Welcome to Exquisite Corpse

In 1928, André Breton asked several of his collaborators — members of the Surrealist movement — to assemble a pastiche of found printed images to create…something. They came to call this practice 'le cadavre exquis’ and various constellations of surrealists assembled a number of anthropomorphic figures using this practice.

Nearly a century later, our world is ever more surrealist. Modern life is fractured and absurd — the comical sits cheek and jowl with the horrific; we are simultaneously more connected than ever and lonelier than ever; we have access to literally millions of terabytes of information and yet anyone has the ability to manufacture any whim into Truth if they so desire. So in this cultural environment, what response is left but absurdity? Randomization is the only viable alternative to algorithmic hegemony.

And so, Exquisite Corpse was born as a system for engaging with cultural phenomena (vibes, aesthetics, trends, taste communities, online habits, buying habits, music, fashion, and more and more and more) in a way that responds to the ontology of our day, that falls in line with Breton’s

Là, l’absence de toute rigueur connue lui laisse la perspective de plusieurs vies menées à la fois; il s’enracine dans cette illusion; il ne veut plus connaître que la facilité momentanée, extrême, de toutes choses.

And so we (my own surrealist collaborators and I) respond to and predict and debate the culture.

Want to Participate?

If you want to join Exquisite Corpse, reply to any email or, better yet, leave a comment to extend the automaton we’re making together.