Four art articles, 1 page each
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4.docxHomework 4
Below, you will find a set of readings and videos that will introduce you to two influential art movements from the first half of the 20th century: Dada and Surrealism. Like the expressionists we studied last week, these artists often used abstract techniques, but with the goal of critiquing society or communicating about their own thoughts, ideas, and psychological processes. The Dada movement emerged during WW1 in Zurich Switzerland (which was neutral during the war). Zurich Dada included artists from throughout Europe, many of whom were fleeing the war. Over the next decade, the Dada movement expanded to cities in many other countries (Berlin, New York, Paris, and others) and each Dada group had their own unique characteristics. Overall, Dada artists used art to protest against a world that they saw as self-destructive and irrational. The form their protest took was itself irrational: they fought the nonsense of the world with art that was deliberately nonsensical. They also combined various mediums (like poetry, performance, and collage) and created new techniques that changed the definition of art. Several Dada artists ended up participating in the next major art movement to emerge, which was called Surrealism. Like Dada artists, Surrealists were interested in the irrational and they embraced techniques like the use of chance in art. Many (but not all) of the Surrealists returned to more traditional forms of painting and drawing as a way to represent the contents of their own psyches. The field of psychology, and especially the theories of psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, were important influences on the Surrealist movement.
Reading 1: This set of articles will introduce you to the Dada movement, and will explain the earliest Dada group, which formed in Zurich Switzerland during WW1.
Click here for the article World War I and Dada
Click here for the article 100 Years Ago Today, Dada Was Born at Cabaret Voltaire in Zurich
Reading 2: This set of articles and videos will introduce you to the Dada movement in Berlin. Berlin Dadaists were known for their experimentation with new kinds of collage, including photomontage (a technique that they originated) and three-dimensional assemblages. These readings will explain those techniques, and then focus on three specific artists: Hannah Hoch, Raoul Hausmann, and Kurt Schwitters (the latter of whom is actually from Hannover, rather than Berlin).
Click here for the article The Spirit of Our Time; Mechanical Head, Raoul Hausmann (1919)
Click here for the article Kurt Schwitters: Reconstructions of the Merzbau
Click here for the article Hannah Höch: art’s original punk.
Click here for the video Höch, Cut with the Kitchen Knife Dada Through the Last Weimar Beer-Belly Cultural Epoch of Germany
Reading 3: This set of articles and videos will focus on an especially influential Dada artist: Marcel Duchamp. Duchamp’s development of the “readymade” as an art form permanently changed the definition of art.
Click here for the article Marcel Duchamp (1887–1968)
Click here for the video Art as concept: Duchamp, In Advance of the Broken Arm.
Click here for the video Duchamp, Fountain
Click here for the article Marcel Duchamp and the Readymade
Reading 4: This set of articles will introduce you to the Surrealist movement and explore the connections between Dada and Surrealism. It also includes two articles about surrealist objects: the first by Man Ray and the second by Meret Oppenheim.
Click here for the article Surrealism, an introduction.
Click here for the article Surrealism.
Click here for the article Man Ray, The Gift
Click here for the article Meret Oppenheim, Object (Fur-covered cup, saucer, and spoon).
Reading 5: This set of articles and videos will continue to explore the Surrealist movement by introducing two well-known Surrealist painters: Rene Magritte and Salvador Dali.
Click here for the article Rene Magritte and his paintings
Click here for the video Magritte, The Treachery of Images (Ceci n’est pas une pipe).
Click here for the video Conservation | René Magritte, "The Portrait," 1935
Click here for the article The Surreal World of Salvador Dalí
Click here for the video Dali, The Persistence of Memory
Click here for the video Dali, Metamorphosis of Narcissus
Dada artist Tristan Tzara wrote that: “The beginnings of Dada were not the beginnings of art, but of disgust.” For this written assignment, consider that quote in relationship to what you have learned this week about the Dada movement. What were the Dadaists disgusted with? How did that disgust inform and shape their art? Explore this quote in depth in a 1double-spaced paper. Discuss at least one Dada artwork as part of your response. Your paper should be informed by at least two reputable sources. Cite your sources in-text as needed, and include a bibliography in MLA form.
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Grading criteria for option 1 The paper is 1-2 pages and includes a bibliography of at least 2 reputable sources: 5 points The paper explores the given quote accurately and in depth: 5 points The paper includes discussion of a relevant Dada artwork: 10 points The paper indicates a strong understanding of this art movement: 10 points |
