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SaraHartmann
TeSurrealistapproachtophotographyclarifiessomeofSurrealism’smost
importantprecepts.Sincedescriptionbymeansofphotographywasconsidered
tobearbitrary,theSurrealistswouldonmanyoccasionsprivilegeitsuseasanar-
rativetechnique.TisisthecaseofBreton’swellknownbookNadja,from1928.
Tere,photographsweretobereadasphrasesfromthetext,chargedwithimport-
antsignsonthecharacters’route.Notably,thepicturesthatportrayParis—orthe
particularfacetofPariswherethenarrativetakesplace—seemtobereferringmore
totheoutsideofthedepictedrealitythantoanelementofit.
Phrasessuchasthebook’sinaugural:KMypointofdeparturewillbetheHotel
ofGreatMan’15(Breton1964:22),makeallusionstothecontextofthenovel,but
alsotoSurrealismingeneral—thatis,tothesemanticfieldinwhichcategoriessuch
asKthegreat’andKthenew’couldbeonlydubiouslypresented.Tesameoccurredin
relationtothetraditionalsymbolsofforceandsexuality,whichappeareddislocated
fromtheirusualsignificance(ibid.70,99).Suchacontextwasinheritedfromthe
avant-gardescene:therejectionoftraditionalvaluesbecameascenarioinwhichthe
developmentofculturalmovementswasdramatised.
Bypresentinguncommonplaces,thephotographsinNadjaseemtohighlight
whatwasunremarkedorforgotten,castadriftbythemoderncity.Tesubti-
tlescreateametaphoricalatmosphere.Techaractersoftheimagesareplaces
orobjects,oftentracesofpeople,marksleftinthematterofthecity.Atfirst,
thiscreatestheelectofestrangementbetweenmanandthesurroundingenvi-
ronmentbydemonstratingthereality’sabilitytorevealitselfintheabsenceof
humanpresence.TisimageryfeatureregisterswhatBenjamincalledtheKoptical
unconscious’(2008:176),thatis,thememoryofobjects,spacesandmovements
repressedinhumanbeings,butrevealedinphotographs.Additionally,theParis
registeredinNadjawasacityabouttobedeprivedofmanyofitsfeatures.Te
processofurbanisationimplementedbyGeorges-EugèneHaussmannbetween
1853and1870destroyedmanyofitscharacteristicalleys,corners,walkwaysand
smallstreets.Suchphotographs,onthisconcern,showtheformofpovertycreat-
edbyprogress—inthematerialandspiritualsense—thatisindirectopposition
totheFuturist’spraiseofmoderntimes.
Togetherwithitscontemptfortheculturalheritageofadisillusionedera,the
SurrealistidealofanenlargedrealityindirectlyentailedaKlarger’notionofmemory.
Tisnotionwas,inmanyways,coincidentwiththepsychoanalyticapproach,but
bynomeansidenticaltoit.TeSurrealistuseofimagesleftatrackofunsuspicious
reminiscenceswhichpointtoformsofmemoriesthatlieoutsidetheconventionof
theepoch.Tesememorieshad,moreover,socialandpoliticaldimensions,related
totheunorthodoxrevolutionarytendenciesofSurrealism.Accordingtothem,the
possibilityofsocialtransformationwassomehowrevealedbyobjectsandplaces
facingdisappearanceinthecapitalistsociety.
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Jeprendraipourpointdedépartl’hôteldesGrandsHommes...
