Artlog

After exhibiting his Surrealist art at New York’s Julien Levy Gallery in 1934, Dal√ɬ≠ concluded that his audacious brand of hyperrealistic paintings would inevitably be welcomed by the Hollywood community√¢‚Ǩ‚Äùthe manufacturers of “hallucinatory celluloid.” In an exuberant message to Andr√ɬ© Breton, he declared, “I’m in Hollywood where I’ve made contact with the three American Surrealists, Harpo Marx, [Walt] Disney, and Cecil B. DeMille. I believe I’ve intoxicated them suitably and hope that the possibilities for Surrealism here will become a reality.” This exhibition comprises a selection of notable films by Disney, DeMille, and the Marx Brothers that demonstrate a Surrealist sensibility.

Dal√ɬ≠ had been introduced to Harpo Marx in Paris in 1936, and he was convinced that the mute, curly-haired performer was a kinsman in the Surrealist movement√¢‚Ǩ‚ÄùHarpo’s silence was considered by Dal√ɬ≠ to be an anarchistic form of rebellion against modern society. In Disney, Dal√ɬ≠ envisioned an avuncular ally who rendered childlike imagination into popular culture and was creating a worldwide brand. Finally, and perhaps most curiously, the inclusion of DeMille signals Dal√ɬ≠’s own preference for epic historical and religious motifs that teeter on the line between daring modernity and drippy kitsch.