History: Dadaism
The Dada movement took place between 1916-1920 and marked the beginning of the end of Modernism, starting the shift into the Postmodern.
In order to truly understand Dada, you need to understand how devastating WWI was. It was nothing short of...
Hell on Earth.
The difference from previous wars was the widespread use of new devastating technologies like machine guns, tanks, flamethrowers, airplanes,, chemical weapons, & trench warfare-- all leading to HORRIFIC trauma. An estimated 15-20 million people died in the war, and the few who did make it back alive were severely disfigured & mentally shattered by shell shock— what we know today to be PTSD. People were literally brain damaged from the scars carved into their souls by the horrific & pointless violence.
Dadaism was the response—it was irrational, rebellious, random, absurd, nonsensical,
visceral—like a SCREAM, or A FIT….
…Verging on MADNESS...
(we will watch the first 25 minutes in class)
Think about the similarities between the world of the Dadaists and the world we live in today.
Disillusionment with Systems of Power:
World War I shattered faith in governments & institutions.
Today's global crises—climate change, political polarization, war & economic inequality—have led to widespread skepticism toward traditional power structures. People are increasingly distrustful of political leaders, corporations & media, mirroring the disillusionment that fueled Dadaism’s anti-establishment ethos.
Global Conflict and Chaos:
Dadaism emerged as a reaction to the horrors and absurdities of World War I.
Today, ongoing wars, mass shootings, humanitarian crises, and political instability create a sense of global chaos, leading artists and thinkers to challenge dominant narratives, much like the Dadaists did in their time.
"All wars are waged for the sake of keeping the capitalists in control of the world’s resources. The working man fights and dies, and the capitalist profits."
Bertrand Russell (British philosopher, 1914):
Crisis of Meaning:
In the post-war era, Dadaists questioned traditional notions of art, beauty, and meaning in a world that seemed senseless.
Today, many artists grapple with a postmodern crisis of meaning in a world oversaturated with images that are hyper-commercialized, causing us to question the role of art in a culture increasingly dominated by digital media and commodification.
Cultural Rebellion:
Dadaism was a radical rejection of bourgeois culture and the conventions of art, embracing absurdity, randomness, and anti-art sentiments.
Today, movements like glitch art, meme culture, and post-internet art reflect a similar rebellion against mainstream culture, often embracing irony, playfulness, and the breakdown of traditional art forms.
5. Rapid Technological Change:
The early 20th century saw unprecedented technological advancements, such as industrial machinery, weaponry, and mass communication, which transformed society and created a sense of alienation.
Similarly, today's rapid growth in AI, digital technology, and automation has reshaped how we work, communicate, and create, prompting existential questions about the future of humanity and creativity—
6. Pandemic:
Spanish Flu Vs. COVID.
The effects of the pandemic revealed cracks in the system, showing how paper thin the walls of capitals can be.
Then/Now
Art & Tech sitting in a tree? ...or not.
Here are some examples of how artists reacted to the invention of the camera in 1816:
Fear: Some artists feared that photography would destroy high-quality art and put them out of work.
Hostility: Some artists were outright hostile to photography.
Mixed feelings: Some artists welcomed photography as an ally against the classical academic style, while others felt disdainful of its mechanical nature.
Curiosity: Many artists were curious and wanted to test the limits of the new medium.
Incorporation: Some portrait painters tried to incorporate photography with painting.
What does this remind you of?
Examples:
The Dadaists not only embraced photography, but they were actively exploring interesting techniques to use it in their processes in unexpected ways (like photomontage), which transformed collage from a simple technique into a radical, politically charged art form that questioned society, politics, and the nature of art itself.
The Father / Hannah Hoch / 1920
Hannah Höch, - Cut with the Kitchen Knife Dada through the Last Weimar Beer-Belly Cultural Epoch in Germany, 1919-20, photomontage and collage with watercolor, 114 x 90 cm (Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Nationalgalerie)
Raoul Hausmann, A Bourgeois Precision Brain Incites a World Movement, also known as Dada siegt (Dada Triumphs), 1920, photomontage and collage with watercolor on paper, 33.5 x 27.5 cm (private collection)
The Dada movement at it’s core is about redefining what could be considered art as well a reject any form of artistic authority. This questioning of art introduced the act of remix in the way we see it today, a literal remix not just growing on old ideas, & became a sort of “meta art”.
