VISD 2B39
Hugo Ball reciting ‘Verse ohne Worte’ (Song without Words),
Cabaret Voltaire,
Zurich,
1916. Photographic enlargement of a postcar, 28x15 in (71.5 x 40 cm) Kunsthaus,
Zurich.
Page 133
Standing
in the center of the image, wearing a rather abstract and singular costume,
Hugo Ball succeeds at portraying the Dada’s philosophy. His awkward pose and
innocent look compliment together in an unconventional photograph that not only
describes the famous performances organized by the Dada group but also their
ideology. Dada is known as an art movement that originated in Zurich during the First World War, created by
young artists as an activist response to the cruelty and injustice of their
time. Until this day, it is clear that Dadaism is one of the most confusing art
movements out there because it contradicts itself and demands to be recognized
as a form of anti-art. Unlike many other movements, Dadaism included various
sorts of mixed media, literary and musical experiments and theatre
performances. It was open for everyone to play around and experience since they
saw no boundaries when it came to expressing their ideas and opinions. Cabaret Voltaire was the ground spot for
these performances and art exhibitions. It was originally created by Hugo Ball,
a young intellectual eager to combine his friend’s art work with the work of
fresh artists and performers. As a matter of fact he did not only support
artists, he was also an artist and an innovator himself. He created the
sound-poems that were performed at Cabaret Voltaire. These poems were part of a
literary experiment that created a whole new language made up of chance and
play. His performances consisted of random set-ups, as seen in the picture,
that created a special atmosphere for the audience. The photo resembles a cubic
abstraction and depicts a high priest. Ball's costume of superiority is
contrasted by his expression allowing this picture to depict a perfect image of
what Dada stands for. Dada artists were superior to the rest because they saw
no limits, but they were still young. Their youth and their freedom made them
unique, their free spirit opened the door to new ideas, stepping away from
traditional tough. Their artwork represented their freedom, expressed their
youth and their rebellion against their social injustice.
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This article gives you a brief understanding of Dadaism. It
starts off by giving the reader a basic background story that narrates the main
events that make up this movement. The rest of the content emphasizes more in
the political involvement of the Dadaists and gives good documentation of their
interviews and writings. What attracted me the most about this source is that
it states that the movement is quite problematic because it is hard to label it
as one. In my essay I want to talk about Dadaism being anti-aesthetic and
scandalous. I want to reinforce the notion of oddness that Hugo Ball’s picture
represents. I also want to take in consideration the sound-poem performance
that is taking place in the photo. By mentioning his act, I will be talking
about the Dadaist’s forms of expression because I think its something that
really matters. I will also express what makes their work anti-art and why they
didn’t want to be labelled as a movement or a school.
Stefan- Sebastian Maftei
Journal for the Study of Religions
and Ideologies, Vol 9, No 27 (2010)
Department of philosophy, Babes-Bolyai University,
Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
Between “Critique” and Propaganda:
The Critical Self-understanding of Art in the Historical Avant-Garde. The Case
of Dada
I will be using this small encyclopaedia entry to back up my
basic information. It gives a brief summary of the history of the movement and
its members. It will be useful for my first paragraph to successfully introduce
Dada to the reader. In order to be able to emphasize in Hugo Ball’s picture I
need to be able to explain how it all started. I don’t want to go into details,
that is why I think this article is practical, because it is straight forward and
clear.
Credo Reference Dada
"Dada". Bloomsbury
Guide to Art
http://www.credoreference.com.ezproxy-library.ocad.ca/entry/bga/dada
These 90 paged book is complete with information about the
Dada Movement. It is easy to read and understand, clean and organized. It
starts by giving a background story but it not only talks about the young
intellectuals in Zurich, it also includes Germany, Paris,
New York and more. It also gives
accurate articles of the most relevant artists of the movement with descriptions
of their work. This book explains a good deal about the movement. What I
decided to use for my essay is founded in the introductory pages. It talks
about Hugo Ball and his position in the art movement. It gives a fairly good
description of his performance and his art work. I will use part of these
descriptions as well as documentary of his interviews.
Dietmar, Elger.
Dadaism. Cologne:
Taschen, 2006
For my Wikipedia source I decided to search for information
about Cabaret Voltaire because I did not think the information that came up
when I searched Dada was relevant. In my essay I wan to focus mostly in Hugo
Ball and his performance in order to describe Dadaism and connect the
information with an accurate description of the movement and the work they
showcased. In my opinion these subjects are very connected, therefore I tough
that talking about this meeting spot was important. Describing the activities
that happened at Cabaret Voltaire helps the reader understand of the kind of
events the Dada group organized.
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