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The Bizarre Connection Between Surrealist Art and the Black Dahlia Murder
Many of Man Ray’s artworks reflect the crime which may have been committed by his close friend, George Hodel
In 1947, aspiring actress Elizabeth Short disappeared. Once beautiful and young, her body was found days later, dismembered and mutilated like no other murder in American History. Short’s black hair and dark fashion sense landed her the title “The Black Dahlia,” and decades later, the nickname is still uttered more than her actual name.
Surrealism is an art movement that began after dadaism in the 1920s, spearheaded by artists Salvator Dali, Man Ray, René Magritte, and Max Ernst. Surrealist writing rose to popularity, too, including the work of André Breton, Albert Camus, and Franz Kafka. Kafka’s Metamorphosis is a prime example of a surrealist narrative. A man wakes up for work one day and discovers that he has transformed into a human-sized cockroach. The story is nonsensical but full of potential interpretation and symbolism. Influenced by Sigmund Freud’s theories on unconsciousness, Surrealism explores the world of dreams. When it comes to the work of doctor and socialite George Hodel, it explores the world of nightmares.
