The Bureau of Surrealist Research, also known as the Centrale Surréaliste or Bureau of Surrealist Enquiries, was a Paris-based office in which a loosely affiliated group of
Surrealist
Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to l ...
writers and artists gathered to meet, hold discussions, and conduct interviews in order to "gather all the information possible related to forms that might express the
unconscious activity of the mind." Located at 15 Rue de Grenelle, it opened on 11 October 1924 under the direction of
Antonin Artaud
Antoine Marie Joseph Paul Artaud, better known as Antonin Artaud (; 4 September 1896 – 4 March 1948), was a French writer, poet, dramatist, visual artist, essayist, actor and theatre director. He is widely recognized as a major figure of the E ...
, just four days before the publication of the first ''
Surrealist Manifesto
Four Surrealist Manifestos are known to exist. The first two manifesto
A manifesto is a published declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political party or government. A manifesto usually ...
'' by
André Breton
André Robert Breton (; 19 February 1896 – 28 September 1966) was a French writer and poet, the co-founder, leader, and principal theorist of surrealism. His writings include the first ''Surrealist Manifesto'' (''Manifeste du surréalisme'') o ...
.
Purpose
According to art critic
Sarane Alexandrian
Sarane Alexandrian (15 June 1927, Baghdad – 11 September 2009, Ivry-sur-Seine) was a French philosopher, essayist, and art critic.
Early life
Alexandrian was born to a French mother and Armenian father, Vartan Alexandrian, a stomatologist ...
, the public at large was invited to bring to the Bureau "accounts of dreams or of
coincidences
A coincidence is a remarkable concurrence of events or circumstances that have no apparent causal connection with one another. The perception of remarkable coincidences may lead to supernatural, occult, or paranormal claims, or it may lead t ...
, ideas on fashion or politics, or inventions, so as to contribute to the 'formation of genuine surrealist archives'." It was intended as a resource, to "unite all those who are interested in expression where thought is freed from any intellectual preoccupations; . . . all those who are closely or remotely concerned with surrealism will find all the information and documentation relative to the
Mouvement surréaliste."
Organization
Gérard Durozoi describes the Bureau in his book, ''History of the Surrealist Movement":
"The bureau was
..organized in such a way that a daily presence was assured by two people, who were responsible for greeting visitors (journalists, writers, onlookers, even students) and for taking note of their suggestions and reactions in a daily "Notebook"; the office would also guarantee a regular amount of daily publicity for the movement (press relations, various mailings), while in another room, on the first floor, other members of the group could meet for discussions, or exchange ideas and projects, or work on their own texts, or help to edit the first issue of ''
La Révolution surréaliste
''La Révolution surréaliste'' (English: ''The Surrealist Revolution'') was a publication by the Surrealists in Paris. Twelve issues were published between 1924 and 1929.
Shortly after releasing the first '' Surrealist Manifesto'', André Bre ...
''."
Significance
One of the more significant contributions of the Bureau was its implicit idea that
Surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to l ...
was not to be contained under the category of the
aesthetic
Aesthetics, or esthetics, is a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of beauty and taste, as well as the philosophy of art (its own area of philosophy that comes out of aesthetics). It examines aesthetic values, often expressed th ...
. An assumption of the Bureau was that Surrealism could be a mode of research, and could produce knowledge on a par with the knowledge produced by scientific researchers. According to Anna Balakian,
[André Breton: Magus of Surrealism, 1971, p.79] Andre Breton's biographer, the Bureau "was supposed to implement the theory that surrealism resembled scientific investigation and promoted experimentation in the field of psychology and linguistics. Unfortunately, although people from various parts of Europe sought out the research center, it also attracted crackpots and became the locus of many belligerent confrontations."
Legacy
A similarly conceived institute in Amsterdam existed bearing the name until at least 1970.
References
External links
''Journal of Aesthetics and Protest''
French surrealist artists
French surrealist writers
Surrealist groups
Antonin Artaud
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