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From Dada and Surrealism to Psychedelia

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King Kong 1933 3-sheet poster | Novelisation | Promotional material | Martin Sharp SEX! poster 1967   SEX!, Surrealism, Sharp psychedelia and the confrontational continuum Abstract : Australian artist Martin Sharp produced a suite of psychedelic posters whilst resident in London during 1966-8. Two of these – Max “the Birdman” Ernst  and SEX! – reflect an in-depth knowledge of Dada and Surrealism, with special reference to Max Ernst, alchemy and the themes of anarchy, desire and freedom of expression. The posters are meaningfully confrontational, exposing the darker side of the Sixties sexual revolution. Their central motifs comprise a sado-masochistic image from Ernst’s 1934 collage novel Une Semaine de Bonté, and a photograph of King Kong abducting a semi-naked native woman. As a counter to the depictions of barbarity and sexual depravity contained therein, Sharp's July 1967 poster Plant a Flower Child, produced around the same time, reflects male