by Zaha Redman
Unica Zürn (1916-1970), Untitled, Paris, 1957, oil on paper mounted on wood, 40.9 x 30.8 cm (16.10 x 12.12 in). Courtesy Ubu Gallery, New York
Surrealism is often reduced to a caricature of quarrels, theories and sex. Portrayed as doctrinaire and misogynistic, its many avatars have been erased, its subversive nature occluded. Its founders were at first acclaimed for their openness, then condemned for bad behavior. Seen through a feminist lens, the movement’s image became tarnished. But the women who took part in it—photographers, visual artists, poets and novelists—paint a more nuanced picture. Although some of them were married to or lived with its most famous players—Man Ray , Max Ernst , Yves Tanguy and André Breton —they rarely conformed to the feminine ideal espoused by Breton and his circle. Read more
