For example, Julia Pine notes that, “V.v.v., of course, is also the acronym for Julius Caesar’s famous maxim, “Veni, vidi, vici”: “I came, I saw, I conquered,” and perhaps intimates Breton’s own aspirations to “conquer” America for Surrealism” (Pine 15). The starting reference point was Winston Churchill’s famous “V for Victory,” slogan, but it likely had multiple significances. Initiated by Breton with the help of fellow exile Max Ernst, the first issue of VVV was published in New York in June of 1942.ĢThe inspiration for the title of VVV indicates a greater optimism within the surrealist movement during these years. Back in France years later, Breton would state that he considered his work on the journal VVV as an important aspect of an otherwise dark time (Polizzotti 534). He complained to Benjamin Péret that the years in the United States appeared to be shaping up as “a resounding failure,” for the movement, a time of division and scattering with “the wind of dispersal” (Polizzotti 522). 1Exiled in New York during the Second World War from 1941-1946, a demoralized André Breton faced limited resources-both financially and emotionally-for rallying the surrealist group.
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