L'Autogène 1936

Editor: So, here we have Jacques Herold’s "L'Autogène," painted in 1936, rendered in acrylic on canvas. The swirling, vibrant colors are what immediately catch my eye. How do you approach a piece like this? Curator: I look first at the conditions of its making. Herold, as a surrealist, was engaging with specific material practices to unlock the subconscious. Acrylic paint, relatively new then, offered a flatness and intensity perfectly suited for depicting these bizarre, dreamlike figures. Do you see how the materials themselves contribute to the sense of the uncanny? Editor: Yes, the flatness almost makes it feel… manufactured, rather than traditionally painted. Curator: Exactly. And what about the recurring motifs – the geometric shapes, the biomorphic forms? Consider them as products themselves, reflecting the burgeoning industrial era. The "Autogène," suggesting self-generation, could be interpreted as a commentary on mass production and the ability of objects, even art objects, to seemingly reproduce themselves. Editor: That's a really interesting perspective. I was focused on the individual forms and their potential symbolism, like the cat perhaps. Curator: The symbolism is there, absolutely. But where do those symbols come from? From shared cultural understandings, from repeated visual consumption. Even the "unique" surrealist image relies on a system of exchange and production. What does considering this system bring to the work, do you think? Editor: It gives it a critical edge. It's not just about the personal subconscious, but how that subconscious is shaped by a material world. I’ll definitely think more about the socio-economic context of surrealist artwork production from now on! Curator: Precisely. Seeing the artistic process not just as individual inspiration, but as a social engagement.