Alfred Jarry
- Introduction
- Alfred Jarry (French: [al.fʁɛd ʒa.ʁi]; 8 September 1873 – 1 November 1907) was a French symbolist writer who is best known for his play Ubu Roi (1896), a pataphysical work which depicts the bourgeoisie as the super-mediocre. He coined the term and philosophical concept of pataphysics, which uses absurd irony to portray symbolic truths (and playfully vice versa).Jarry was born in Laval, Mayenne, France, and his mother was from Brittany. He was associated with the Symbolist movement. His play Ubu Roi is often cited as a forerunner of Dada and the Surrealist and Futurist movements of the 1920s and 1930s. He wrote in a variety of hybrid genres and styles, prefiguring the postmodern, including novels, poems, short plays and opéras bouffes, absurdist essays and speculative journalism. His texts are considered examples of absurdist literature and postmodern philosophy.
- Wikidata
- Q7841
- Introduction
- Author of 'Ubu Roi' and other plays, poetry, novels and essays. He has been claimed as a predecessor of Dada, the Surrealist movement, and the Theatre of the Absurd. He created a number of graphic works to illustrate his writings, and associated with visual artists such as Rousseau and Gauguin. He founded two art magazines, "L'Ymagier," with Remy de Gourmont, and later "Perhinderion." He coined the term "'pataphysics" to describe a "science of imaginary solutions," expressed in verbal games and logic so rigorously applied that it slips into the irrational. He has been admired by a variety of writers and artists, and inspired two formal societies, the Collège de 'pataphysique, and Oulipo.
- Nationality
- French
- Gender
- Male
- Roles
- Artist, Author, Engraver, Writer, Lithographer, Pataphysician, Woodcutter, Playwright, Poet, Graphic Artist, Illustrator, Painter
- Names
- Alfred Jarry, Alfred-Henri Jarry, Alain Jans
- Ulan
- 500199881
Exhibitions
-
The Paris of Toulouse-Lautrec: Prints and Posters
Jul 26, 2014–Mar 22, 2015
MoMA
-
Making Choices
Mar 16–Sep 26, 2000
MoMA
-
Miró’s Black and Red Series: A New Acquisition in Context
Nov 19, 1998–Feb 2, 1999
MoMA
-
Paris—The 1890s
Jun 19–Sep 2, 1997
MoMA
-
Fantastic Prints
Feb 6–May 6, 1997
MoMA
-
Alfred Jarry has
6 exhibitionsonline.
If you would like to reproduce an image of a work of art in MoMA’s collection, or an image of a MoMA publication or archival material (including installation views, checklists, and press releases), please contact Art Resource (publication in North America) or Scala Archives (publication in all other geographic locations).
All requests to license audio or video footage produced by MoMA should be addressed to Scala Archives at [email protected]. Motion picture film stills or motion picture footage from films in MoMA’s Film Collection cannot be licensed by MoMA/Scala. For licensing motion picture film footage it is advised to apply directly to the copyright holders. For access to motion picture film stills please contact the Film Study Center. More information is also available about the film collection and the Circulating Film and Video Library.
If you would like to reproduce text from a MoMA publication or moma.org, please email [email protected]. If you would like to publish text from MoMA’s archival materials, please fill out this permission form and send to [email protected].
This record is a work in progress. If you have additional information or spotted an error, please send feedback to [email protected].