Dika Seggerman (2013, 10-11) provided the text of “Long Live Degenerate Art “, part of the manifesto written by the Egyptian Surrealist group Art and Freedom (Art et Liberté) in 1938. The purpose of the piece was to state the position on the attack on art, freedom and the creative force which they perceived to be the result of totalitarian regimes, including Nazism in Germany and Fascism in Italy (Dika Seggerman, 2013). They described the existence of a parallel between how the state treated innovated and creative artists and their artwork, and how they governed. While they could not have known the details of the atrocities that would occur at the hands of the Nazis, these artists, writers and poets saw the potential.
It can be confusing that the Egyptian art community was concerned about political issues in faraway Western Europe, however the interconnections and cosmopolitan nature of the groups makes it clear that they may have been Egyptian, but they were invested in the art community of Europe through multiple relationships. This can be seen, for example, in the life of one of the signers of the manifesto, Laurent Salinas. While he was born in Egypt, his mother was French, and his father was Italian (Rogallery.com, 2019). His family was part of an elite cosmopolitan community which included European expatriates (Rogallery.com, 2019). In the late 1930s, the dark force of the Nazi party was readily felt by people with strong connections to France, and there was a large French expatriate community. By the 1950s, however, things had changed in Egypt as well, and foreigners left, or were expelled (Rogallery, 2019). Salinas became a lithographer in Paris because he needed a job. He was able to create lithography with the same passion and insight that had driven his paintings (Rogallery, 2019). He often mentioned a strong belief in the role of art as means of reaching people, and humanizing them (Rogallery, 2019).
- Dika Seggerman, A. (2013). Al-Tatawwur (Evolution): An Enhanced Timeline of Egyptian Surrealism. Dada/Surrealism, 19(1), 4.
- Rogallery.com. (2019). Available from: https://www.rogallery.com/Salinas/Salinas_bio.htm
