Welcome

It is my pleasure to welcome you to SURREALISMS: the Inaugural Conference of the International Society for the Study of Surrealism. Coined in 1917 by Guillaume Apollinaire and established in 1924 by André Breton, “Surrealism” is today the most widely used term to have emerged from the historical avant-garde. Far more than Cubism, Futurism, and other movements of the period, Surrealism ruptured its initial frame, both spatially and temporally. Surrealism has spanned the globe and reached into the present. What will Surrealism become in the twenty-first century? How will the new generation of scholars reshape our understanding of it? These are some of the questions asked by this conference.

The Bucknell Humanities Center is proud to host this event and appreciative of the officers of the ISSS who have entrusted us with this opportunity. My colleagues and I have organized a wide range of events and we hope you enjoy not only the panels on Friday and Saturday, but also the films, poetry readings, art exhibitions on campus, as well as the exhibition, banquet, and performance at the Milton Art Bank.

Roger Rothman
Professor of Art History
Programming Fellow, Bucknell Humanities Center
Bucknell University