Forbiden Games. Surrealist and Modernist Photography

his handsomely illustrated volume is the public debut of the Surrealist photography collection of David Raymond that was recently acquired by the Cleveland Museum of Art. Photography and its many techniques—photograms, montage, collage—played a vital role amongst Surrealist artists who sought to mine the unconscious and unsettle the everyday. Raymond’s collection is distinctive in its breadth and quality and reflects the adventurous spirit of the movement’s founder, André Breton. This book presents 178 vintage prints from the 1920s through the 1940s by artists from 14 countries. Works by notable artists including Brassaï, László Moholy-Nagy, Dora Maar, and Man Ray are joined by rare examples by equally provocative but less well-known photographers. Essays by scholars Tom E. Hinson, Ian Walker, and Lisa Kurzner provide analysis and context, exploring the philosophy behind Raymond’s selections as well as the history, techniques, and symbolism of the photographs.