Het opschikken van modellen met allerlei beteekenis. Exposition Internationale du Surrealisme, Galerie Robert Amsterdam 1938 1938

Curator: What we have here is a photograph taken in 1938 by Polygoon at the Exposition Internationale du Surrealisme in Amsterdam. The image is titled "Het opschikken van modellen met allerlei beteekenis," which translates to "Adorning Models with All Kinds of Meaning." Editor: It’s… unsettling, in a way that I find visually gripping. The juxtaposition of the mannequin, dressed in what appears to be a rather elegant, simple black dress, being ornamented with such… strange contraptions. It disrupts any sense of traditional beauty, creating this eerie, uncanny feeling. Curator: The mannequin itself functions as a kind of cultural palimpsest, right? The hat being affixed—almost like an act of crowning or imposition—resembles ritual adornment. We see here the imposition of social codes and the very performativity of identity. Editor: I'm struck by the stark contrast. The smooth, almost cold texture of the mannequin against the rough, raw quality of what seems to be a branch-like structure affixed around its shoulders. Then there is the strange object hanging from the neck... like some form of morbid decoration, it unsettles me, that juxtaposition is deeply surreal. Curator: Surrealism, in its very essence, sought to challenge rational thought, to explore the unconscious. Placing recognizable forms in bizarre, unexpected combinations serves to de-familiarize, creating what Viktor Shklovsky called 'defamiliarization,' aiming to refresh our perception. Editor: Exactly! And technically, the photo is quite accomplished. The use of light and shadow creates depth, highlighting certain details, drawing the eye where, I assume, the photographer intended. The framing contributes too, including the edge of the installation while the backdrop remains indistinct, further intensifying the disquieting nature of this… moment. Curator: It’s fascinating how surrealism utilized objects. There's often an inherent cultural baggage—social signifiers are attached and rearranged to make those assumptions and meanings strange to ourselves, aren’t they? Here we see it visualized so clearly within the culture event context of 1930s Europe. Editor: Reflecting on the photo's visual and material contrast I’m particularly caught by the ambiguity of beauty; the interplay between artifice and reality, the familiar and the bizarre, remains thought-provoking. Curator: Agreed. For me, seeing it through the lens of cultural symbolism, the act of adornment, usually a sign of elevating the wearer, feels loaded with anxieties and perhaps critiques of identity itself.