February 7th assignment #2

Assignment #2

For written assignments choose a specific piece of the text that you want to quote. Write out the quote. Then interpret the quote, what is the meaning of this quote, why is the author saying this? Then explain why you chose this quote, do you agree or disagree? Did the quote make you think about something or challenge you? Does it relate to anything going on in the present?

 “Dada is the heart of words”

I believe that the quote “Dada is the heart of words” is stating that Dada is the explanation of nothing. The word has no meaning and it the same concept as Nihilism. I chose this quote because it doesn’t sugar coat anything. The sound is the heartbeat of Hugo Ball’s words and of many words.  It is simply an example of just its appearance and sound.  You are saying the word, but you are saying nothing.  I don’t agree with the term because I believe that whatever comes out of your mouth has a purpose and a meaning.  In terms of art and Dadaism you cannot simply say that an image or words mean nothing. Everything has a meaning.

It makes me think of how our street corners were designed to make us identify with where we live.  There is supposed to be a consistency of appearance in our society. Obviously, Nihilism with its word “dada” takes on the same point of view.  It is like the president’s speech on change.  It means nothing because nothing changed everything in our lives remained the same. The trauma of the war however created an entirely new form of artistic expression, known as Dadaism.

Your interpretation of the piece, try to describe in as much detail as you can the physical appearance of the piece (how does it look, what kind of techniques are being used, what kind of colors, light etc are used, what kind of actions are going on) and the meaning of the piece what is it trying to say, what themes does it address, especially paying attention to nihilistic themes.

Use the Modern Art Timeline link on the blog for assistance. Choose three examples from one or more of the artists, and try to depict what is going on in the piece, and what meaning it may have, especially drawing attention to how nihilistic themes show up in these pieces or how it reflects social conditions.

"Cut with the Kitchen Knife through the Beer-Belly of the Weimar Republic," Hannah Höch,  1919

I see nothing but images of animals, machine parts, and people thinking.  Not understanding anything.  It is like you can’t take anything away from it from the perspective of expressionism.

November 1, 1889 – May 31, 1978) was a German Dada artist. She is best known for her work of the Weimar period, when she was one of the originators of photomontage. Raoul Hausmann, a member of the Berlin Dada movement. Höch's involvement with the Berlin Dadaists began in earnest in 1919.

ABCD," Raoul Hausmann, 1923-2"4

In this image I see meaningless numbers, hands, letters, currency, and face with a letter clinging on painters teeth.  It seems like there is an expression of being consumed in crazy world of meaningless information in the context of numbers and letters.

Wikipedia.

Raoul Hausmann (July 12, 1886 – February 1, 1971) was an Austrian artist and writer. One of the key figures in Berlin Dada, his experimental photographic collages, sound poetry and institutional critiques would have a profound influence on the European Avant-Garde in the aftermath of World War I.

"Adolf the Superman: Swallows Gold and Spouts Junk," John Heartfield, 1932

In this portrait Adolf Hitler knew nothing on how to make his cause mean anything.  It was nothing but garbage.  There was no vision because vision is not real.  You just do “dada”. Nonsense and with no purpose. Wealth was not anything of meaning. I guess in terms of color, the picture is gold in the sense that his world appears to be luxurious.  

John Heartfield (born Helmut Herzfeld; 19 June 1891 – 26 April 1968) was an artist. He was a pioneer in the use of art as a political weapon. Some of his photomontages were anti-Nazi and anti-fascist statements. Heartfield also created book jackets for authors such as Upton Sinclair, as well as stage sets for such noted playwrights as Bertolt Brecht and Erwin Piscator.

In 1917, Heartfield became a member of Berlin Club Dada, Heartfield later became active in the Dada movement, helping to organize the Erste Internationale Dada-Messe (First International Dada Fair) in Berlin in 1920. Dadaists were the young lions of the German art scene, provocateurs who disrupted public art gatherings and ridiculed the participants. They labeled traditional art trivial and bourgeois