http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exquisite_corpse
http://www.madsci.org/~lynn/juju/surr/games/ExCad.html
http://beinart.org/artists/the-exquisite-corpse-club/

Exquisite corpse (also known as "exquisite cadaver" or "rotating corpse") is a method by which a collection of words or images are collectively assembled, the result being known as the exquisite corpse or cadavre exquis in French. Each collaborator adds to a composition in sequence, either by following a rule (e.g. "The adjective noun adverb verb the adjective noun") or by being allowed to see the end of what the previous person contributed.

The technique was invented by Surrealists in 1925, and is similar to an old parlour game called Consequences in which players write in turn on a sheet of paper, fold it to conceal part of the writing, and then pass it to the next player for a further contribution.

Later the game was adapted to drawing and collage, producing a result similar to children's books in which the pages were cut into thirds, the top third pages showing the head of a person or animal, the middle third the torso, and the bottom third the legs, with children having the ability to "mix and match" by turning pages. It has also been played by mailing a drawing or collage — in progressive stages of completion — to the players, and this variation is known as "exquisite corpse by airmail", or "mail art," depending on whether the game travels by airmail or not.

The name is derived from a phrase that resulted when Surrealists first played the game, "Le cadavre exquis boira le vin nouveau." ("The exquisite corpse will drink the new wine.")

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exquisite_corpse



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A Surreal game..... ‘ THE EQUISITE CORPSE’ 
 

The Surrealist first played this game in the early part of the twentieth century. 

There are written and pictorial forms of the game, but both involve the same principle, that is; 

    * The players each make a contribution to the whole without having knowledge of any of the other players’ contributions.

 

The first sentence created by the Surrealists playing this game was, 

‘LA CADAVRE EXQUIS BOIRA LE VIN NOUVEAU’ 

Which translated means:  

The exquisite corpse will drink the new wine. 

HOW TO PLAY: 

Each player writes down one word at a time, covering up what has been written and then passes the paper on to the next player. 

The words selected must be in the following order. 

    * ARTICLE, ADJECTIVE
    * NOUN
    * VERB
    * ARTICLE, ADECTIVE
    * NOUN
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 The Exquisite Corpse

Exquisite Corpse 1 "Exquisite Corpse: Game of folded paper played by several people, who compose a sentence or drawing without anyone seeing the preceding collaboration or collaborations. The now classic example, which gave the game its name, was drawn from the first sentence obtained this way: The-exquisite-corpse-will-drink-new-wine."
--André Breton (Waldberg, 93-94)

Drawings by Victor Brauner, André Breton, Jacques Hérold and Yves Tanguy, 1935.