Curator-led tour of the exhibition “You Are at the Heart of Change: Surrealism and Anti-Fascism.”

As an artistic and political movement, Surrealism had an international reach and espoused internationalist views. Rooted in art and literature, it had much broader ambitions: to revolutionize society and redefine life itself. “‘Transform the world,’ said Marx; ‘change life,’ said Rimbaud: for us, these two goals are one,” declared André Breton in 1935.
 
From the moment they emerged in the 1920s, the Surrealists grappled with numerous political agendas that ran counter to the ideals of equality and freedom. They condemned European colonial projects, organized against the fascists, fought in the Spanish Civil War, and joined the resistance during World War II—only to be labeled “degenerate” by the Nazis, face internment or persecution, and ultimately flee Europe or perish on the battlefields or in the camps. Their resistance was art itself. Through poetry, painting, photography, collage, and the organization of exhibitions, they sought to expose the flaws in the supposedly rational message of the supposedly rational Western civilization.
 
As fascism gained strength in Europe, as the Nazification of Germany progressed, and as world and colonial wars broke out—the Surrealists did not back down; the protagonists of Surrealism remained radical in their ideological and political choices. At the same time, these upheavals gave rise to extraordinary encounters and truly global solidarity: Prague stood in solidarity with Coyoacán in Mexico; Cairo with the Spanish Republic; Marseille with Fort-de-France in Martinique; Puerto Rico and Paris with Chicago; and London with New York. The Surrealists’ thought and action were characterized by an all-encompassing simultaneity. Consequently, the exhibition unfolds more like a map than a timeline. The aim here is to present Surrealism as an international movement deeply engaged with society and politics—in accordance with how its members perceived it.