How Dadaism and Surrealism Changed Art
World War I was a huge shocking conflict in the world. there were new weapons and rules of warfare, and hundreds of thousands of people lost their lives in an attempt to do what they were told. Thus, I'm truly not surprised that because of the horrors of this war and the aftermath of all the death and destruction, it seems only natural that the artists of the time would want to speak out about such a dreadful topic. So how were the original Dadaists going to do this? Remind the world what it was like to go against what people tell you to do, what they tell you is right, and just do something outrageous and random. I also found it amusing that you said in your lecture that its been said that dada ists needed a word so just flipped through the dictionary and picked something random to suit their needs. oddly enough it ended up being a perfect name to go along with their movement. Dadaists believed in doing something, creating something, just because you can. In this way I can agree that art was rattled, but I don't believe it actually changed the idea of art. Just modified it a little bit.
Art-an expression of a concept.
This definition is what art is, so thus it wasnt changed, it just had several new players.
Surrealism wasnt much different. Artists decided it would be a good idea to take subconscious thoughts and imagery and form a series of these thoughts into art. This made an entirely new genre, and forced people to look at something so obscure, so strange, that it truly didnt make sense. But on the other hand, almost simultaneously it does make sense. Artists like Salvador Dali take something completely strange and create almost subconscious shapes and themes. Most of his paintings involve a hidden face or figure. The one on pg 248 of A-G is no different. There is an odd looking statue of a hand, and then what first appears to be the same figure but in a different color.
This image is the pinnacle of Surrealism because of all the hidden meanings of sex and the deeper concepts of the subconscious mind. also because it stretches the mind to think that everything within it could have meaning other than whats there. for example, is the dog eating the bird that came out of the egg? and what does that type of flower mean? does it mean death or destruction? or simply beauty and peace? and why does it become a person's head in the statue next to it? all become interesting questions that cant always be answered with a simple yes or no, "its pretty" or "its ugly". Theres simply just more meaning than a "normal" piece of artwork.
I for one really love surrealism, the odd things that happen within these images, helps to stretch the imagination, and hints that what you first see, isnt the only thing you get.
I believe that "found objects" and "readymades" can be considered art because I believe that art is an expression of a concept. I dont think it truly matters who creates the form, if someone else sees something within that form and changes it slightly to complete the concept that they saw in their mind, then that fulfills the definition of art for me.
It was good how you presented questions for us to think about the next time we look at these kind of paintings. As well, the fact that you mentioned that their are hidden meanings, and some sexual, that lie within the paintings. Also, the image you provided was really visually interesting to see while reading about the sexual innuendos.
ReplyDeleteI am pleased to see that you and I somewhat agree on the intention of the Dada artwork. I have seen many other students say that it was merely a reaction to war, and a passive-aggressive jab at the government. But I think that it was neither; I think that the Dadaists left their work very subjective and open in attempts to let people construct their own interpretation from it, which is why it had and still has so many mixed reactions. Unlike Renaissance and Realism for example, both of which were made with very clear intentions and left very little room for subjectivity. The Dadaists were aware of this and knew that art could be used as a tool to do the exact opposite, instead of telling a clear story, they knew it could help society to find their own story, and their own voice. Ducamp didn't necessarily think his urinal was pretty, or rebellious, but he knew that if he put it on a pedestal he could get people to look at it, and make them realize that this was happening all around them, it was the Dadaists attempt to break up the "brainwashing" and make people aware that they had their own mind. They continued to remind people of this, almost like an excersize, by throwing random objects out there and letting individuals come up with their own conclusions, in hopes that they would take this new freedom of thought and apply it to all other aspects of daily life. It was an attempt to make people change for the better, without even realizing it.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your words, Dadaism doesn't strike me as a period that has "changed" or "impacted" the large spectrum of the artistic world. However, I do think that Surrealism stands out as more of a intriguing period, especially considering all the influences that revolved around sexual ideas, which strikes me as pretty odd/interesting since it's hard to connect the dots with some pieces.
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