Surrealism and Science Fiction

As one who has an abiding interest in both science fiction and Surrealism, I was remiss for not calling these two titles to the attention of SFS readers when they first appeared last year.To put them into context, it is useful to recall David Ketterer's observation in 1976, in his SFS article "Science Fiction and Allied Literature," where he says that he found it "rather surprising that the considerable affinity which exists between Surrealism and SF has not attracted more attention" (71).Two decades later, Roger Bozzetto and I published another article in SFS on "The Surrealistic Science Fiction of Serge Brussolo," where we too remarked that "[t]o our knowledge, there currently exists no indepth study of sf and Surrealism" (438).Gavin Parkinson's two new books on the subject go a long way toward helping to fill this particular scholarly void.Despite the similarity of their subject matter, however, these two volumes could not be more different in terms of their scope, organization, publication format, and cost.Futures of Surrealism: Myth, Science Fiction and Fantastic Art in France 1936-1969 is a slightly oversized (8"x10") monograph that is beautifully illustrated in color as well as black and white; it resembles an expensive coffee-table book and fully warrants its $75 price.As the book's subtitle indicates, it focuses exclusively on the evolution of the Surrealist movement in France during the pre-and especially post-WWII period.As Yale UP's press release elaborates further: "This important book offers the first detailed account in English of the trajectory of the French Surrealists in the 1950s and 1960s, giving particular emphasis to the significance of myth for the group in its reception of science fiction and its engagement with fantastic art."The book is printed in China, and its red-and-black dust jacket reproduces the powerful 1965 Surrealist painting War by Konrad Klapheck.In contrast, Surrealism, Science Fiction and Comics is a more standardsized (6"x9") critical anthology that offers ten articles by eight different scholars (plus two by Parkinson, who edited the volume), supplemented with many black-and-white illustrations

Art · Art history · Digital Games and Media · History · Utopian, Dystopian, and Speculative Fiction

• The Surrealistic Science Fiction of Serge Brussolo

  Roger Bozzetto, Arthur B Evans•Science Fiction Studies•1997

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