Second Surrealist Manifesto

The text was written by Andre Breton and published in France in 1929. Breton was the principal founder of the Surrealist movement and used this text to formally redefine its boundaries. The manifesto was initially published in the magazine Le Surréalisme au service de la révolution.

Published in 1929, the manifesto was designed to redefine Surrealism by enforcing stricter political and artistic commitments among its members. Breton used it to purge members he deemed insufficiently devoted to the movement's radical Marxist goals. It demanded that true Surrealists align their artistic output with revolutionary politics.

While the 1924 First Manifesto focused on defining the psychic automatism and pure imagination of the movement, the 1929 Second Manifesto demanded strict political allegiance. It shifted the focus from purely artistic exploration to concrete revolutionary action. The second text was much more hostile toward those who did not conform.

Yes, in the text, Breton officially denounced and effectively exiled several prominent members of the movement. Writers and artists like Georges Bataille and Robert Desnos were targeted for straying from the core commitments of Surrealism. This 1929 purge caused a major rift in the French artistic community.