OUAN603 - Extended Practice - The Big Dada Research Haul

OUAN603 - Extended Practice:

The Big Dada Research Haul


What was Dada?

• Dada was an avant-garde movement, taking place to react and retaliate against the first World War.
• It was influenced heavily by such movements as Cubism, Futurism, Expressionism, and Constructivism and was seen as revolutionary, and almost a form of anarchy in the art world.
• Massively diverse contributions of poetry, contemporary dance, literature, sculpture, collage, and painting.
• Dada works often created controversy and made society question the intent of the work, artist, and movement itself.
• Went against the rules that governed thought, language, meaning, and art.
• Seen as a retaliation against the bourgeoisie with its anti-war and anti-nationalistic ideas. Associated with radical left groups.
  
  Note: "Bourgeoisie" - Middle class, materialistic and Capitalist population who own most of the world's wealth and means of production.
• The movement was later abandoned with the introduction and uprising of Surrealism. 

When and where did it take place?

• Started: 1916 to 1924
• Place of Origin: Zürich, Switzerland

Who were the major artists?

• André Breton
• Hans Arp
• Francis Picabia
• Hannah Höch 

Born: November 1, 1889 - Died: May 31, 1978 (Germany)

Höch was famous for her rather unusual collages, created by taking parts of photographs and merging them to create spectacular pieces of 'Photomontage'. She was a rarity, not only within the Dada movement, but in art as a whole as female artists weren't as well publicised. She wished to change the idea of men being the dominant sex in the creative industry whilst making a statement with her works.

Her look was also a political statement: 'boyishly short' hair and a rather androgynous way of dressing was her way of retaliating against male-dominated society and their expectations of what a 'woman should look like'. By doing this, she was embracing her idea of the "New Woman", a feminist way of life that called for equality not just in the arts, but in modern life. 

"Using camera-made images, Höch and other Dadaists pieced together works with satirical and ironic messages about the chaotic sociopolitical state in Germany." 

"The Dadaists were self-proclaimed radical thinkers who championed women’s rights. But Höch, the only female Berlin Dadaist, was marginalized for her independent spirit, masculine dress, and bisexuality. Her photomontages often confronted gender issues, championing the “New Woman” who was empowered by the vote, sexually emancipated, and financially liberated." - http://nmwa.org/explore/artist-profiles/hannah-h%C3%B6ch

"She also consciously promoted the idea of women working creatively more generally in society. She explicitly addressed in her pioneering artwork in the form of photomontage the issue of gender and the figure of woman in modern society." - http://www.theartstory.org/artist-hoch-hannah.htm

• George Grosz

Born Georg Ehrenfried Groß, he later changed his name to George Grosz in an effort to retaliate against the Nationalist Germany of the time. After being discharged from military service for having a severe case of sinusitis, he was then arrested after joining the KPD, or Communist Party of Germany. Luckily, he escaped using fake ID. He was bitterly anti-Nazi.

"After observing the horrors of war as a soldier in World War I, Grosz focused his art on social critique. He became deeply involved in left wing pacifist activity, publishing drawings in many satirical and critical periodicals and participating in protests and social upheavals." - http://www.theartstory.org/artist-grosz-george.htm

• Marcel Duchamp

Duchamp was notorious for his "readymades", which caused massive controversy across the art world as he practically took the hard work of others and modified it slightly to make a statement or a joke. He refused to be lumped in with any particular art movement, and often created works that could be affiliated with plenty of the modern genres. Marcel could be considered a 'the joker of the modern creative industry' as it was often difficult to take his work seriously! His controversial messages still live on in today's society and are met with an array of emotions - disgust, confusion, and fascination. 

"Coined by Duchamp, the term "readymade" came to designate mass-produced everyday objects taken out of their usual context and promoted to the status of artworks by the mere choice of the artist. A performative act as much as a stylistic category, the readymade had far-reaching implications for what can legitimately be considered an object of art." - http://www.theartstory.org/artist-duchamp-marcel.htm

Duchamp's readymades (everyone is familiar with his urinal) could have been some form of prediction as to how society would be in the 21st century with the rise of designer labels only racking up large price tags because of the name of the designer, and not really being about who actually made the item. Think back to Kanye West and his 'Yeezy' collection - not really innovative or artistic to many people, but stick his name on a white shirt and sell it for $120 (http://www.okayplayer.com/news/style-kanye-west-apc-120-plain-white-hiphop-t-shirt-sells-out.html) and you instantly have something that people will buy for the name. Marcel was probably one of the first artists to exploit this idea, but he did it an ironic way that was playful and humorous (maybe not to traditional artists however!).


What were the major works?

"Equilbre" or Balance (1925) "In this piece Hoch expresses her finding balance as a bisexual in society, showing the shifting identities of women in the world." - https://offtheorange.wordpress.com/2009/10/26/hannah-hoch/

Le Violon d'Ingres (The Violin of Ingres) (1924) 

Fountain (1917) "The most notorious of the readymades, Fountain was submitted to the 1917 Society of Independent Artists under the pseudonym R. Mutt. The initial R stood for Richard, French slang for "moneybags" whereas Mutt referred to JL Mott Ironworks, the New York-based company, which manufactured the porcelain urinal. After the work had been rejected by the Society on the grounds that it was immoral, critics who championed it disputed this claim, arguing that an object was invested with new significance when selected by an artist for display. Testing the limits of what constitutes a work of art, Fountain staked new grounds. What started off as an elaborate prank designed to poke fun at American avant-garde art, proved to be one of most influential artworks of the 20th century." - http://www.theartstory.org/artist-duchamp-marcel.htm 

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


What were they trying to achieve?

• A reaction towards the horrors of the first World War
• Satirical and nonsensical art, created from found objects and works
• An uprising against the bourgeoisie and Capitalist and nationalistic society
• A feministic movement of artists and a new, fairer society
• Change the way people perceive art and move even further from traditional methods
• Artistic and societal revolution!