III
IV
exclaimed Hugo Ball, dressed in a winged cardboard tube, topped by a blue and white striped witch doctor’s hat. His poem, Elefanten Karawane, was built solely on abstract phonemes, which he described as Verse ohne Worte, or poems without words. His performance was anti-art, anti-war, anti- bourgeois, anti-tradition, anti-everything, an embrace of nonsense, chaos and disorder which came to be known as Dada. The movement took shape in Zurich, Switzerland in 1916 when avant-garde artists fled to neutral Switzerland to escape the horrors of World War I. The Cabaret Voltaire, a local nightclub, provided a safe haven for Dadaists to express their reactions to the war through painting, poetry, sculpture and theater. Dadaists felt the carnage of the times escaped all reason and logic and sought to create an “anti-art” which reflected this. The name Dada arose during a meeting where a paper knife struck a French-German dictionary and landed on the word “dada,” French for hobbyhorse. The movement encouraged artists all over the world to reject tradition and logic. Important artists of the Dada Movement, such as Hans Arp, Hannah Höch, John Heartfield and Marcelle Duchamp challenged the traditional
HUGO BALL performing Elefanten karawane, at the Cabaret Voltaire, 1916.
materials and motives of fine art.
1
P R A HANS
ZURICH DADA
ing... d n a t s r e d n u r asses ou p r u s d n a s w a S ARP N ll other l A a H s e — is .” r s p u m io o c c e, which e uncons c h t n a o h t c r f e o d n w e a r l r “The total su in y l n o d e c n can be experie any Arp made m Dada, Hans of s er th fa ork founding llage. His w One of the t through co en em ov m e oved s to th ality that rem contribution cal imperson ni ha ec m a ges” eating of “duo-colla focused on cr ked on a series or w e H k. or strict the w ges followed the artist from ber. The colla au T ie ph So ard, adaist ls like cardbo with fellow D tional materia en nv co un ed rporat selves to grids and inco ricting them ngs. By rest pi ip cl r pe d pa e artists gold leaf, an an scissors, th th er th ra s er tt zing paper cu rp’s other grids and utili judgment. A d an ce oi ch eir subjective rating his minimized th , further sepa ty ri la gu re ir and “which uced chance works introd he explained, w of chance,” la e “Th t. ar s om hi ing...can personality fr r understand surpasses ou d an s w la r l othe ous.” He comprises al the unconsci to r de en rr su l d only in tota es, which be experience per into piec pa g in ar te s by es of collage they fell, created a seri place where to in ed st pa and to the floor ’s rejection he dropped rol. Hans Arp nt co s ou ci ns to let go of co . His work allowing Arp in visual arts es ti ili ib ss po ened up new the Dada of tradition op methods of al on ti en nv co y to the un to an end. exposed man the war came as lly na io at rn at spread inte movement th
2
Sophie Tauber Hans Arp and oll age), 1918. -C Untitled (Duo
ectangles Untitled (R . 21 19 of Chance),
Hans Arp Laws
According
to the
D L E I F T R A E JOHN H
BERLIN DADA
ovement m a d a D e h t f ediums o m d n a s d o h t e d States al m e n it io n t U n e e h v t n d o c n n a The u Germany o t y a w ir e h t d in Zurich foun t ns atements agai made bold st ld fie rt ea H ge. John photomonta Berlin artist gime through re al ic lit po essive er the Nazi’s repr bels, newspap k utilized la or w d ge ar , ly ch the Superman His political ings. Adolf, aw dr d an ld raphs, ads, photog h a pile of go mid-rant, wit r le it H s ct depi The for example, taged x-ray. d by a mon se po ex , lly his be my. coins inside e German ar enlisted in th le hi w d pe velo ugh technique de e Grosz thro w artist Georg llo fe h it w icated war, He commun ip. After the oid censorsh av to r de or ge in -cover photomonta s, and book apers, poster sp w ne as such ted He contribu mass media s of his work. et tl ou n ai m the gend designs were ch as Neue Ju magazines su al ic lit po ed t-liv sein to many shor d Jedermann ankruptcy) an (B e it le P ie ,D cover (New Youth) er Ball). The is Own Socc H e on ry ve l (E ul), a eigner Fussbal Most Beautif ? (Who is the te ns ho Sc r de ist est of featured Wer a beauty cont ld featuring fie rt ea H by ge ically photomonta fan. His polit across an open ad re sp s er lead In 1938, government into trouble. m hi t go n te omontages of he was themed phot enemies and list of Nazi et cr se a on his name was England. rced to flee to eventually fo
an, 1932.
f the Superm
tiful), left: Adol e Most Beau John heartfield ? (Who is th te t der Schons right: Wer is
1919.
