the Supreme Court by Ralph Ubl
Cover of the book Darwin's Cathedral by Ralph Ubl
Cover of the book Two Arabs, a Berber, and a Jew by Ralph Ubl
Cover of the book Action versus Contemplation by Ralph Ubl
Cover of the book Perfect Wave by Ralph Ubl
Cover of the book Against Fairness by Ralph Ubl
Cover of the book Paraliterary by Ralph Ubl
Cover of the book The Accounts by Ralph Ubl
Cover of the book In Search of a Lost Avant-Garde by Ralph Ubl
Cover of the book What Philosophy Wants from Images by Ralph Ubl
Cover of the book Becoming a Marihuana User by Ralph Ubl
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy