P9/6 Expressionism, Dadaism, "New Objectivity"

Assignment: 

Part 1 - Written

"I don't want words that other people have invented. All the words are other people's inventions. I want my own stuff, my own rhythm, and vowels and consonants too, matching the rhythm and all my own." 
- Hugo Ball (Dada Manifesto, 1916) 


This quote from Hugo Ball's Dada Manifesto is about individual identity and ownership of something you create. Hugo Ball is saying this because of the growing popularity of Dadaism. Everyone was creating their own forms of the so called "anti-art" to express the realities of the world. I agree with the message this quote is trying to send out because I understand it's artistic relevance. When this was written the artists art the time were trying to breakaway from the traditional rules and guidelines of what art should look like, this is especially seen with the Dadaist artists. Dadaist art is unlike anything anyone had really seen at the time, as mentioned it the lecture it was meant to be as realistic as possible to the point where it was intentionally ugly. War had created this growing sense if nihilism that people were using art as a medium to express these realism ideas. Creating something unique is then very important in order to captivate the audience that will see your work. Dadaism is about creating your own style, Dadaism is what you make of it as long as you follow your own rules to create your art and not the typically expected. In terms of the present I believe this quote still holds true. People are constantly trying to create something about themselves that sets them apart from others. Artists are usually really good at doing this by finding other unconventional ways to create art. Writers try to think of stories that will become the next big thing that could be proceeded by a film being made as well. Everyone usually tries to stand out one way or another and create something that others will recognize them for. This is how Dadaism came to be, it came from people wanting to express themselves in unique ways that will catch the attention of an audience. 

Breaking away from tradition accomplished that and makes the artist memorable. 

Part 2 - Art 

 

Claude Monet, "water Lillies" 1920 

Claude Monet (1840-1926) was a French impressionist artist. His most famous works include mostly landscape art from the area Giverny in France where he lived. He was widowed by his wife Camille and suffered from cataracts in his later years before his death. His water lily art is part of a much larger collection of oil paintings of ponds. The painting that I chose is only a small portion of a huge collective work done by Monet. Unlike traditional paintings that try to capture as much realism as possible Monet dabbled in finding a way to depict nature as it is but not concealing it through perfection. Monet's work like the water Lillie's is painted using rough brush strokes. Monet made sure that the strokes were visible in the painting instead of trying to make it look like a flawless photograph. His usage of bright colors in this piece highlight the main theme of the painting which are Lillie's. Although when this painting is combined with all of the other ones you can see the pond is actually beneath a gray sky. this painting is showing the calm after the storm in a way. It also relates to the end of World War I just two years after it ended. It seems this painting holds true to a still nihilistic feeling or sorrow that is going around. The harsh reality of war still sits within the minds of the people and painting a "perfect" pond would be the same as trying to cover up the casualties of the war. As an impressionist artist with terrible eyesight at the time, the rough brush strokes don't only represent the harsh reality of life but aid in giving the pond it's own unique feel. The pond is an impression of beauty amongst the chaos Monet saw in Europe. 

  George Grosz, "Metropolis" 1917 

George Grosz (1893-1959) he is best known for his works themed on life in Berlin during the 20s. He was a part of the Dadaist and New Objectivity artistic movement during World War I. In this painting called "metropolis" we already get a sense of chaos coming from a city that seems be caught is some impending doom. The very geometric ways the people are drawn and the style the city is depicted is very Dadaist in that it doesn't follow the "expectations" of what life looks like. It is drawn in a style that enhances the chaos that is occurring. A very big factor is also the use of color in this painting. The dark shades of reds, oranges and black along with yellow create a theme of almost a city on fire. This painting was almost done in 1917, during World War I. During this time we know that Germany especially had a growning sense of nihilism and Dadaism was the artistic outlet of artist at the time. As a German citizen living during the war, Grosz had a lot of mixed emotions to present and most of these if not all where nihilistic towards the war. As a city burns in the background or is about to be attacked the people are fleeing in fear and confusion. Drawing the people not using the conventional techniques helps bring out the confusion they might have felt towards the war. The American flag standing and flying above the chaotic city unharmed expressed grosz own personal

Views on America and it's magnificence to rise high above the chaos brought upon by the war. Later in his life Grosz immigrate to America and becomes a citizen. 

  Edgar Degas, "Woman in the Bath" 1886 

Edgar Degas (1834-1917) was another very famous French Impressionist artist although he referred to himself as a realist. His most famous works surround the theme of dance and capturing the body in motion. Many of his paintings and well was sculptures are of ballerinas. He was also an Anti-Semite.