Michel Leiris
Encyclopedia
Julien Michel Leiris was a French
surrealist writer and ethnographer.
in 1918 and after a brief attempt at studying chemistry, he developed a strong interest in jazz and poetry. Between 1921 and 1924, Leiris met a number of important figures such as Max Jacob
, Georges Henri Rivière
, Jean Dubuffet
, Robert Desnos
, Georges Bataille
and the artist André Masson
, who soon became his mentor. Through Masson, Leiris became a member of the Surrealist movement, contributed to La Révolution surréaliste
, published Simulacre (1925), and Le Point Cardinal (1927), and wrote a surrealist novel Aurora (1927–28; first published in 1946). In 1926, he married Louise Godon, the stepdaughter of Picasso's
art dealer Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler and traveled to Egypt and Greece.
Following a falling-out with the surrealist leader André Breton
in 1929, Leiris contributed an essay to the anti-Breton pamphlet Un Cadavre
, and joined Bataille’s team as a sub-editor for Documents, to which he also regularly contributed articles such as “Notes on Two Microcosmic Figures of the 14th and 15th Centuries” (1929, issue 1), “In Connection with the ‘Musée des Sorciers'" (1929, issue 2), "Civilisation" (1929, issue 4), “The ‘Caput Mortuum’ or the Alchemist’s Wife” (1930, issue 8), and on artists such as Giacometti, Miró
, Picasso, and the 16th Century painter Antoine Caron
. He also wrote an article on “The Ethnographer’s Eye (concerning the Dakar-Djibouti mission)” before setting off in 1930 as the secretary-archivist in Marcel Griaule's
ambitious ethnographic expedition. From this experience, Leiris published his first important book in 1934, L’Afrique fantôme, combining both an ethnographic study and an autobiographical project, which broke with the traditional ethnographic writing style of Griaule. Upon his return, he started his practice as an ethnographer at the Musée de l'Homme
, a position he kept until 1971.
In 1937, Leiris teamed up with Bataille and Roger Caillois
to found the Collège de sociologie
in response to the current international situation. Increasingly involved in politics, he took part in an important mission to the Ivory Coast in 1945, whose report led to the suppression of slavery in French colonies
. As a member of Jean-Paul Sartre's
editorial committee for Les Temps modernes
, Leiris was involved in a series of political struggles, including the Algerian War, and was one of the first to sign the Déclaration sur le droit à l’insoumission dans la guerre d’Algérie
, the 1960 manifesto supporting the fight against the colonial forces in Algeria.
In 1961, Leiris was made head of research in ethnography at the C.N.R.S. (Centre national de la recherche scientifique
) and published numerous critical texts on artists he admired, including Francis Bacon
, a close friend for whom he had modeled. Considered a leading figure in 20th century French literature, Michel Leiris left a considerable amount of works, as diverse as they are numerous, from autobiographical works such as L’Age d’homme (1939), La Règle du jeu (1948–1976) and his Journal 1922-1989 (published postmortem in 1992); art criticism such as Au verso des images (1980) or Francis Bacon face et profil (1983); music criticism such as Operratiques (1992); and scientific contributions such as La Langue secrète des Dogons de Saga (1948) and Race et civilisation (1951). (His fields of interest in anthropology ranged from bullfighting
to possession in Gondar
, Ethiopia
.)
With Jean Jamin, Leiris founded Gradhiva
, a journal of anthropology in 1986. The journal is now the journal of anthropology and museology of the Musée du quai Branly
(Paris, France).
Leiris was also a talented poet, and poetry was important in his approach to the world. In the preface to *Haut Mal, suivi de Autres Lancers (Gallimard 1969) he is quoted as saying that "the practice of poetry enables us to posit the Other as an equal" and that poetic inspiration is "a very rare thing, a fleeting gift from Heaven, to which the poet needs to be, at the price of an absolute purity, receptive - and to pay with his unhappiness for the benefits derived from this blessing."
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
surrealist writer and ethnographer.
Biography
Michel Leiris obtained his baccalauréat in philosophy at the Lycée Janson de SaillyLycée Janson de Sailly
Lycée Janson de Sailly is a lycée located in the XVIe arrondissement of Paris, France. It is generally considered as one of the most prestigious lycées in Paris...
in 1918 and after a brief attempt at studying chemistry, he developed a strong interest in jazz and poetry. Between 1921 and 1924, Leiris met a number of important figures such as Max Jacob
Max Jacob
Max Jacob was a French poet, painter, writer, and critic.-Life and career:After spending his childhood in Quimper, Brittany, France, he enrolled in the Paris Colonial School, which he left in 1897 for an artistic career...
