Paris Congress, 1921

International Congress for the determination of directives and the defense of the modern spirit

Next March, an international congress for the determination of directives and the defense of the modern spirit opens in Paris. All those who attempt, today, in the field of art, science or life, a new and disinterested effort, are invited to take part. It is above all a question of opposing a certain formula of devotion to the past - there is constant question of the necessity of a so-called return to tradition - the expression of a will, which leads to act with the minimum of references.
There is certainly no longer any truth to be found in the arguments that representatives of both tendencies can invoke in their favor. It is, on the other hand, permissible to say that the attitude of the former, relying on a very strict doctrine and posing, we do not know why, as guardians of order, would seriously threaten the freedom of the latter, delivered by definition to hazardous and frequently contradictory enterprises, if the latter were not constantly renewed or if they were not renewed. Some will therefore benefit from being informed of our project. We ask others to put aside their particular ambition and to send us their support.
The members of the organizing committee, seven in number, profess ideas too diverse for one to suspect them of colluding in order to limit the modern spirit for the benefit of a few; their dissensions are public. The misunderstanding that reigns between them reflects their impartiality within Congress; however, it leaves the minimum amount of agreement essential to avoid paralyzing the attempt.

Georges Auric, composer; André Breton, director of Literature; Robert Delaunay, painter; Fernand Léger, painter; Amédée Ozenfant, director of Esprit Nouveau; Jean Paulhan, secretary of the Nouvelle Revue Française; Roger Vitrac, director of Aventure.

Read the original text published in the NRf from February 1921

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About the congress, we can read the “Paris congress”, Chapter XX of Dada in Paris, by Michel Sanouillet.

The most important collection of documents concerning the “Congress of Paris” is found in a file established by André Breton and acquired by the National Library (NAF 14316): it contains around forty letters, articles and various texts. Excerpts from it were published by Tzara in Les Feuilles libre, bibl. 699, April-May 1922. See the detailed commentary in the Nicaise 1960 catalog (bibl. 753, p. 247-250) and in the Gaffé sale catalog (bibl. 744, n° 73). However, it was important to restore the balance, broken in this case in favor of the Breton thesis, by exploring other collections, such as that of the Tzara collection at the B.L.J.D. which contains documents of considerable interest.