The Non-Dada (1922)

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The Surrealists appear to have lost their power to shock the Scottish press. Reviews of the ongoing retrospective at the Edinburgh Dean Gallery have wavered between bewilderment and boredom, with a few dutiful explanations of how the Dalis, Magrittes and Duchamps on display fit into modern art history.

Perhaps the trappings of the surreal -- the melting watches, headless hats and especially the museum-grade toiletries -- have simply become more retinal art for art patrons to ponder. But on the other hand, the inner depths of these paintings and assemblies may not yet have been plumpbed -- for example, one review refers to Duchamp's "feminine-facing sculptures." Is this a nervous reference to the Fig Leaf and the Chastity Wedge?