Surrealism discussion

I would love to create a contemporary surrealist art and literary movement. Imagine, a movement which seeks to rebel against the ultra-rational mindset of our current society.

We could write a new and updated Surrealist Manifesto, inspired by Andre Breton’s work. We could meet in tiny coffee shops and smoky basements. We could play Exquisite Corpse and Time Traveler’s Potlatch. We could change the current artistic and literary climate.

Create
Change
Revolution

A girl can only dream.

It would have to take the piss out of our vapid mass culture -- which is what the original Manifesto suggested. Unfortunately I wouldn't be able to join the meetings in smoky basements, though. I'm more into fresh air. And I don't have much cash to travel. Could we do this thing online?

Unfortunately I don't have very many literary or artistic friends. The few I do have don't seem to be interested in surrealism. They find my enthusiasm over a "dead" artistic movement to be strange.

I don't see why we couldn't form an online community dedicated to drafting up a manifesto and reviving the movement. Perhaps doing so would help spark interest. There's no reason we couldn't form an online group and then later form small in-person groups within our own communities if the opportunity presents itself.

Does anyone have suggestions? Should we create a forum on another website? Maybe a blog? Or we could try to create an online literature/art journal dedicated to surrealist works? The last one might be a lot of work though...

I'm open to suggestions.

I'm not sure if people still do IRC, I remember it was a big thing when I was younger. A facebook group might be the best option. Exquisite Corpse through the mail would be incredibly fun but I'm not sure if most people would be comfortable giving out their home address.

Steven, I just registered at surrealistrevolution. The discussion topics are very interesting. As for online communities, it's very difficult to achieve a critical mass of participants, as I've found with my Abe Kobo Fan Club group here on Goodreads (please join!) and a Regressive Music group I started at Last.fm. But I think building on what is already available (surrealistrevolution or this very group) might be the best way to go. Apparently our shared interest is somewhat obscure, so it takes a lot of work to find people.

It's too bad there's not an "invite friends" function on Goodreads. On the other hand, maybe it's a good thing not to be able to do bulk invites -- perhaps we're more likely to get genuine joiners this way.

I would be into doing some minor surrealist activity. A manifesto might be something to work toward. One concern might be whether we use some of the old surrealist ideas (like free association) or try to work toward concepts of our own, perhaps drawing on web-based techniques. For example, where do surrealists stand in relation to Internet trolling?