Morning Star: surrealism, marxism, anarchism, situationism, utopia

by Michael Löwy, Donald LaCoss (Introduction)

Overview

An expanded edition of revered theorist Michael Löwy's Morning Star: Marxism and Surrealism (previously published in French, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Greek), this masterwork collects the author's essays on the ways in which surrealism intersected with a variety of revolutionary political approaches, ranging from utopian ideals to Marxism and situationism. Taking its title from André Breton's essay "Arcane 17," which casts the star as the searing firebrand of rebellion, Löwy's provocative work spans many perspectives. These include surrealist artists who were deeply interested in Marxism and anarchism (Breton among them), as well as Marxists who were deeply interested in surrealism (Walter Benjamin in particular).

Probing the dialectics of innovation, diversity, continuity, and unity throughout surrealism's international presence, Morning Star also incorporates analyses of Claude Cahun, Guy Debord, Pierre Naville, José Carlos Mariátegui and others, accompanied by numerous reproductions of surrealist art. An extraordinarily rich collection, Morning Star promises to ignite new dialogues regarding the very nature of dissent.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780292723573
Publisher:	University of Texas Press
Publication date:	04/01/2009
Series:	Surrealist Revolution Series
Pages:	176
Sales rank:	979,053
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Michael Löwy is Research Director in Sociology at France's National Center for Scientific Research and the author of several books translated into twenty-eight languages, including The Theory of Revolution in the Young Marx and Fire Alarm: Reading Walter Benjamin's "On the Concept of History." He has been a member of the Surrealist Movement since the 1970s. Born in Brazil, he now lives in Paris.

Table of Contents

• Introduction: Surrealism and Romantic Anticapitalism (Don LaCoss)
• 1. Breaking Out of the Steel Cage!
• 2. Morning Star: The New Myth from Romanticism to Surrealism
• 3. The Libertarian Marxism of André Breton
• 4. Incandescent Flame: Surrealism as a Romantic Revolutionary Movement
• 5. The Revolution and the Intellectuals: Pierre Naville’s Revolutionary Pessimism and Surrealism
• 6. Claude Cahun: The Extreme Point of the Needle
• 7. Vincent Bounoure: A Sword Planted in the Snow
• 8. Ody Saban: A Spring Ritual
• 9. Consumed by Night's Fire: The Dark Romanticism of Guy Debord
• 10. International Surrealism Since 1969
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index