Prelude

Late in the summer of 1924 a small book was published in Paris. Although it garnered little attention at the time, this Manifesto of Surrealism heralded the existence of an avant-garde movement that would prove to be one of the most influential of the twentieth century.

A tiny movement of dissident writers at the time, Surrealism would grow quickly and expansively into an international force to be reckoned with, counting painters, sculptors, photographers, filmmakers and performers as well as writers and poets among its ranks. In 1924, however, hardly anyone had heard of Surrealism outside of a small group of fledgling surrealists themselves and André Breton (1896-1966), the Manifesto's author, could only have dreamt of the way the adjective ‘surreal’ would pass into everyday speech today. Possibly that would have been a nightmare ‒ for all that he intended Surrealism to be a revolution liberating mankind, and womankind too, it was emphatically not meant for all and sundry. Even though Surrealism celebrated elements of pop and mass culture, it was always positioned in the vanguard of society. Indeed, in his Second Manifesto of 1929, Breton insisted that ‘the approval of the public must be avoided like the plague.’ After describing further concerns about Surrealism's openness, he made it clear that access to Surrealism should be limited: ‘I call for the profound, the veritable occultation of Surrealism.’ While ‘occultation’ can refer to concealing or hiding something, it may also be interpreted as indicating an alliance with the occult or engaging occultism. This book is concerned with the nature of Surrealism's ‘occultation’ in that sense: the presence of occultism in Surrealism.