Community; Dada Max

KUHT-TV (Television station : Houston, Tex.) · August 3, 1993

"'Dada is a virus' begins this theatrical journey into the world of Max Ernst and dada out of the exhibit, MAX ERNST - DADA AND THE DAWN OF SURREALISM. "The piece reflects the qualities of dada, with graphics and music that relate it to our time. World renowned curator, Walter Hopps, is a fascinating storyteller, [relating] Max Ernst's relationships, training in art history, alchemical investigations, and ground breaking artistic innovations with collage and frottage into a personal understanding of the artist. "Hopps, shot in off-beat camera angles, is a candid guide, gossip and raconteur, giving brilliant insights into a selection of otherwise puzzling paintings. The exhibit explores the first fifteen years of the artist's career, from 1912 to 1927, from the explosive and inventive period of dada through to Ernst's outrageous and shocking visual manifesto of surrealism. "The exhibit was initiated by the Menil Collection in Houston, which has acquired the largest collection of works by the artist in this country. Jean and Dominique de Menil began a long friendship with Ernst in France before World War II, when de Menil commissioned Max to paint a portrait of Dominique. It is a charming story told by both Hopps and Paul Winkler, the Director of the Menil Collection, intercutting the two versions together. "Like the art the television piece reports, the story is provocative, entertaining, informative and funny."--1993 Peabody Awards entry form.