Description
This picture marked an early turning point for Tanning, who was coming into her own as a member of the Surrealist group in New York. Birthday depicts the artist as both a flesh-and-blood individual and a guide to an imaginary realm.
Tanning creates the dreamlike feeling in this painting in ways both obvious and subtle. The disconcerting perspective of the endless hallways is immediately evident, along with the fantastic creature at her feet. However, the deeply tilted floors and her robe comprised of writhing human bodies require a closer examination of the scene.
In his Manifesto of Surrealism of 1924, André Breton celebrated the unbridled imagination as the key to freedom in all aspects of life. Artists responded by inventing a wide variety of new expressive forms designed to stir up the human capacity for wonder and amazement. Dreamworld: Surrealism at 100 will feature approximately two hundred works by more than seventy artists associated with the international Surrealist movement.
The Philadelphia Art Museum will be the only U.S. venue for this traveling exhibition, following distinct iterations at the Centre Pompidou in Paris, which launched this project to celebrate Surrealism’s centenary, and three other European museums. Philadelphia Art Museum highlights will include Joan Miró’s Dog Barking at the Moon (1926), Salvador Dalí’s Soft Construction with Boiled Beans (Premonition of Civil War) (1936), and Dorothea Tanning’s Birthday (1942).
About mishmash
Stationery obsessed, perfectionists at heart.
mishmash was built on a deep passion for everything office. Writing objects have the ability to capture ideas, and that grew into our mission, to inspire you to be adventurous and fulfil your own dreams.
- Museum Exclusive
- A6, 4.1 x 5.8 inches (10.5 x 14.8 cm)
- 96 pages
- Blank pages
- Supports ink, marker, pencil, colored pencil, pen, and crayon
- Natural smooth paper 90g
- Notebook opens 180º degrees and lays flat on your desk so you can have the best possible writing experience
- Exposed Smyth Sewn stitch-finish spine