3
hannah hÖch Das schӧne Mädchen (The Beautiful Girl), 1919–1920. 4
H C O H H A N N HA
BERLIN DADA
reated c H C O H h a n n a Artist H in l r e B , e g a e r s. t t s n o o p m o d t n o a h s p g f in o per clipp a pioneer a p s w e n , r e p a ored p art out of col rough Knife th the Kitchen tage Cut with on om ot of ph ed clippings Her colossal ublic includ ep R ar m ei st ly of the W tic mess of po the Beer-Bel cast in a chao rs ne ai rt te of tists and en orate picture politicians, ar paint an elab s ng pi ip cl media. The lity. and irrationa World War I of its chaos l al in s, 20 re in the 19 rtable German cultu d her comfo tion shattere up er ’s ar w Höch the ical found polit According to her a new in ed uc and prod and otomontage worldviews shape of ph e th ok to s, which wers consciousnes iticisms. Vie d political cr an al ci so r ures to share he r German fig allowed her enin, and othe L x, ar M of the heads eds of can identify d by the se d impregnate an d te ra st was inded, ca beheaded, bl llerinas. She ncing like ba da ill st le hi ution, w eimar counterrevol an” of the W e “new wom th g tin en es ed in repr means also interest to vote and ed the right in ga ly nt ce (The ho only re Republic, w ne Madchen s Das Scho h’ öc H e. m , by able inco for a dispos s of femininity able definition st un e th ed l) explor que massBeautiful Gir rse and criti to both endo xt te d an photos ets of juxtaposing en as the targ cognized wom re e Sh . ns entatio eties of media repres sires and anxi ed into the de pp ta n te of which mass media, identities. transforming their rapidly
rough hen Knife th with the Kitc 19. 19 , lic ub Weimar Rep -Belly of the
ut hannah hÖch C the Beer
5
E L L E C MAR NEW YORK A D A D P M A H C DU “Art
tentio
t the at u b f l e s it t u o b is not a
nventional ployed unco em p m ha uc arcelle D lopment of ench artist M and the deve New York Fr gs in aw dr l echanica Bare by her the use of m Bride Stripped methods like e Th e lik s Painting trated sexual s in his art. Grinders illus found object te la co ho C ries of alternative n and his se incorporated Bachelors, Eve ey Th s. es l proc glass panels. as mechanica presented on relationships e er w d an , dust e porcelain foil, wire and in, a readymad materials like ta un Fo as w wever as industryrious work ho readymades d His most noto be ri sc de p ucham “R. Mutt.” D the choice or urinal signed art through of ks or w came ndent Artists jects that be produced ob ety of Indepe ci So e Th , 1917 e the artist. In s who paid th ed that artist assistance of at st s le ru e gh th inal even thou as scandalous rejected the ur of the piece w n io ct je re e k. Th ry bit all artwor ng an ordina fee could exhi merit for taki ed rv se de st e arti e disappeared argued that th ul significanc and dadaists ef us s it at th it so t and presenting ued his assaul article of life hamp contin uc D . ew vi int of of w title and po reproduction under the ne a postcard g in ac ef gd izin L.H.O.O.Q., by masculin on fine art ng the piece as ti en es pr d an isa as inci’s Mona L ic who saw it Leonardo DaV aged the publ tr ou e ad ym read e hot ass.” The p intended th or “She has a ever, Ducham ow H a. is L a on the revered M anistic spirit. an attack on aissance’s hum en R e th of loss ment on the piece as a com
6
amp
lle Duch e c r a M — .” it n we bring to
17.
AMP Fountain, 19
MARCElLe DUCH
MARCELLE DUCHAMP L.H.O.O.Q., 1919. 7
FRANZ FERDINAND Scenes from
music videoTake Me Out, 2004.
LADY GAGA Meat Dress, 2011.
8
Contemporary artists and musicians have embraced the theories, practices and aesthetics of the Dada movement. The 2004 music video for Take me Out by Franz Ferdinand features animated figures and machinery assembled with clippings, similar to photomontage. Some elements are laid out on grids, while others are irregular, similar to Hans Arp’s style. You can see traces of the chaotic collages of Hannah Höch and the mechanical drawings of Marcelle Duchamp. The choice of typefaces and layout resemble the many publications of John Heartfield. In addition, artists like Lady Gaga are inspired by the spirit and manifestos of Dada. Her radical persona escapes reason and logic—a chaotic mess of pop culture and mass media. Much like the Dada movement, these artists cut, paste and reassemble the fabric of popular culture, questioning the traditional values and motives of the day. Taking the form of collage, photomontage and readymade sculpture, the works of Hans Arp, Hannah Höch, John Heartfield and Marcelle Duchamp helped redefine what art is today. Their embrace of chaos, nonsense and the irrational forever changed art, influencing artists almost a century later.
9
10