Curious Disciplines : Mina Loy and Avant-Garde Artisthood

The transnational modernist Mina Loy (1882–1966) embodied the avant-garde in many literary and artistic media. This book positions her as a theorist of the avant-garde and of what it means to be an artist. Foregrounding Loy’s critical interrogation of Futurist, Dadaist, Surrealist, and “Degenerate” artisthood, and exploring her poetic legacies today, Curious Disciplines reveals Loy’s importance in an entirely novel way. Examining the primary texts produced by those movements themselves—their manifestos, magazines, pamphlets, catalogues, and speeches—Sarah Hayden uses close readings of Loy’s poetry, prose, polemics, and unpublished writings to trace her response to how these movements wrote themselves, collectively, into being. Cover Half-title Page Series Page Title Page Copyright Table of Contents Acknowledgments Abbreviations Introduction Part One. Loy and Futurist Artisthood Chapter One. The Futurist Artist TM Chapter Two. Apprehending the Futurist Chapter Three. Extracting an Artist from Futurism Part Two. Loy and Dadaist Artisthood Chapter Four. Artist-Vectors of the Dada Virus Chapter Five. Dadaist Virginology Chapter Six. Dadaist Play, Parody, and Politics Part Three. Loy and Surrealist Artisthood Chapter Seven. The Surrealist: Revolutionary, Explorer, or Researcher? Chapter Eight. Writing Insel as/and the Surrealist Artist Chapter Nine. Avante-Garde Artisthood in the Era of “Degenerate Art” Chapter Ten. Reconstructing Insel as “Degenerate” Icon Chapter Eleven: “Degenerate” Artisthood in New York Part Five. Loy’s Legacies Chapter Twelve. Susana Gardner Chapter Thirteen. Judith Goldman Chapter Fourteen. Laura Moriarty Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index