, Georges Henri Rivière
Georges Henri Rivière
Georges-Henri Rivière was a French museologist, and innovator of modern French ethnographic museology practices.Rivière studied music until 1925, when he began museum studies at the Ecole du Louvre, from which he graduated in 1928. During the following years, he cared for the D...
, Jean Dubuffet
Jean Dubuffet
Jean Philippe Arthur Dubuffet was a French painter and sculptor. His idealistic approach to aesthetics embraced so called "low art" and eschewed traditional standards of beauty in favor of what he believed to be a more authentic and humanistic approach to image-making.-Life and work:Dubuffet was...
, Robert Desnos
Robert Desnos
Robert Desnos , was a French surrealist poet who played a key role in the Surrealist movement of his day.- Biography :...
, Georges Bataille
Georges Bataille
Georges Bataille was a French writer. His multifaceted work is linked to the domains of literature, anthropology, philosophy, economy, sociology and history of art...
and the artist André Masson
André Masson
André-Aimé-René Masson was a French artist.-Biography:Masson was born in Balagny-sur-Thérain, Oise, but was brought up in Belgium. He began his study of art at the age of eleven in Brussels, at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts under the guidance of Constant Montald, and later he studied in Paris...
, who soon became his mentor. Through Masson, Leiris became a member of the Surrealist movement, contributed to La Révolution surréaliste
La Révolution surréaliste
La Révolution surréaliste was a publication by the Surrealists in Paris. Twelve issues were published between 1924 and 1929....
, published Simulacre (1925), and Le Point Cardinal (1927), and wrote a surrealist novel Aurora (1927–28; first published in 1946). In 1926, he married Louise Godon, the stepdaughter of Picasso's
Pablo Picasso
Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso known as Pablo Ruiz Picasso was a Spanish expatriate painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and stage designer, one of the greatest and most influential artists of the...
art dealer Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler and traveled to Egypt and Greece.
Following a falling-out with the surrealist leader André Breton
André Breton
André Breton was a French writer and poet. He is known best as the founder of Surrealism. His writings include the first Surrealist Manifesto of 1924, in which he defined surrealism as "pure psychic automatism"....
in 1929, Leiris contributed an essay to the anti-Breton pamphlet Un Cadavre
Un Cadavre
Un Cadavre was the name of two separate surrealist pamphlets published in France in October of 1924, and January of 1930, respectively.-Pamphlet of October 18th, 1924:...
, and joined Bataille’s team as a sub-editor for Documents, to which he also regularly contributed articles such as “Notes on Two Microcosmic Figures of the 14th and 15th Centuries” (1929, issue 1), “In Connection with the ‘Musée des Sorciers'" (1929, issue 2), "Civilisation" (1929, issue 4), “The ‘Caput Mortuum’ or the Alchemist’s Wife” (1930, issue 8), and on artists such as Giacometti, Miró
Joan Miró
Joan Miró i Ferrà was a Spanish Catalan painter, sculptor, and ceramicist born in Barcelona.Earning international acclaim, his work has been interpreted as Surrealism, a sandbox for the subconscious mind, a re-creation of the childlike, and a manifestation of Catalan pride...
, Picasso, and the 16th Century painter Antoine Caron
Antoine Caron
Antoine Caron was a French master glassmaker, illustrator, Northern Mannerist painter and a product of the School of Fontainebleau.He is one of the few French painters of his time who had a pronounced artistic personality...
. He also wrote an article on “The Ethnographer’s Eye (concerning the Dakar-Djibouti mission)” before setting off in 1930 as the secretary-archivist in Marcel Griaule's
Marcel Griaule
Marcel Griaule was a French anthropologist known for his studies of the Dogon people of West Africa, and for pioneering ethnographic field studies in France....
ambitious ethnographic expedition. From this experience, Leiris published his first important book in 1934, L’Afrique fantôme, combining both an ethnographic study and an autobiographical project, which broke with the traditional ethnographic writing style of Griaule. Upon his return, he started his practice as an ethnographer at the Musée de l'Homme
Musée de l'Homme
The Musée de l'Homme was created in 1937 by Paul Rivet for the 1937 Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne. It is the descendant of the Musée d'Ethnographie du Trocadéro, founded in 1878...
, a position he kept until 1971.
In 1937, Leiris teamed up with Bataille and Roger Caillois
Roger Caillois
Roger Caillois was a French intellectual whose idiosyncratic work brought together literary criticism, sociology, and philosophy by focusing on subjects as diverse as games, play and the sacred...
to found the Collège de sociologie
College of Sociology
The College of Sociology was a loosely-knit group of French intellectuals, named after the informal discussion series that they organized...
in response to the current international situation. Increasingly involved in politics, he took part in an important mission to the Ivory Coast in 1945, whose report led to the suppression of slavery in French colonies
French Colonies
"French Colonies" is the name used by philatelists to refer to the postage stamps issued by France for use in the parts of the French colonial empire that did not have stamps of their own...
