Uploaded August 2023 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago

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Today, HENI Talks is presented by Professor Dawn Adès CBE, art historian.


“What are these things, if they no longer have the function that we associate with them?”

From crustaceans on top of telephone receivers, to vision obscuring silk hats, the Surrealists adapted everyday, utilitarian objects as a way to expand the idea of reality.

In this film, Professor Dawn Adès CBE explains the meaning and significance of the Surrealist object by way of 5 extraordinary examples; from key artists associated with the movement: Salvador Dalí, Marcel Duchamp, Artur Cruzeiro Seixas, Eileen Agar, and Joseph Cornell.

🎥 Presented by HENI Talks — films that bring art, design, and architecture to life.

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Produced by HENI Talks
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Music
MIDI Sans Frontières
Graham Bole, 2017
CC BY-ND 4.0

Mystery
The Lovely Moon, 2013
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

Treppe 3
Rod Hamilton, 2014
CC BY-ND 4.0

American Coot
Chad Crouch, 2018
CC BY-ND 4.0
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#HeniTalks #arthistory #surrealism #dali