James Birch first came across the postcards when he was a student
in Aix-en-Provence. A froth of smiling babies boiling away in a
cauldronA" caught his eye and he bought a small number of cards. He
didn't really pay much attention to the cards again until years
later in the 1980s when he visited the Pompidou Centre for an
exhibition on Surrealism. There in one of the vitrines was a
collection of fantasy baby postcards shown for their inspirational
importance to both the Dadaists and the Surrealists. He became
hooked and started collecting. Despite the immensely varied subject
matter of the postcards little is known of their history. They were
produced from around 1900-1920 and were found from Russia, to Spain
to Great Britain and most countries in between, however the
majority appear to be from Germany. The postcards were a source of
inspiration to many artists in the 1920s and 30s, in particular to
both the Dadaists and the Surrealists. They were collected by Paul
Eluard, Andre Breton, Salvador Dali, Hannah Hoch, Herbert Bayer,
and Man Ray. The popular images excited inspiration in these
artists because of their boundless inventiveness. The foreword is
by George Melly, who was an acknowledged expert in the field of
surrealism. Best known as a jazz and blues singer, writer and
broadcaster, George Melly was also an art critic and a devotee of
the Surrealists. This is one of the last pieces he wrote before his
death in 2007 at the age of 80.
General
Imprint: |
Dewi Lewis Publishing
|
Country of origin: |
United Kingdom |
Release date: |
November 2010 |
First published: |
April 2011 |
Visual artists: |
James Birch
|
Dimensions: |
242 x 176 x 16mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Hardcover
|
Pages: |
120 |
ISBN-13: |
978-1-904587-85-9 |
Categories: |
Books
|
LSN: |
1-904587-85-2 |
Barcode: |
9781904587859 |
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