Dadaism

    Here I would like to talk about the style that interested me most when learning about the early modern era: Dadaism. The style exploded following World War I with artists such as Duchamp and Picabia being some prolific names of the scene. In ways, Dada works served as "anti-art", forsaking aesthetics and idealisms to instead present work that shocked the viewer into looking inwards at their own beliefs and societies. This attitude prevailed during the time after the war, with the conflict serving as a point of introspection as to the modernization and brutality of mankind.

Mechanical Head
Raoul Haussman (1919)


     Shown above is the sculpture Mechanical Head by Raoul Haussman. He created this piece in 1919 in Berlin. The sculpture consists of a dummy head adorned with multiple accessories, such as a measuring tape, and a tin cup. This piece is meant to critique modernization and industrialization by letting the head represent man. While capable of performing these functions and serving purpose, it is an empty head only capable of what greater influences have allowed it to do, and eventually becoming more artificial than not. This piece also takes on a greater context in post-war Germany, as the sculpture can be interpreted as both a commentary on the state of the German people and a frightening portrayal of surviving veterans and the means they have taken to outlast their wounds.

    While I tremendously enjoy this work for the many things it says while simultaneously disrespecting convention, it also sparks uncomfortable thoughts and fears within me.


L.H.O.O.Q
Marcus Duchamp (1919)


    While I am describing this period of art, it seems fair that I show one that I dislike. Shown here is L.H.O.O.Q by Marcel Duchamp. As said earlier, Duchamp was one of the leading names in the Dada scene, and this work he created in 1919, shows the Mona Lisa with a goatee crudely drawn on the subject. The original work was done on a postcard that displayed the painting, and alongside the goatee, the title when spoken roughly sounds like the French translation of a lewd remark made towards the woman.
    This work demonstrates Dada thought by lashing out against the established art world, and bringing supposedly high art down to criticize and increasingly unjust and cruel post-war era society.
    I absolutely despise this piece, and although I believe I understand what it is saying, it is just done in such a crude and uncaring manner that I can't enjoy it. Dadaism has produced many thought-provoking works be through sculpture or collage that are able to present themselves in a manner that is still shocking and introspective, while not being so lazy or on the nose as this. Apart from that, I do enjoy how this painting also demonstrates the Dada concept of art becoming more conceptual than physical, with Duchamp giving a colleague permission to duplicate his art for portrayal in a gallery after it gained notoriety. I may be fully wrong here, and if any of you find more to appreciate in this work, please let me know in the comments, I would love to hear it.


Rayograph
Emmanuel Radnitzky (1922)

    This is a photogram created by Emmanuel Radnitzky in New York known as Rayograph. Depicted in it is the silhouette of two people kissing shadowed by development trays and handprints. This image works to go against convention by depicting the kiss, a subject often portrayed in a highly romanticized or aesthetic way. However here, it is reduced to gradients and leaves the viewer feeling more disturbed than comforted.

    Dadaism was truly a turning point in the history of the early modern era, shaped by the conflicts of the time, and with the sentiments and philosophies expressed within its works, the origins of modern art could be seen taking root.

Bibliography

Jones, Jonathan. “The Spirit of Our Time - Mechanical Head, Raoul Hausmann (1919).” The Guardian, The Guardian, 22 Feb. 2018, www.theguardian.com/culture/2003/sep/27/art.

Davis, Charlotte. “Dadaism: 10 Iconic Artworks from the Dada Art Movement.” TheCollector, 13 May 2020, www.thecollector.com/dadaism-art-of-dada/.

“Dadaism - Art and Anti Art.” Artyfactory.com, 2019, www.artyfactory.com/art_appreciation/art_movements/dadaism.htm.

Comments

  1. oliviaNovember 10, 2022 at 10:12 AM


    Dadaism is so unique! I feel like throughout art history, we see art styles repeating themselves, and there typically is not a drastic change in style. Dadaism, however, truly stands out amongst the rest of art throughout time. The goal of mockery within the work is something that I personally have never experienced with any other era of art. There is so much negativity in the work and each piece of art has a story in itself of the feelings that the artist has. Other than WWl, Industrialism was transforming the world and taking over natural beauty, and ultimately resulted in the rise of this art style as well. Everybody was determined to produce the next best technological advancements of their time, with little regard for the impacts it will have on Planet Earth. Particularly, during the first World War, the nations with the most technological advancements would likely be most successful, only fueling this takeover of the natural world even more. There is an immense amount of emotion lying within each piece: some positive, but mostly negative. For those against this transforming world, art may have been the only way to express their emotions, and indeed they did.

    https://www.theartstory.org/movement/dada/

    ReplyDelete
  2. KdNovember 10, 2022 at 11:13 PM

    I have never heard of Dadaism until this art class, I'm glad to have learned something new. While I enjoyed learning about it, I don't care too much for the art. None of these art pieces appeal to me because they all seem so meaningless. I can definitely see how this art work can cause a lot of controversy but I don't see how it became so famous. I like how you tied this topic into the post war era because this is actually when this art style was birthed.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Introduction Blog Post

Image
     Hello! My name is Christopher Osbourne Mittelstadt but if you're reading this you can call me Ozzy! I am a geoscience major at UAF and I am currently in my second year! I enjoy drawing, running, playing games, and writing. When I'm not on campus doing schoolwork, I can be found playing Dungeons and Dragons with my friends. I look forward to this class and being able to learn more about art! (2) BBC Michael Palin in Wyeth´s World - YouTube      I have a great respect for art, and I wish to learn much more about it. As it stands, I only know about a few pieces and practice drawing in my spare time. I have not gone to any First Fridays, but I have always wanted to, and I often visit the Bear Art Gallery at Pioneer Park with my friends. 
Read more

Renaissance Spotlight: Hieronymus Bosch

Image
The Last Judgement Hieronymus Bosch (1504-1508)       The triptych above is The Last Judgement, one of Bosche's most famous paintings. Art historians believe that Bosch painted this piece in Bruges as a commission for Philip the Fair around 1505. The triptych depicts the fall of humanity across its panels, beginning with the original sin in the Garden of Eden.     The Triptych      Along the first third of the piece, God is depicted casting out Lucifer and the fallen angels from Heaven. Adam and Eve are also shown succumbing to the temptation of the serpent and being cast from the Garden in a similar fashion to the angels falling from grace.      The second third of the triptych is gruesome and appalling with a fantastically horrifying depiction of Limbo. Within, humans are tormented by the sins they commit and numerous demons.     The third panel descends further into the depravity of the second, with its display of hellfire and Lucifer sitting as the lord of a land of suffering
Read more

Romanticism

Image
      I would like to share what I have learned about what I feel to be the two main art styles of the Romantic Era: Romanticism and Realism.     The Raft of Medusa Theodore Gericault (1819)     Depicted above are two Romantic paintings. The first is The Raft of the Medusa by Theodore Gericault. This was painted in 1819 in France three years after a devastating naval disaster that serves as the subject of the painting. This painting demonstrates several key Romantic motifs in its image, one being its grim portrayal of tragedy, not putting on airs to cover up a dark moment in history. Its subjectivity is also a commonly seen trait in Romantic paintings, with the only thing objectively being shown being human suffering, leaving the viewer to create their own narrative, who was to blame for this?      The use of tone is extremely dramatic, holding onto techniques of the neoclassical era while advancing the message of the painting in a manner nearly antithetical to that of Neoclassicism. 
Read more