. As a member of Jean-Paul Sartre's
Jean-Paul Sartre
Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre was a French existentialist philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary critic. He was one of the leading figures in 20th century French philosophy, particularly Marxism, and was one of the key figures in literary...
editorial committee for Les Temps modernes
Les Temps modernes
The first issue of Les Temps modernes , the most important cultural review of the period after World War II, appeared in October 1945. It was known as the review of Jean-Paul Sartre. It was named for a film by Charlie Chaplin...
, Leiris was involved in a series of political struggles, including the Algerian War, and was one of the first to sign the Déclaration sur le droit à l’insoumission dans la guerre d’Algérie
Manifesto of the 121
The Manifesto of the 121 was an open letter signed by 121 intellectuals and published on 6 September 1960 in the magazine Vérité-Liberté. It called on the French government, then headed by the Gaullist Michel Debré, and public opinion to recognise the Algerian War as a legitimate struggle for...
, the 1960 manifesto supporting the fight against the colonial forces in Algeria.
In 1961, Leiris was made head of research in ethnography at the C.N.R.S. (Centre national de la recherche scientifique
Centre national de la recherche scientifique
The National Center of Scientific Research is the largest governmental research organization in France and the largest fundamental science agency in Europe....
) and published numerous critical texts on artists he admired, including Francis Bacon
Francis Bacon (painter)
Francis Bacon , was an Irish-born British figurative painter known for his bold, austere, graphic and emotionally raw imagery. Bacon's painterly but abstract figures typically appear isolated in glass or steel geometrical cages set against flat, nondescript backgrounds...
, a close friend for whom he had modeled. Considered a leading figure in 20th century French literature, Michel Leiris left a considerable amount of works, as diverse as they are numerous, from autobiographical works such as L’Age d’homme (1939), La Règle du jeu (1948–1976) and his Journal 1922-1989 (published postmortem in 1992); art criticism such as Au verso des images (1980) or Francis Bacon face et profil (1983); music criticism such as Operratiques (1992); and scientific contributions such as La Langue secrète des Dogons de Saga (1948) and Race et civilisation (1951). (His fields of interest in anthropology ranged from bullfighting
Bullfighting
Bullfighting is a traditional spectacle of Spain, Portugal, southern France and some Latin American countries , in which one or more bulls are baited in a bullring for sport and entertainment...
to possession in Gondar
Gondar
Gondar or Gonder is a city in Ethiopia, which was once the old imperial capital and capital of the historic Begemder Province. As a result, the old province of Begemder is sometimes referred to as Gondar...
, Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
.)
With Jean Jamin, Leiris founded Gradhiva
Gradhiva
Gradhiva was an anthropological and museological journal, founded in 1986 by the poet and social scientist Michel Leiris and by the anthropologist Jean Jamin. It was published by the Musée du Quai Branly in Paris....
, a journal of anthropology in 1986. The journal is now the journal of anthropology and museology of the Musée du quai Branly
Musée du quai Branly
thumb|225px|Musée du quai BranlyThe Musée du quai Branly , known in English as the Quai Branly Museum, nicknamed MQB, is a museum in Paris, France that features indigenous art, cultures and civilizations from Africa, Asia, Oceania, and the Americas. The museum is located at 37, quai Branly -...
(Paris, France).
Leiris was also a talented poet, and poetry was important in his approach to the world. In the preface to *Haut Mal, suivi de Autres Lancers (Gallimard 1969) he is quoted as saying that "the practice of poetry enables us to posit the Other as an equal" and that poetic inspiration is "a very rare thing, a fleeting gift from Heaven, to which the poet needs to be, at the price of an absolute purity, receptive - and to pay with his unhappiness for the benefits derived from this blessing."
Works include
- Simulacre (1925)
- Le Point Cardinal (1927)
- Aurora (1927–28)
- L’Âge d’homme (1939)
- Haut Mal (poems) (1943) / reprinted as Haut Mal, suivi de Autres Lancers (1969)
- La Langue secrète des Dogons de Saga (1948)
- Race et civilisation (1951)
- La Possession et ses aspects théatraux chez les Éthiopiens du Gondar (1958)
- Brisées (1966)
- Au verso des images (1980)
- Francis Bacon face et profil (1983)
- Operratiques (1992)
- La Règle du jeu (1948–1976)
- Journal 1922-1989 (published in 1992)