Kaleidoscopic Eye by Mariana Castillo Deball

Kaleidoscopic Eye originates from a famous intellectual clash between Surrealist André Breton and philosopher Roger Caillois. Their dispute was sparked by Mexican jumping beans—seemingly lifeless objects that leap unpredictably. Caillois speculated that hidden larvae caused the beans’ movements, offering a biological explanation. Breton dismissed this as reductive, accusing Caillois of denying the poetic and mysterious in his search for scientific clarity.

For Breton, such inexplicable phenomena embodied “convulsive beauty”—a universe where chaos and rationality coexisted in provocative tension. Caillois, however, aimed to reconcile reason with wonder. He envisioned a system akin to the structure of coral, one that could integrate chaos, chance, and the irrational into a unified, expansive theory of reality. His pursuit ultimately ended his friendship with Breton.

Originally published in conjunction with the 2009 exhibition Kaleidoscopic Eye at Kunst Halle Sankt Gallen, this second edition revisits their dialogue. It invites readers to reflect on the collision of scientific inquiry and surrealist imagination, illuminating how order and disorder might coexist in the ever-shifting patterns of the world.