Journal of Surrealism and the Americas (JSA)
The Journal of Surrealism and the Americas focuses on the subject of modern European and American intellectuals’ obsession with the “New World.” This obsession—the very heart of Surrealism—extended not only to North American sites, but also to Latin America, the Caribbean, and to the numerous indigenous cultures located there. The journal invites essays that examine aspects of the actual and fantasized travel of these European and American intellectuals throughout the Americas, and their creative response to indigenous art and culture, including their anthropological and collecting activities, and their interpretations of the various geographic, political, and cultural landscapes of the Americas. We furthermore intend to investigate the interventions / negotiations / repudiations of European/American or other Surrealisms, by indigenous as well as other artists, writers and filmmakers. Original publication is available at: Journal of Surrealism and the Americas
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- Creators: Rushing III, W. Jackson
The Chippewa modernist George Morrison (1919-2000) was the first Native American artist to be engaged by surrealist principles and strategies, including automatic writing, collage, and the use of found objects. After training at the Art Students League in New York City (1943-‘46) and studying and exhibiting in Paris and the south of France (1952-‘53), Morrison participated in the Abstract Expressionist milieu in Manhattan, where he was befriended by the painter Franz Kline. After more than twenty-five years as a conflicted expatriate, Morrison returned to his Native roots in Minnesota in 1970 and began to use Surrealism and its interest in dreams to forge an identity as an indigenous modernist. Because of his unwavering commitment to a surrealist process that he practiced for almost sixty years, authenticity and integrity are the twin characteristics that unify Morrison’s diverse creations.