Exquisite Corpse: Surrealism and the Black Dahlia Murder

by Sarah Hudson Bayliss and Mark Nelson

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...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0821258192
• ISBN13: 9780821258194
• Release Date: September 2006
• Publisher: Bulfinch Press
• Length: 191 Pages
• Weight: 2.27 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 8.4" x 10.4"

Customer Reviews

Very Interesting!

I am not a true crime buff, however this was a fascinating presentation of art and life intersecting. Recommend reading "Black Dahlia Avenger" by Steve Hodel prior to reading this book.

Surrealism and the crime scene might be the answer.

I have read the other book called, "Black Dahlia Avenger," and then read this book. This book is big and slightly heavy. It has lots of pictures of surreal arts including the Black Dahlia. After reading this book, I come to concluded that Dr. Hodel might be the killer of the Black Dahlia. Man Ray's work and others like him look similar to way of her body was arranged on the ground. It is eerie similar to the surrealism arts. It made my hair stand up on the back a little bit. If you are a Black Dahlia fan, then this is a book to read.

SURREALIST SIGNATURES

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

Curious and curiouser

A great read. The authors present a totally riveting, shocking, and fascinating theory that directly addresses the strange nature of Elizabeth Short's death. It's sort of a hybrid book -- thriller meets art history meets LA from the 1940s -- but somehow it holds together. George Hodel is at the center of it all, as evil and fascinating a figure as they come. If you read Steve Hodel's book Black Dahlia Avenger, you'll definitely want to read this too.

A fascinating story

Wow. This is a great book for anyone who's interested in 20th-century art, especially in how it can inform real-world events. The interplay among artists, their work, and the people and culture around them makes for a fascinating story, even without the proposed revelations about this particular murder. Before reading the book I thought it might be only for those who already had an interest in the Black Dahlia murder, but it turns out to be a much richer experience than that. It also vividly captures a certain milieu of mid-century Los Angeles, which usually gets lost in the larger story of Hollywood's development. I recommend this book for even casual readers of art books, because even though it's scholarly in its research, it's also simply a great read.