THE SURREALIST COLLECTION OF OBJECTS

Authors

  • Leticia Pérez State University of New York, Buffalo

Keywords:

collection, commodity fetishism, capitalism, consumption, commercial culture, use-, exchange- and surplus-value, materialism, idealism, dream objects, found objects, unconscious, poème-objets, calligrammes, readymades, surrealist objects

Abstract

In this article I shall discuss the Surrealist collection of objects as a form of art which arises out of mass production forces of the new era. These goods, deeply rooted in the capitalist laws of use-, exchange- and surplus-value, carry in themselves two materialist approaches which end in dialectical materialism. On the one hand, they epitomize the supreme forces of commodity fetishism ingrained in capitalist structures; on the other hand, they arouse unconscious desires which respond to the needs of the society of consumption. Thus, I will explore the act of object-collecting in the most radical Surrealist practices (dream objects, found objects, poème-objets, calligrammes, readymades and Surrealist objects) as a way to not only delve into a new art, but also to reflect on societal ongoing transformations and paradoxes.

Author Biography

Leticia Pérez, State University of New York, Buffalo

PhD student in the Department of Comparative Literature, State University of New York, Buffalo

How to Cite

Pérez, L. (2014). THE SURREALIST COLLECTION OF OBJECTS. 452ºF. Revista De Teoría De La Literatura Y Literatura Comparada, (2), 112–126. Retrieved from https://revistes.ub.edu/index.php/452f/article/view/10777