DYN (derived from the Greek word tó dynaton, that which is possible) was a journal founded by the Austrian-Mexican Surrealist Wolfgang Paalen, published in Mexico City, and distributed in New York, Paris and London from 1942 through 1944. Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early-1920s and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members Mexico City (in Spanish: Ciudad de México, México DF, México or simply Méjico) is the Capital city of Mexico New York ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. Year 1942 ( MCMXLII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1944 ( MCMXLIV) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.
Only six issues of DYN were ever produced. The Number 4-5 was a double issue dedicated to Indian and Pre-columbian Art of the Americas, in which also Paalens great essay Totem Art appears as an attempt to shake Sigmund Freud’s entire construct of totemism, horror of incest and father-murder. For indigenous peoples in the United States other than Hawaii and Alaska see also Native Americans in the United States. It provided an outlet mainly for the young American artists, trying to find new contents for abstraction and the overcome of Surrealism during World War II. Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early-1920s and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including
DYN started as the direct product of Wolfgang Paalen, who dominated its contents as editor and contributed its major topics in together seven large essays and numerous smaller reviews and articles. DYN's editorial board later enlisted a number of associated thinkers and artists, including Miguel Covarrubias, César Moro, Henry Miller, Anaïs Nin, Jacqueline Johnson, Gordon Onslow Ford and Robert Motherwell. José Miguel Covarrubias ( November 22, 1904 Mexico City — February 4, 1957) was a Mexican painter and caricaturist, César Moro ( August 19, 1903 – January 10, 1956) is the Pseudonym of Alfredo Quíspez Asín a Peruvian born Poet Henry Valentine Miller (December 26 1891 &ndash June 7 1980 was an American writer and painter. Anaïs Nin ana'iːs nin (born Angela Anaïs Juana Antolina Rosa Edelmira Nin y Culmell) ( February 21 1903 - January 14 1977) was Gordon Onslow Ford ( December 26, 1912 &ndash November 9, 2003) was the last surviving member of the 1930s Paris surrealist group surrounding Robert Motherwell ( January 24, 1915 – July 16, 1991) was an American abstract expressionist painter and Each edition covered various subjects and themes, such as poetry, plastic arts, anthropology, science, (and) philosophy, and was lavishly illustrated by a wide range of artists, including Manuel Alvarez-Bravo, Alice Rahon, William Baziotes, Robert Motherwell, Roberto Matta, Jackson Pollock, Harry Holtzman and Henry Moore. Plastic arts are those Visual arts that involve the use of Materials that can be moulded or modulated in some way often in three dimensions Anthropology (/ˌænθɹəˈpɒlədʒi/ from Greek grc ἄνθρωπος anthrōpos, "human" -λογία -logia) is the study of Science (from the Latin scientia, meaning " Knowledge " or "knowing" is the effort to discover, and increase human understanding Philosophy is the study of general problems concerning matters such as existence knowledge truth beauty justice validity mind and language William Baziotes (1912&ndash1963 was an American painter influenced by Surrealism and was a contributor to Abstract Expressionism. Robert Motherwell ( January 24, 1915 – July 16, 1991) was an American abstract expressionist painter and Roberto Antonio Sebastián Matta Echaurren ( November 11, 1911 – November 23, 2002) usually known as Matta, was one of Paul Jackson Pollock (January 28 1912 &ndash August 11 1956 was an influential American painter and a major force in the abstract expressionist movement Harry Holtzman (1912-1987 was an American Artist and founding member of the American Abstract Artists group Henry Spencer Moore OM CH FBA (30 July 1898 – 31 August 1986 was an English artist and sculptor.
The journal was highly elaborate and cultured for the poor means, Paalen disposed of in Mexico during the War years, and created significant reactions especially in the New York art world as well as in academic circles of the time.
In the first number Paalen emphasized his will to rediscuss some of the fundamentals in surrealist theory and publicly announces to his friend Breton his farewell to surrealism. In the second issue he scandalises his former advocate again by publishing a survey on Dialectical Materialism and an article with the provocative title The dialectical Gospel. Dialectical materialism, according to many followers of Karl Marx 's thinking is the philosophical basis of Marxism. The survey consists of a set of three questions sent to two dozen outstanding scholars and writers, and the statements of those who have answered. In a provocative and straightforward way Paalen enquires after the academic validity of the philosophy of Marx and Engels, about the outcome of this science and the universal applicability of its logical laws. Friedrich Engels (28 November 1820 – 5 August 1895 was a German social scientist and philosopher, who Half of the addressees send a reply, amongst them Albert Einstein, Clement Greenberg, Pierre Mabille and the English Philosopher Bertrand Russel. Albert Einstein ( German: ˈalbɐt ˈaɪ̯nʃtaɪ̯n; English: ˈælbɝt ˈaɪnstaɪn (14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955 was a German -born theoretical Clement Greenberg ( January 16, 1909 - May 7, 1994) was an influential American Bertrand Arthur William Russell 3rd Earl Russell, OM, FRS (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970 was a British Philosopher, Historian The majority answers all questions with a decided if sometimes tentatively regretful No. Far from the events in Oxford, only Bertrand Russel dares to express straightforwardly what everyone may be thinking: „I think the metaphysics of both Hegel and Marx plain nonsense - Marx's claim to be „science“ is no more justified than Mary Baker Eddy's. ".
Paalen's main intention of this provocation was to tease the dogmatic attitudes implicit in surrealist theory, to complete Surrealism from an outer distance without founding a new -ism for the arts, but grounding them in a metaplastic (instead of metaphysical) concept of possibilities, which he called prefigurative. Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early-1920s and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members Breton, however, reacted as deeply offended, and in the preface of his own art magazine VVV (journal) it is categorically argued: "We reject the lie of an open surrealism, in which anything is possible". VVV was a journal devoted to the dissemination of Surrealism, published in New York City from 1942 through 1944. The positive impact on New York's younger painter generation and their first publications, such as Possibilities (ed. by Motherwell and Rosenblum in 1947) was crucial.
Robert Motherwell translated Paalen's programatical essay Image Nouvelle into English (The New Image) and published a collection of essays from DYN as the first number of Problems of Contemporary Art in 1945 (New York Wittenborn). Robert Motherwell ( January 24, 1915 – July 16, 1991) was an American abstract expressionist painter and Wittenborn is a municipality in the district of Segeberg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Motherwells Collage Surprise and Inspiration (Peggy Guggenheim Collection) was named after Paalen's essay with the same title. The Peggy Guggenheim Collection is a small Museum on the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy. Motherwell had translated this article for DYN as well and the collage was published next to it for the first time.
reprint of DYN
- Kloyber, Christian, ed. Wolfgang Paalen’s DYN: The Complete Reprint (Vienna and New York: Springer, 2000)
See also
- VVV (journal), a surrealist review created by David Hare and Andre Breton, published from 1942 to 1944
- Acéphale, a surrealist review created by Georges Bataille, published from 1936 to 1939
- Documents, a surrealist journal edited by Georges Bataille from 1929 to 1930
- Minotaure, a primarily surrealist-oriented publication founded by Albert Skira, published in Paris from 1933 to 1939
- La Révolution surréaliste, a seminal Surrealist publication founded by André Breton, published in Paris from 1924 to 1929
- View, an American art magazine, primarily covering avant-garde and surrealist art, published from 1940 to 1947
External links
- Paalen Archiv Berlin [1]