Here are a couple of the mosts famous Dada remix art pieces by Marcel Duchamp, the first is called "L.H.O.0.Q" where Duchamp penciled a mustache and goatee on a print of Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa and framed it as a new piece of art. The second is, Duchamp's "Fountain" (1917) - which is just a urinal, but literally changed the art world forever.
The act of choosing the urinal, signing it, and 'framing' is Remix. It's up to interpretation, but Duchamp's point was "art" is not just in the object, but in the act of selection, presentation, and the idea behind it. The whole movement challenged the traditional definitions and boundaries of art.
💥 Yo, this is seriously on point in this moment! 💥
But Why?
hint:
commodification*
oversaturation*
industrialization*
A New Digital Dada Minifesto!
The Dadaist movement was related to the rise of photography, so how will art move in the age of AI?
"If Stable Diffusion is considered a problem, what if we just take everyone's artwork as is, add mustaches to them, and put them on sale? It's transformative, after all."
--Unkown Artist on Reddit
What if we embraced AI to start a Neo-Dadaism movement?
The Dadaists embraced photography, and enjoyed its modern means of creation. They experimented with techniques like double exposures, radical perspective, and unconventional subjects, and invented photomontage, a collage of separate photographs that is re-photographed so that the final image is converted back into a seamless photographic print. This was a significant departure from the traditional view of photography as a form of mechanical reproduction.
In post-WWI Germany and Paris, a groundbreaking practice of photography emerged, inspired by Dada's improvisational practices and the Surrealist's foray into the unconscious, dream, and fantasy realms. Artists began to work with the camera and progressive techniques to create images jarringly detached from photography's original uses. The Dadaist movement not only coincided with the rise of photography but also significantly influenced its evolution as an art form.
I would contend that, just like now with the introduction of AI, photography challenged traditional portrait and landscape art, and the artists that rose to the challenge by redefining what art is, embracing and extending the medium rather than rejecting it as art are the ones who we study in the history books for bringing us into the next major art movement-- Postmodernism.
To be clear I don't think the answer is to accept AI as is-- But to embrace the possibilities, to figure out not just how to use it, but push it off the cliff of intended purposes, making it ours, not the other way around. To flip it on it's head like a urinal and change the artworld forever!
Life in this moment often feel like a real dystopia. Let the rebellious spirit of Dadaism inspire you to address current societal challenges and fragmentation.
Embrace change--be a catalyst of the FUTURE!
Have a fit! VERGE ON MADNESS!!
Assignment Parameters
For this assignment, you will collaborate in small teams to create a single image or animated GIF. Each member of your team will make an equal contribution to the final artwork.
Steps:
Choose a Theme: Art is Language, therefore, it is crucial to have a clear message in mind. Collaborate with your team to choose a central idea. This concept can be simple or complex, but it should be expressible in three words or less (like a title) and also allow for a 250-word elaboration (your final statement). **Do not share your concept with anyone outside of your group!**
Digital Material Gathering: Once you have your idea set, begin to gather digital materials from a wide variety of sources:
google image search,
scans of physical images,
images from your own life,
stills from videos,
AI generated images.
Place the images in a shared folder that everyone in your group has access to. Everyone in the group must make a substantial contribution to the folder.
Collage Creation: Using the images from your shared folder, work together to create a digital collage in Photoshop. I will briefly demonstrate some Photoshop techniques, including selection tools, blending modes and generative fill. Use an exquisite corpse style approach, meaning each member will contribute equally to the collage. Your final piece should clearly reflect your shared concept. Feel free to adjust your work as needed, but finalize your idea before the critique.
Critique: During critique we will attempt to read your image to see if we can guess your concept--testing your visual communication & our visual literacy.
Collage art, like Dada, began as a rebellious and experimental medium. How can you use the serendipitous, chaotic and illogical nature of collage to make a statement-- to SCREAM at the state of the world today?
Do Now:
I will briefly show you some digital collage tricks, including AI in photoshop, and then we will go to breakout rooms with our group to begin working on the collage.
Questions?
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