''Documents'' was a

Surrealist Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to ...

art magazine An art magazine is a publication whose main topic is art. They can be in print form, online, or both and may be aimed at different audiences, including galleries, buyers, amateur or professional artists and the general public. Art magazines can be ...

edited by Georges Bataille. Published in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

from 1929 through 1930, it ran for 15 issues, each of which contained a wide range of original writing and photographs. ''Documents'' was financed by Georges Wildenstein, an influential Parisian art dealer and sponsor of the Surrealists. Given its title and focus, the magazine initially listed an eleven-member editorial board including Wildenstein himself (with Bataille listed as "general secretary"); however, by the fifth issue, Bataille was the only editorial member to remain on the masthead. Called "a war machine against received ideas" by Bataille, ''Documents'' brought together a wide range of contributors, ranging from dissident surrealists including

Michel Leiris Julien Michel Leiris (; 20 April 1901 in Paris – 30 September 1990 in Saint-Hilaire, Essonne) was a French surrealist writer and ethnographer. Part of the Surrealist group in Paris, Leiris became a key member of the College of Sociology with ...

André Masson André-Aimé-René Masson (4 January 1896 – 28 October 1987) was a French artist. Biography Masson was born in Balagny-sur-Thérain, Oise, but when he was eight his father's work took the family first briefly to Lille and then to Brusse ...

, and

Joan Miró Joan Miró i Ferrà ( , , ; 20 April 1893 – 25 December 1983) was a Catalan painter, sculptor and ceramicist born in Barcelona. A museum dedicated to his work, the Fundació Joan Miró, was established in his native city of Barcelona i ...

, to Bataille's

numismatist A numismatist is a specialist in numismatics ("of coins"; from Late Latin ''numismatis'', genitive of ''numisma''). Numismatists include collectors, specialist dealers, and scholars who use coins and other currency in object-based research. Altho ...

colleagues at the National Library's Cabinet of Coins and Medals. The publication's content was even more wide-ranging, juxtaposing essays on

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

and

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts ...

with a photographic series fetishizing the

big toe Toes are the digits (fingers) of the foot of a tetrapod. Animal species such as cats that walk on their toes are described as being ''digitigrade''. Humans, and other animals that walk on the soles of their feet, are described as being ''planti ...

, an entire issue dedicated to

Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th century, he is kn ...

, and paeans to the "ominous grandeur" of the

slaughterhouse A slaughterhouse, also called abattoir (), is a facility where animals are slaughtered to provide food. Slaughterhouses supply meat, which then becomes the responsibility of a packaging facility. Slaughterhouses that produce meat that is not ...

s photographed by Eli Lotar. A regular section of the magazine called the "Critical Dictionary" offered short essays on such subjects as "Absolute," "Eye," "Factory Chimney," and " Keaton (Buster)." ''Documents'' was a direct challenge to "mainstream" Surrealism as championed by

André Breton André Robert Breton (; 19 February 1896 – 28 September 1966) was a French writer and poet, the co-founder, leader, and principal theorist of surrealism. His writings include the first ''Surrealist Manifesto'' (''Manifeste du surréalisme'') o ...

, who in his ''Second Surrealist Manifesto'' of 1929 derided Bataille as "(professing) to wish only to consider in the world that which is vilest, most discouraging, and most corrupted." The violent juxtapositions of pictures and text in ''Documents'' were intended to provide a darker and more primal alternative to what Bataille viewed as Breton's disingenuous and weak brand of Surrealist art. By presenting explicit, often profane imagery side by side with "intellectual" writing, Bataille used ''Documents'' to propel Surrealism in a direction he felt Breton dared not: toward an overturning of all hierarchies of art and morality, and a complete democracy of form."Surrealism's Dark, Disgusting Side Goes on Display in London"
Martin Gayford, Bloomberg.com, May 12, 2006

References

External links

''Documents'' (magazine)

The 2006 "Undercover Surrealism" exhibit at London's Hayward Gallery, focusing on ''Documents'' (gallery site)

"Keeping It Surreal"
Ned Denny, ''The New Statesman'', May 15, 2006

{{Authority control 1929 establishments in France 1930 disestablishments in France Defunct literary magazines published in France French-language magazines Georges Bataille Magazines established in 1929 Magazines disestablished in 1930 Magazines published in Paris Surrealist magazines

See also

References

External links