Assignment #6: Early 20th Century

1.     Describe a dada artwork.     

The dada movement began in protest of World War I. The two syllable word dada was used to describe this movement because it was well suited for expressing the essence of attitude, not a style. Dada was a rebellious attitude rather than a cohesive style. It was a way of criticizing society through art. Dadaist who experienced the horror of WWI believed that the world no longer made sense therefore they rejected all accepted moral, social, political and aesthetic values.  Dada artwork was made with cheap noncollectable materials.

                                   

The art work above named ABCD by Raoul Hausmann is a self portrait. Below Hausmann’s face is an announcement of his performance of a phonetic poem. The letters VOCE (Italian for “voice”) appear inside an earlike ellipse. The letters ABCD, a prototypical poem, are clinched to his teeth. The tickets to the Kaiserjubilee in his hat indicate the empty formalities of the social milieu in which he functioned, while the intentionally provocative gynecological diagram alludes to the organic necessity of his art.

2.     What were the influences of Jacob Lawrence?

Jacob Lawrence was influenced by the Harlem Renaissance, African American history and European modernist. Lawrence’s art incorporated brilliant use of color, flat space and the use of pattern. Lawrence referred to his style as “dynamic cubism”.

                               

The art work above Pool Parlor by Jacob Lawrence portrays flat geometric shapes. There is exaggeration of the limbs and gestures. The Shoemaker also by Lawrence shows flatness of geometric shapes and incorporates cubism and vibrant colors.