Object+by+Claude+Cahun



“as beautiful as the random encounter between an umbrella and a sewing-machine upon a dissecting-table” —Compte de Lautrémont

Claude Cahun’s Object was the first “mystery object” selected by museum educators at the Art Institute of Chicago to begin the experiment of what happens when teachers introduce art into their classroom. It has the perfect “ick” quotient to draw a response from even the most jaded student. Featuring a hairy eyeball sliced by a cloud-like shape and a reference to the French revolution, Object celebrates the fruits of the unshackled intellect. By emphasizing the irrational, Surrealism shows us to what extent our brains are conditioned by a cultural obsession with order and rationality at the expense of other ways of experiencing and meaning-making. Our experiment wasn’t predicated on introducing students to Surrealism and its radical critique of rationality. Such an introduction may have put them off and limited their responses. Instead, each teacher used the “mystery object” in distinct and fresh ways. In posts that follow we share our results.