Lieven Gevaert Series 5Surrealism's French manifestations are best known, but Belgium also had a complex history of Surrealist activity in the early twentieth century, one as radical and visionary as that in France. A number of groups affiliated with the movement met formed, split up, and reformed; it is almost impossible to summarize them. The essays in Collective Inventions offer glimpses into Belgian surrealism that range from explorations of specific historical turning points and comparisons with other versions of Surrealism to detailed portraits of individual artists and the meanings of their work. The authors use contemporary theoretical and critical models to explore artistic production in a variety of media, including painting and photography, film and fashion, postcards and Perspex.

Author Biography

Hilde Van Gelder is professor of modern and contemporary art history at the KU Leuven and co-director of the Lieven Gevaert Research Centre for Photography, Art and Visual Culture.