Tag: Surrealism

BRING ME THE HEAD OF FRANZ JOSEPH HAYDN!

Jason E. Rolfe‘s mesmerizing new chapbook, THE PUPPET-PLAY OF DOCTOR GALL, is a shadowy existential drama — an absurdist murder-mystery set in Vienna in 1820, with a cast of curious characters: Franz Joseph Gall, The Stranger, Ernst Sieber, Tomas Hocheder, Madam Denebecq, and Count Sedlnitzky.

Are they mere puppets whose every move is directed from above by Madam Denebecq, a self-titled mechanikus? Or are they all too human, performing their lives before our very eyes? And who, in the name of heaven, has stolen the head of Franz Joseph Haydn?

We had intended to reveal the answers to these questions but, alas, it’s too late. The lights have dimmed and the audience is holding its collective breath (if breathe they do).

Order your copy before the curtain rises.

No strings attached.

DADA LIVES AGAIN!

On August 17 1911—seven years before Max Ernst took up scissors and paste to create his early Dada  art—WHAT A LIFE! was published in London by Methuen & Co. The authors, Edward Verrall Lucas (humorist & travel writer) and George Morrow ( illustrator and regular contributor to Punch), produced their satirical pictorial autobiography using illustrations cut from the pages of Whiteley’s General Catalogue. This inspired act of vandalism was a precursor to many works of avant-garde collage art and satire.

Long out of print in the U.S., Black Scat is proud to  bring this proto-Dada classic  back to life as #34 in our Absurdist Texts & Documents series.

WHAT A LIFE ! was  exhibited at MoMA’s 1936 “Fantastic Art, Dada, and Surrealism” show.

WHAT A LIFE! seems to have made little impression, either in England or in France, even though it has the remarkable distinction of being illustrated solely by collages drawn from the catalogue of a large department store in London (Whiteley’s), and therefore of being—as much by the images as by the text that they comment on—one of the first manifestations of that spirit we call “modern.” —Raymond Queneau, Bâtons, chiffres et lettres (1950)

What a Life!
E. V. Lucas & George Morrow

Absurdist Texts & Documents – No. 34
Perfect-bound,  illustrated; 134 pages
$12
click here to grab a copy on Amazon

 

Ceci n’est pas Magritte

Move over Mona Lisa, the subject of René Magritte’s classic painting Le fils de l’homme (1964) has been transformed into an iconic  Everyman — forced to confront the forces of contemporary life.

Portuguese artist Paulo Brito reanimates the  mysterious figure in a series of satirical  collages you won’t soon forget.

The future of Dada is here!

SONS OF MAN
by Paulo Brito
with a preface by mercie pedro e silva
Absurdist Texts & Documents No. 33
Illustrated, full color; perfect-bound; $15
$5 digital edition

CLICK HERE TO ORDER

CRIME PAYS! DADA LIVES!

True CrimeNever in the annals of forgery has there NEWbeen a case such as this. Compiled by Karl Waldmann, this illustrated chapbook edition features unpublished transcripts, exhibits, and shocking new evidence. Fact and fiction are forged together in this seminal work of DADA excavation.

Better than Surreality TV!

TRUE CRIME
The People vs. Rrose Sélavy
Absurdist Texts & Documents #32

CLICK HERE TO ORDERFORGED

Rare Classic Back in Print!

“A badass work of concentrated hallucination.”—Nile Southern


PATA2

Just in time for the pataphysical New Year, a faux facsimile edition of Aventures dans la ‘pataphysique, which was originally published in Paris in 1951 by Éditions du Sagittaire.

Released in the U.S. by Black Scat in 2013, the limited edition of  ADVENTURES IN ‘PATAPHYSICS (Absurdist Texts & Documents #13) sold out quickly. We’re pleased to announce a reprint of that rare edition.

Discover the Jarryesque joys, thrills, and perils of science in a bizarre classic of “imaginary solutions.” With French text and illustrations throughout, this anonymous gem happens to be one of the strangest books we’ve ever published (and that’s saying quite a lot).

$15.00   /  $7.50 digital edition
Perfect-bound, illustrated,  64 pp. / Second Printing

‘PATAPHYSICS / SCIENCE  / ART / ABSURDISM / FRENCH LITERATURE

CLICK HERE TO ORDER

A Born-Again Classic Born Again!

2nd-printing

Is it a miracle? You be the judge. It’s definitely a Black Scat Classic Interim Edition, so have a cigar and help us celebrate the rebirth of Opal Louis Nations’ EMBRYO WORLD & OTHERS STRIPPED BARE. This out-of-print bundle of joy is now reborn and available in living color in a spanking new second printing (PLUS a fetid digital edition).

EMBRYO WORLD unveils a future ripe with dark foetal visions—surreal and ferociously  funny—fresh from the fertile Womb of Nations.

arnie2

If you missed this baby the first go round, now’s your chance to rock a collector’s item in your arms.

$14.00 print  /   $7.00 digital edition
Illustrated in full color. Perfect-bound. 52 pp.

SURREALISM / ART / BLACK HUMOR

 CLICK HERE TO ORDER

Word is Out

READERS

Discerning art lovers are talking about Frank Pulaski‘s provocative new book, WOMEN THAT DON’T EXIST. While the young woman in this photograph has chosen to peruse it in public, many will prefer to enjoy it in private.

The artist’s ephemeral, fresco’d goddesses drift just out of reach, taunt and haunt us, inspire desire and erotic obsessions. Indifferent brides and savage debutantes, sirens and succubi, dream queens, and surrealist girls next door. You’ll find them all in this stunning Black Scat Classic Interim Edition—guaranteed to ignite your imagination.

For a limited time only, receive 20% off the list price of $16. Just enter the code word WELCOME at checkout. This offer ends June 24th, so don’t delay.

CLICK HERE TO ORDER

“A Surrealist museum of femmes fatale!”

WOMEN cover

Not since André Breton’s Nadja has there been anything like this. Hallucinatory portraits, collaged, painted, scrawled by a visual poet of Chicago’s mean streets. Ephemeral, fresco’d goddesses drift out of reach, taunt us, haunt us, inspire desire and erotic obsessions. Indifferent brides, savage debutantes, sirens and succubi, erotic dream queens and mythical girls next door.

original-women
The artist’s one-of-kind hand-bound original.

Originally an extraordinary one-of-a-kind, hand-bound artist’s book, WOMEN THAT DON’T EXIST has been lovingly reproduced in sublime full color. 63 pages, perfect-bound in a limited collector’s edition of 100 copies. $16.00  / BLACK SCAT CLASSIC INTERIM EDITION #09

BACK-COVER
Back cover.

Frontis and title page

Frontis and title page

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 Frank Pulaski’s graffiti’d visions seduce the eye and fire the imagination.

CLICK HERE TO ORDER

Have you had your MUD BATH today?

mudstackjpg

“Allan Bealy is a collagist with a profound knowledge of the form’s history, as well as art history—period. With a vision that’s wide-ranging but cohesive, he’s one of those artists who can serve up a banquet of images in seemingly disparate styles, yet you’ll always know who cooked them up. Dig in to this delectable feast for the eyes, but take the time to savor each course.”
—Peter Cherches, author of Lift Your Right Arm

“At last, an album of Bealy’s edgy, layered, elegant collages. Incisive in both senses.”—Michael Kasper

SOLD OUT