Sophie Howarth, Ian White and Claire Bishop, Discussion 2  The speakers consider how changing Utopian ideologies have motivated artists, architects, designers and filmmakers in Europe and America over the last hundred years. The topics covered include the pioneering first wave of abstract art in the early twentieth century, visions of Utopia in avant-garde film, and post-modern explorations of the concept of Utopia by contemporary artists

Ian White, Cinema, Cinema, Utopia  Ian's talk considers representations of Utopia in classic and experimental cinema asking how these reflect not only the general idea and operating principles of an avant-garde but also how they mimic the way in which the cinema auditorium itself functions. Further Reading Close Up 1927-1933, ed. James Donald, Anne Friedberg, Laura Marcus (Cassell, London 1998) The Great Art of Light and Shadow; Archaeology of the cinema, Laurent Mannoni (University of Exeter Press, Exeter, 2000) A History of Experimental Film and Video, A.L. Rees (British Film Institute, London 1999)

Matthew Gale, Ian Christie, Gill Perry and Dawn Ades, Discussion 2  A video recording a discussion from the Tate Modern Surrealism and Film Study Day conference

Ian Christie, 'The marvellous is popular!' Dalí in the context of Hollywood surrealism  Surrealism started as a revolt against the idea of elite avant-gardism, and even if it eventually became a new avant-garde, its adherents maintained an enthusiasm for popular culture, including mainstream and genre cinema, becoming arbiters in this field. This presentation examines two strands in Hollywood cinema to which Dalí, like other Surrealists, was drawn – the carnivalesque and the erotic-romantic – and will also consider the Freudian morality drama, to which he eventually contributed. Further Reading

Elliott King, Dalí, Fonzie, and what 'Late Dalí and Film' can tell us about Late Dalí and Everything Else  Speaker: Elliott King, a specialist in Dalí's post-war art and cosmogony. His first book, Dalí, Surrealism and Cinema (2007), is published by Kamera Books. Critics have often identified Dalí's 1941 rejection of Surrealism in favour of 'classicism' as the 'tipping point' when his work began to decline. His activity with film offers a compelling challenge to that history.