Une semaine de bonté

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Une semaine de bonté ou Les septs éléments capitaux is the third and final collage novel by the surrealist artist Max Ernst from 1934. He was in the Éditions Jeanne Bucher in a numbered edition of 816 copies, 800 of which are printed on " paper Navarre ," in Paris published. It includes five books with a total of 182 collages. The first collage novel La femme 100 têtes appeared in late 1929 with a preface by André Breton. 1930 followed Rêve d'une petite fille qui voulut entrer au Carmel. The extensive artist's book is regarded as a key work of the artist.

Planning and development

The book Max Ernst had planned as a mute to conceive without accompanying texts - a novel image without words. Already his book A l' interieur de la vue. 8 poèmes visibles of 1931/32 had shown how within individual chapters by compiling similar motives a recognizable separation into sections is possible without text, as would seriously introduce the magic of silent cinema, which then had displaced the talkies, again.

Max Ernst was inspired by the woodcuts of the popular magazines of the late 19th century, as well as by artists such as Max Klinger or Gustave Doré, whose images he used to create absurd, fantastic visions that revolve around jealousy, murder and death. The photos were taken in 1933 during a period of Max Ernst in Vigoleno ( northern Italy). The subjects that interested him, he cut out and put them as collages anew. The choice of the title alludes to the story of creation. The title also refers to the social institution founded in 1927, " The quality of the week ", which should serve to promote charitable purposes. Key elements of the collages go back to the posters of the facility. The five volumes were published from April to December in 1934 with the envelope colors purple, green, red, blue and yellow.

The artist had, according to Werner Spies, author of numerous publications on Max Ernst's work expressed from the leaves speak his premonition of the disaster of Hitler's Germany and what would come to Europe.

Structure

The collage novel Une semaine de bonté divided into seven elements: mud, water, fire, blood, black, and seeing the unknown as well as a recurring mask that makes the weekdays, illustrated, recognizable. An additional separation is given by the five individual books of this edition. Of the first seven notebooks provided the two other works of the planned 184 illustrations have been omitted for lack of success.

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First issue. Sunday. Element: mud. Sample picture: Le lion de Belfort ( The Lion of Belfort ) ( Purple cover)

Second issue. Monday. Element: Water. Image Sample: L' eau ( Water ) (green cover)

Third issue. Tuesday. Element: Fire. Image Example: La cour du Dragon ( The Drachenhof ) ( Red Envelope )

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Fourth issue. Wednesday. Element: the blood. Image Example: Œdipe ( Oedipus ) ( Blue cover)

Fifth issue. Thursday, Friday, Saturday. ( Yellow Envelope ) Thursday. Element: The Black. Image Example 1: Le rire du coq ( The rooster crows ); Image Example 2: L' ile de Paques ( Easter Island )

Fridays. Element: Seeing. Image Sample: L' intérieur de la vue ( The inner face, three Sehgedichte )

Saturday. Element: Unknown. Sample picture: Le clé des chants ( The key of the songs and, thanks to the homonymy, freedom, outbreak )

Interpretation

The often quoted by the Surrealists set " Beautiful as the chance encounter of a sewing machine and an umbrella on a dissecting table " comes from the Songs of Maldoror (1868 /69) of Lautréamont. Max Ernst spoke of the " systematic exploitation of accidental or artificially provoked encounter of two or more essentially foreign realities on an apparently unsuitable in addition level."

In particular, in the history of art the prevailing view that the collage novels are not analyzed and interpreted. At Werner Spies is related to the collage of " mystery " and " hermetic presence," even of " sense of anarchy " is mentioned. Spies holds the works of Max Ernst, consequently also the collage novels, so for " unausdeutbar " and " inexplicable " - in each case within the meaning of uninterpretable.

Exhibitions

The original collages of Une semaine de bonté works were first shown in March 1936 at the Museo de Arte Moderno in Madrid. Only in 2008 /09 was followed by exhibitions at the Albertina in Vienna, then at the Max Ernst Museum in Brühl and the Hamburger Kunsthalle.

The work in popular culture and literature

Many collages of Une Semaine de bonté were used in albums by American rock group The Mars Volta. Also Barefoot In The Head, a collaboration between guitarist Thurston Moore and saxophonists Jim Sauter and Don Dietrich of the group Borbetomagus used a collage of this book.

British writer James Graham Ballard was inspired by the surrealism and particularly by Max Ernst. His title Notes Towards a Mental Breakdown of 1970 was re- released in 1992 with Une semaine de illustrations from bonté.