Customer Reviews

Massurrealism: A Dossier

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I find Massurrealism: A Dossier interesting for a number of reasons. Those of us who have been aware of Massurrealism appreciate this collection of essays - they are insightful and intelligent discussions of the concepts that define this fairly new art movement. The contributions appear in German translation as well, which is an indication that Massurrealism has spread to Europe and is rapidly becoming a worldwide phenomenon.

I appreciated a freshness and directness in the style and tone of most contributions. It is almost as if the reader is listening in on conversations among artists who are actively participating in the massurrealist movement.

Most people who do not have a professional interest in art will be hard pressed to name an art movement in the second half of the 20th century that goes beyong purely esthetic concerns. Massurrealism, on the other hand, deals with some pretty hefty issues that confront the culture as a whole: The avalanche of machanically and digitally produced images that crowd out our own visual inventories; and that many archetypal,universal and even sacred images have been pressed into service for selling products and have been stripped of their original meaning. What are the strategies for artists to regain a sense of creative freedom and the ablity to process and reinterprete the media driven society we all share? The answers are original and surprisingly positive and may very well have a wider significance.

I've been following massurrealism for some time now, and this book is an interesting accumulation of a few essays, combined with informal thoughts and remarks on the subject. What I like about this particular, albeit relatively new art group, is that massurrealists represent that connection between the past art world and the newer one transforming right before our eyes. Most of the excerpts from the dialogs section were thought provoking, and a few were silly, while others were somewhat humorous, including the drink recipe for the Massurrealist Mistress (I suppose art and booze do go together). Regardless if you are an enthusiast of this art genre or not, this is a document that represents how globalization is affecting the contemporary art world today. "Massurrealism: A Dossier" to some extent seems abridged, though I'm certain this is not the final word on the topic. And what is even more intriguing, is that this art genre is showing us what it means to express ourselves in this day and age of constant technological evolution.

I got to look over a copy of this book on a recent visit to Casa del Artista, Cecil Touchon's B&B in Cuernavaca, Mexico. I was reasonably impressed with the various essays especially the one about the massurreality which sets a new tone for thinking about the mass mediated mind world we are creating and living in today. Over all it is hard to say where the art world is headed in the future but one thing is clear from reading this book; it will be a global pop culture community and we all have our part to play in it. It is just a matter of taking in the big picture and accepting the inevitability of being a microscopic fish in a very large ocean. I found myself wanting another couple of hundred pages to mull over, But oh well, I guess we'll have to wait on the next dossier to fill up with enough works for publication.

Just got this book. I had heard about massurrealism before but just bits and pieces. I read this book very carefully because I wanted to get a first-hand impression of the subject. I was facinated, amused and... amazed. There are no illustrations in the book but I got hooked strongly enough to look through the Internet for some visual materials. They were there, of course. So, because of no illustrations, I give this book just 4 stars. Otherwise there would have been five!

Up until now usually I would get put off by the latest esoteric new media art speak. But this was not the case when I read this book for a research paper. Among the most appealing qualities it has, for the most part, a straightforward presentation about massurrealism for a publication that is without visuals. This is achieved I think due to having both a section of essays and a section of conversations and various discussions. With the exception of the poetry, all text is in both English and German, and it reads relatively quickly. Although there exists a lot of parallel thinking among artists today, I am intrigued by massurrealism. I find myself absorbed in all the potentiality that prompts me to re-think my perception of the world visually, physically and even spiritually. It is as if I have been set forth to a more optimistic prospect that has come about in the new media art world. Other treatises and writings I have come across in the past have alienated me somewhat. Now after reading "Massurrealism: A Dossier", I am no longer lost in a world of next generation McLuhan wannabees, and instead I am in a familiar world where things fall in place for me in new means of artistic expression and communication. I feel like the present is transitioning into the future in a way that makes sense.