Contact: Susan J. Bandes, Kresge Art Museum, (517) 353-9836, bandes@msu.edu; or Kristan Tetens, University Relations, (517) 355-5633, tetenskr@msu.edu
10/23/2003
EAST LANSING, Mich. � The Kresge Art Museum at Michigan State University will present �Surrealist Drawings from the Drukier Collection� Nov. 1 through Dec. 19.
The exhibition will include works by Salvador Dali, Marcel Duchamp, Andre Breton, Jean Arp, Rene Magritte, Giorgio de Chirico, Max Ernst, Roberto Matta, Yves Tanguy and many others. It will also include postcards, books and several examples of Exquisite Corpse, a favorite surrealist game.
Surrealism was an international intellectual movement that flourished from about 1917 to 1966. In reaction to what they believed to be a crisis in Western culture, artists associated with the movement advocated a wide-reaching set of revised values that penetrated into literature, poetry and the visual arts.
�This exhibition offers an opportunity to see a broad range of work by surrealist artists and a glimpse into their minds and imaginary realms,� says Susan J. Bandes, director of KresgeArt Museum. �These works on paper are particularly fascinating since drawing was at the heart of the activity of the surrealists. They reveal a fuller picture of the spontaneity and experimentation of the surrealists, which is further developed in their paintings, which are seen more often in public collections.
�The museum�s own painting, �Remorse� or �Sphinx Embedded in the Sand� by Salvador Dali, is a favorite of our visitors and through this traveling exhibition can be understood in the context of the surrealist movement.�
An opening reception for the exhibition will be held from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 6.A lecture, �Marcel Duchamp and the Door that is Neither/Both Open/Closed,� by Phylis Floyd, associate professor in MSU�s Department of Art and Art History, will begin at 7 p.m.
A number of public programs have been planned in conjunction with the exhibition, including a night of surrealist films, a �Surrealist Evening� with tours and live music, and a night of surrealist poetry. For event details and a preview of the exhibition, visit www.artmuseum.msu.edu
The Drukier Collection is one of the most extensive private holdings of surrealist works on paper in the world. The exhibition and catalogue were produced by the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art at Cornell University. The exhibition�s visit to Kresge Art Museum is made possible by support of the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Kresge Art Museum is located on the MSU campus in East Lansing. The museum is open Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursday until 8 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday noon to 5 p.m. Admission is free. For more information, visit www.artmuseum.msu.edu or call (517) 355-7631.
[NOTE TO MEDIA: Images of several of the works to be exhibited are available electronically. For more information contact Julie Thomson, KresgeArt Museum, (517) 353-9836.]