
Prehistoric Future
Max Ernst and the Return of Painting between the Wars
Ralph Ubl(Author)
University of Chicago Press
Will be published approx. on 6. November 2013
Book
Hardback
260 pages
978-0-226-82372-0 (ISBN)
Description
One of the most admired artists of the twentieth century, Max Ernst was a proponent of Dada and founder of surrealism, known for his strange, evocative paintings and drawings. In Prehistoric Future, Ralph Ubl approaches Ernst like no one else has, using theories of the unconscious-surrealist automatism, Freudian psychoanalysis, the concept of history as trauma - to examine how Ernst's construction of collage departs from other modern artists. Ubl shows that while Picasso, Braque, and Man Ray used scissors and glue to create collages, Ernst employed techniques he himself had forged-rubbing and scraping to bring images forth onto a sheet of paper or canvas to simulate how a screen image or memory comes into the mind's view. In addition, Ernst scoured the past for obsolete scientific illustrations and odd advertisements to illustrate the rapidity with which time passes and to simulate the apprehension generated when rapid flows of knowledge turn living culture into artifact. Ultimately, Ubl reveals, Ernst was interested in the construction and phenomenology of both collective and individual modern history and memory.
Shedding new light on Ernst's working methods and the reasons that his pieces continue to imprint themselves in viewers' memories, Prehistoric Future is an innovative work of critical writing on a key figure of surrealism.
Shedding new light on Ernst's working methods and the reasons that his pieces continue to imprint themselves in viewers' memories, Prehistoric Future is an innovative work of critical writing on a key figure of surrealism.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Chicago
United States
Publishing group
The University of Chicago Press
Dimensions
Height: 23 mm
Width: 19 mm
Thickness: 2 mm
Weight
907 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-226-82372-0 (9780226823720)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
11/2013
1st Edition
University of Chicago Press
€58.39
Available for download
Persons
Ralph Ubl is professor of art history at the University of Basel in Switzerland. Elizabeth Tucker translates German with a specialization in the history and theory of art and architecture. Her recent books include Las Vegas in the Rearview Mirror and Cindy Sherman: The Early Works, 1975-1977: Catalogue Raisonne.