Dada
• Refers to an international
movement that began in
Switzerland during World War I.
• Not an artistic style, but an idea
of NIHILISM (“nothingness”).
Dada
• It was started to protest the
madness of WAR.
• The term “dada” is a nonsense
word.
• Taste for playful and
experimental.
Dada
•
•
•
•
•
Reaction to destruction from war
Despair and disgust.
Rejected morality and decency.
lasted for 7 seven years.
New York version had sarcasm, wit, and
humor.
• Leading member was Marcel Duchamp.
Marcel Duchamp
• Marcel Duchamp 1887-1968.
• 2 older brothers were painters.
• In 1904 he joined his older brother in
Paris where he studied art (not a great
student).
Duchamp
• A leading
member of the
Cubist,
Dada, and
Surrealist
movements
Marcel Duchamp
He especially liked wordplay
and punning.
His influence will help develop
surreal and pop art.
Duchamp
• He was influenced by the multitude
of art styles going on at this time in
Paris
–Cezanne, Symbolism, Fauvism,
Cubism ...
Duchamp
• He thought that art can be
ideas (not just worldly things).
• “Conceiving a work of art was
more important than the
finished work.”
Nude Descending a Staircase #2, 1912
• cubist inspired
technique for
depicting movement.
Nude Descending a Staircase, 1912
• It is made up of
abstract lines and
plane- breaking
up and
reconstructing the
subject.
• creates a rhythmic
sense of motion.
The Passage from Virgin to Bride
• A highly
abstracted
figure.
He is all about
mocking
traditional art
A readymade is when he
takes an object and merely adds
a title to it= a work of art
Fountain
• a readymade
piece that he
declared a work of
art created for an
avant- garde art
exhibit.
Conceptual statement that all
art is readymade because all
artistic material is manufactured
(paint, canvas…)
• Duchamp entered the
artwork under the false
name R. Mutt.
• the organizers of the
exhibit said it was “not art”.
• …all about the shock value
Fountain
LHOOQ, 1919
• A visual and verbal pun.
• Mysterious title
– Could mean “Look” or “she
has a hot ass”
• Penciled a beard and
mustache onto a postcard of
the Mona Lisa.
LHOOQ, 1919
• Example of rebellion.
• Some call this disrespectful.
• Creation or Destruction?
• It became the icon of the
Dada movement.
Rotary Demisphere
• This machine made
in 1919 creates an
illusion of
simultaneous
rotation in opposite
directions.
Large Glass
• 109 " x 69 “ Oil, varnish,
lead foil, lead wire, and
dust on two glass
panels; 1920
• Also called The Bride
Stripped Bare by her
Bachelors
• Depicts the dramatic
meeting of a bride and
her nine suitors
Duchamp’s Legacy
• Paved the way for a new kind of art.
• The new art embraces the
imagination, intellect, and humor.
• It strives to depict invisible worlds, not
just visible ones.
• A forefather of modern art.
Man Ray, 1890-1976
• American painter, sculptor, photographer
(spent most of his life in Paris).
Successful in
portraiture and
commercial work.
His work was
featured in popular
magazines
Man Ray
• Picasso and Dali were among his
colleagues.
• A member of the Dada art movement
–Word play
–Play with images/objects
–Readymades
Man Ray
Indestructible Object
(or Object to Be Destroyed),
1923
•ready-made
•attached a photograph of
an eye
•transition state between
looking and being looked
at and actual motion is in
this piece.
Man Ray
• combines Dada
wordplay with
Surrealist imagery.
The nude recalls Ingres,
title refers to Ingres’s
hobby of playing the violin.
• similarity between the
nude’s back and the shape
of a violin.
• shows the dreamlike
imagery of Surrealism.
Le Violon d’Ingres, 1924
Man Ray
Le Violon d’Ingres, 1924
Noire et Blanche
Les Larmes (Tears)
ART constantly
evolves.
Since the earliest times,
there has been a
constant search for
new ORIGINAL forms
of expression.
A style of art that
shocked viewers of one
generation becomes a
part of the mainstream
as another shocking
style makes its
appearance.
•
• Surrealism: a style in
which fantastic visual
imagery from the
subconscious mind is used
with no intention of making
the artwork logically
comprehensible.
•
• Surrealism Founded by Andre
Breton in 1924, primarily
European movement.
–attracted many members of the
chaotic Dada movement.
–Popular during the
1920 & 1930s
SURREALISM
was an art movement that
found ideas in the
Subconscious: Dreams,
memories, feelings
SURREALISM
•Means to go beyond realism
•To create without conscious
control
• Sigmund
Freud was
becoming
popular with
his new ideas
about dream
analysis
• Hieronymus
BOSCH
• 1400s, about
450 years before
the surrealists
• The “patron
saint” of
surrealism
Salvador Dalí
• Spanish painter
• frequent conflicts
with his art teachers.
