Nude; Cadavre Exquis (French) with Yves Tanguy (American, born France. 1900–1955), Joan Miró (Spanish, 1893–1983), Max Morise (French, 1900–1973) and Man Ray (American, 1890–1976). 1926-1927. Composite drawing of ink, pencil, and colored pencil on paper. Museum of Modern Art, New York.
I remember as a child playing this game - "Exquisite Corpse." We would fold paper, each drawing a section of a figure without seeing the previous drawing. When we were done, we would unfold the paper, revealing the creature we had made. In the hands of the Surrealists in the 1920s and 1930s,* this game became a vehicle for chance, a mode of encounter, both for the disparate parts of the drawing and for the individual imaginations of the participating artists (and look at that collection of star power!).
What continues to attract me to these drawings, as a scholar and as an artist, is the ways in which collaboration and process intersect, creating a composite result that is also completely unique. There's an element of communication and dialogue, yet also of concealment, and most importantly, whimsy and play.
Figure; Cadavre Exquis (French) with André Breton (French, 1896–1966), Jacques Hérold (Romanian, 1910–1991), Yves Tanguy (American, born France. 1900–1955) and Victor Brauner (Romanian, 1903–1966). 1934. Pencil on paper. Museum of Modern Art, New York.
The idea of surrendering to the process as a kind of automatic happening is certainly very Modernist, but I love that these drawings still seem so fresh and polyvocal, like documents of a conversation or interaction as much as they stand as experimental or poetic gestures.
*This time period is increasingly holding my interest as I enjoy the opportunity to look, read and think at my leisure...
