Obscure Objects of Desire: Surrealism, Fetishism, and Politics

Through the analysis of narratives, paintings and objets surréalistes by Breton, Aragon, Dalì, and others, Malt examines how the object emerges as psychologically and historically marked in the surrealist context, functioning as both fetish and fetishized commodity. Responding to recent debates about the role of the uncanny and the representation of the body in surrealist art and literature, Malt's study offers new perspectives on familiar works such as the paintings of Salvador Dalì as well as illuminating relatively neglected ones such as Breton's poèmes-objets.