SURREALISM, ATLANTIC HISTORY AND ANTI COLONIALISM

Great Impulses and New Paths: VVV, Surrealism, and the Black Atlantic

Revue Miranda, 2017

Terri Geis

The 1940s exile in the United States of many European surrealists, including André Breton, is viewed as a moment in which the movement widened to encompass a broader range of artistic voices and visions. This expansion of the surrealist group is reflected in the short-lived but significant journal VVV, which included many contributions from artists of the Americas, and specifically from the Caribbean. It has been suggested that the editors of VVV were also in part inspired by the political efforts of African-Americans, yet the actual connections between the exiled surrealists and the artists, writers, and political activists of Harlem remained limited. This essay examines a moment of missed opportunity due to political repression during the Second World War, and also explores the strong creative alliances formed with writers and artists of Martinique and Cuba, as demonstrated in the pages of VVV.

Volume: 14

Publication Date: 2017

Publication Name: Revue Miranda