Surrealism in Egypt

In the thick of the Second World War, the Cairo-based Surrealist collective Art et Liberte were pioneering new art forms and mounting subversive exhibitions that sent shockwaves across local artistic circles. Born with the publication of their Manifesto Long Live Degenerate Art on December 22nd, 1938, the group rejected the convergence of art and nationalism, aligning themselves with a complex, international and evolving Surrealist movement spanning cities such as Paris, London, Mexico City, New York, Beirut and Tokyo. Art and Liberty created a distinct reworking of Surrealism, which provided a generation of disillusioned Egyptian and non-Egyptian artists and writers, men and women alike, with a platform for cultural reform and anti-Fascist protest. Surrealism in Egypt is the first comprehensive analysis of Art and Liberty's artworks, literature and critical writings on Surrealism. By addressing the group's long-lost and often misconstrued legacy, and drawing on a substantial body of previously unpublished primary documents and more than 200 field interviews, the author charts Art and Liberty's significant contribution towards a new definition of Surrealism.Moving beyond the polarizing dichotomies of Saidian Orientalism, this book rewrites the history of Surrealism itself - advocating for a new definition of the movement that reflects an inclusive vision of art history.

In the thick of the Second World War, the Cairo-based Surrealist collective Art et Liberte were pioneering new art forms and mounting subversive exhibitions that sent shockwaves across local artistic circles. Born with the publication of their Manifesto Long Live Degenerate Art on December 22nd, 1938, the group rejected the convergence of art and nationalism, aligning themselves with a complex, international and evolving Surrealist movement spanning cities such as Paris, London, Mexico City, New York, Beirut and Tokyo. Art and Liberty created a distinct reworking of Surrealism, which provided a generation of disillusioned Egyptian and non-Egyptian artists and writers, men and women alike, with a platform for cultural reform and anti-Fascist protest. Surrealism in Egypt is the first comprehensive analysis of Art and Liberty's artworks, literature and critical writings on Surrealism. By addressing the group's long-lost and often misconstrued legacy, and drawing on a substantial body of previously unpublished primary documents and more than 200 field interviews, the author charts Art and Liberty's significant contribution towards a new definition of Surrealism.Moving beyond the polarizing dichotomies of Saidian Orientalism, this book rewrites the history of Surrealism itself - advocating for a new definition of the movement that reflects an inclusive vision of art history.

IntrofuctionSection I War, Poverty and a Manifesto: In the Backdrop of Art and Liberty I. Chapter 1 In the Thick of War: The Impact of WWII on the Literary and Pictorial Imagery of the Art and Liberty Group (page 51)I. Chapter 2 Poverty is a Social Matter... And an Artistic One Too: The Art and Liberty Group and the Plight of the Working Class (page 115)I. Chapter 3 Fascism at Home: Towards a New Reading of Art and Liberty's Manifesto of December 22, 1938 (page 148)- - -Section II To the Rescue: Art and Liberty and the Reworking of Surrealism from CairoII. Chapter 4 Surrealism at Work in Cairo: Art and Liberty's Subjective Realism, or When "Surrealist" Art Becomes "Free" Art (page 243)II. Chapter 5 Beyond Regionalist Modernisms: Art and Liberty and British Post-Surrealism (page 318)II. Chapter 6 From Theory to Action: The Exhibition Practices, Performances and Surrealist Events of the Art and Liberty Group By Way of ConclusionArt and Liberty: A Legacy Interrupted... A Legacy All the Same (Page 404)- - -Appendix 1 Plates of Artworks by the Art and Liberty Group (Dropbox)Appendix 2 Plates of Archival Materials and Primary Documents Related to the Art and Liberty Group (Dropbox)Appendix 3 Transcripts of Select Writings by and about the Art and Liberty Group