Surrealism's 'found object': The enigmatic Mexico of Artaud and Breton

In: Journal of European studies, Band 43, Heft 1, S. 27-43

Abstract

This article explores the paradoxical relationship of European surrealism to Mexico in the 1930s and 1940s. I argue that while Mexico's historical circumstances in this period created a cultural atmosphere largely hostile to surrealism, its geography, racial mestizaje, and cultural traditions transformed the country into an ideal 'found object' for European surrealists. Rather than revealing itself to be the site of authentic existence sought by the surrealists, however, Mexico acted as a Rorschach image in which the surrealists revealed more about themselves than about the object of their fascination. In order to make sense of this complicated relationship, I examine several provocative texts by Antonin Artaud and André Breton (both of whom spent time in Mexico in the late 1930s) in the context of their reception by Mexican writers, who remained largely resistant to the magnetic pull of surrealism.