He made “handpainted dream
photographs”
He was a huge self
promoter
35
Dali
•his wife Gala was
his muse and
inspiration.
•Joins a group of
Surrealists in 1930.
•He moved to the
US in 1940
•he wrote many
books including The
secret life of
Salvador Dalí.
He painted with meticulous realism and detail.
Note the similarities to work from the Italian
Renaissance 400 years earlier
Dali often uses
religious images
Dali often uses religious images
The Persistence of Memory, 1931
Dali
The Persistence of Memory, 1931
•The use of clocks
describe how
meaningless time is.
•The gold pocket
watch on the left is
actually being eaten
away by ants.
•Dalí often uses ants
or insects to show
deterioration in a
work
Daddy Longlegs of the Evening-Hope, 1940
Daddy Longlegs of the Evening-Hope,
1940
In the tope of the painting a winged victory is
born with only one wing.
A limp plane appears to ooze from the cannon
on the right while a horse, a mode of ground
transportation soars out.
•a tribute to Pope John
XXIII whom he admired
for reforming the
Church.
•Dalí paints himself, in a
Velasquez-like pose,
as a tribute to the
Spanish Master.
•He paints his wife
Gala as St. Helena to
show her unwavering
support of him.
The Ecumenical Council, 1960
A Spanish artist who paints surrealistic,
whimsical, childlike dreams
Biomorphic
Simplified
images
Miro
Miro
Influences were Fauvism, Cubism, but
mainly Surrealism
•his works were
often
reminiscent of
childhood
•His works used
bright colors
and shapes
Miro
Harlequin’s Carnival
• Image of a
circus
• Seems closed
in- adds to the
effect of the
objects being
products of
one’s
imagination
Influences were Fauvism and Cubism, but mainly
Surrealism
Miro
Depicts a colorful
dog alone in a
simple setting at
night
The most surreal
form is the
unsupported
ladder that
appears to go
nowhere…
Dog Barking at the Moon, 1926
Rene Magritte
a Belgian
Surrealist.
well known for a
witty and amusing
images.
His art career
began in 1910.
Son of Man ,1964
Rene Magritte
“The
Betrayal of Images”, 1928
Rene Magritte
a Belgian
Surrealist
well known for
a witty and
amusing
images.
His art career
began in
1910.
Rene Magritte
The False Mirror, 1928
Rene Magritte
He juxtaposed
two familiar
objects in order to
create an
unfamiliar effect.
Time Transfixed, 1938
Rene Magritte
Rene Magritte
Alexander Calder
“Sandy” Calder
was one of the
most famous
American
sculptors of the
20th century.
Calder
He was born into
a family of
artists. He
started out
working as an
illustrator and an
engineer.
Calder
He spent several
years early in his
life in Paris
creating
miniature circus
figures.
Calder
He was a
master at
creating
organic wire
sculptures. They
are like 3D
contour
drawings.
Calder
His work is
whimsical
and fun
Calder
He began
working on
MOBILES in
1931.
Calder
A MOBILE is a
KINETIC
sculpture.
It suspends from
above and slowly
and gracefully
moves on air
currents.
Calder
A Staybile is a
KINETIC
sculpture.
It is anchored to
a base and
slowly and
gracefully moves
on air currents.
Calder
Grant Wood
• He rejects Abstract expressionism
• Realist American art movement
• depict the rural aspect of American
life
• prominent during the Great
Depression, when it aimed to
reassure images of the American
Heartland
Grant Wood
• His masterpiece- one of
the most recognizable
works of art from the
20th century
• The figures are actually
his sister and dentist
• Gothic influence- strong
verticals of pitchfork and
pointed arch window
• attention to detail shows
influence of Van Eyck
American Gothic
Grant Wood
American Gothic, 1930
Jan van Eyck, 1400s
Grant Wood
• depicts the
scene in a
20th century
town in
Iowa, instead
of 18th
Century
Mass.
• Dramaticotherworldly
Paul Revere’s Midnight Ride
Grant Wood
Edward Hopper
• His style is a synthesis of Regionalism and
Social Realism
• Known for ominous realistic portrayals of
solitude in contemporary American life
Nighthawks,
1942
Edward Hopper
• His style is a synthesis of Regionalism and
Social Realism
• Known for ominous realistic portrayals of
solitude in contemporary American life
Automat, 1927
Degas
Edward Hopper
• dim light create a sense of
isolation and loneliness.
Gas, 1940
Edward Hopper