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Exquisite Corpse: Surrealism and the Black Dahlia Murder | 
 enlarge | Authors: Mark Nelson, Sarah Hudson Bayliss
Publisher: Bulfinch
Category: Book
List Price: $35.00
Buy New: $3.95
You Save: $31.05 (89%)
New (14) Used (23) from $3.88
Avg. Customer Rating:  13 reviews
Sales Rank: 534478
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 192
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.2
Dimensions (in): 10.1 x 8.4 x 0.9
ISBN: 0821258192
Dewey Decimal Number: 364.15230979494
EAN: 9780821258194
ASIN: 0821258192
Publication Date: September 18, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: New - may have a small remainder mark on the edge.
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Product Description
Bridging the worlds of high art and true crime, Exquisite Corpse presents a unique perspective on the most notorious unsolved murder case of the twentieth century--the bizarre 1947 killing of Elizabeth Short, better known as the Black Dahlia murder. Unlike previous books on the Black Dahlia, Exquisite Corpse provides a detailed and compelling explanation for the unusual nature of this gruesome killing. Exquisite Corpse reveals, through visual comparisons and historical research, what seem to be profound connections between surrealist art and the Black Dahlia caseN-both before and after the murder. The evidence includes startling crime-scene and autopsy photographs of Elizabeth Short, rarely seen photographs by Man Ray, and surprising comparisons with a wide range of surrealist artworks. A Oweb of connectionsO indicates a direct link or one degree of separation between the alleged killer and a host of influential people in the arts and film industry in Los Angeles in the 1930s and 40s. A timeline provides a revealing chronology of events surrounding the murder. Exquisite Corpse is a must-read for anyone interested in true crime, art history, Hollywood noir, and the infamous Black Dahlia case.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 8 more reviews...
 terrifying... May 18, 2008
1 out of 5 found this review helpful
One Day She'll Darken: The Mysterious Beginnings of Fauna Hodel
The authors...did an incredible job...Surrealism and The Black Dahlia Murder...it supports Steve Hodel's work...proving his father killed Elizabeth Short...
 Yeah, well, okay. January 4, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
There's some fairly interesting visual analysis here, but it's all but buried in overstatement and unsupported innuendo. Similarly, one can also see fragments of a fascinating story, though it, like the stronger visual arguments, tends to get lost.
This is not a true-crime book, and anyone who purchases it expecting one will be disappointed. It's a book about the similarities between the Black Dahlia crime scene and works of avant garde and surrealist art that were made both before and after the murder. Some of these suggested commonalities feel like quite a stretch. (Man Ray's reclining nudes are nearly all corpses to the authors; a 1961 William Copely picture of a long-haired female nude, a doctor, and a set of surgical tools is cited as proof that the murder continued to haunt the artist for a decade and a half.) Others, especially those having to do with Marcel Duchamp's late work, are better supported, and genuinely interesting.
With regard to the personal relationships between the book's principals, the arguments are often much weaker. (The authors spend the book's entire first half establishing surrealism as a bloodthirsty aesthetic whose proponents were entralled with violent criminality and the sliced-up forms of women. Then, after claiming Duchamp for the surrealist movement, the authors suggest that his apparent continuing fascination with the Black Dahlia murder would likely have been the result of a "personal connection" with the killing.) They do, however, do a fine and interesting job of documenting involvement between their suspect and Man Ray.
The most compelling parts of the book are the ones that deal directly with their suspect, George Hodel. His life and predilictions recall Anton LaVey in some ways. Hodel's son, Steve, has also written a book about the Black Dahlia killing. That, I'd like to read.
 Strange, Yet Convincing January 15, 2007
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
This unusual book argues that the killer of Elizabeth Short aka the Black Dahlia was a Surrealist who worked on the Hollywood scene. It does provide a surprisingly convincing case that the killer was a member of a particular artistic school that had a particularly strong influence on the movies of the time.
The book is very well illustrated with ghastly photos from the crime scene and is recommended to all true crime buffs.
SURREALIST SIGNATURES November 12, 2006
9 out of 12 found this review helpful
KUDOS TO MARK AND SARAH. As relates to the Nelson/Bayliss EXQUISITE CORPSE: SURREALISM AND THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, I would like to add my heartfelt appreciation and high praise for their outstanding research, dedication and documentation. I believe their independent and academic investigation, adds mountains of evidence to my original lay/foundational thesis that suggested surrealism and its art were the key to the DAHLIA crime signatures. Mark Nelson and Sarah Hudson Bayliss have connected the dots and the people and presented them for all of us to see. They have taken the long silent voices of those who knew (or suspected) and by holding up their works (riddles wrapped in mysteries)--HAVE MADE THEM SPEAK!
Steve Hodel
Los Angeles
Amazing, actually November 10, 2006
8 out of 13 found this review helpful
I was aware of the Black Dahlia murder as one of those notorious, super-mediafied events that was big enough to sorta stay in the public conciousness through the years. It's incredible to me that, after all this time, there is still stuff to discover about the murder. And one might be inclined to say why bother dwelling on it? And, for me, the answer is that this book is about something much more interesting than just the murder: it's about the connection between the murder, the murderer, surrealist art, and some of the major artists of the 20th century. The author's arguments are convincing and the connections they surface are -- to me -- amazing. It says a lot about art and the culture of artists. As an artist myself, I find this particularly interesting.
I read some of the other reviews of this book. I think it'd be best if people who review a book have actually READ the book. Nobody would read this book and give it only 1 star. Even if you don't like the subject, you can't deny that the authors have approached the subject soberly, argue their points well, and that the research/images/writing are good. This is no shrill, sensational supermarket pulp product. It's a good read and an *interesting* read on many levels.
I learned some new things about art, artists, culture and the experience was wrapped in a remarkable bit of art-historian sleuthing about one of the most grisly, notorious murders ever. The fact that one of the most horrific murders in US history was actually part of a dialogue with a major movement in 20th century art is, well, amazing...
I recommend the book. Read it and you'll know what i mean.
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