Deveˇtsil and Dada a Poetics of Play in the Interwar Czech Avant-Garde Meghan Forbes

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In August 1923, two young Czech artists, Karel Teige and Jindrˇich Honzl, sent to friend and poet Jaroslav Seifert a romantic picture postcard they had doctored to create a more modern scene.1 A pavilion in the back ground has been inscribed with the word “JAZZ,” and a rough sketch of an airplane fl ying overhead interrupts the tranquil setting. In the upper right corner, the word “DISK” and a drawing of it are penciled in.2 Below,

I thank Barbora Bartunkova and Vlad Beronja, in particular, for reading and commenting on multiple versions of this text, as well as the members of the Global Modernism working group at New York University and my colleagues in the Leonard A. Lauder Research Center for Modern Art at the Met. Finally, thanks are due the anonymous peer reviewers and edi tors of ARTMargins. A bibliographic note: Excerpts from Karel Teige’s various texts that deal with Dada tend to reappear across several of his articles. For the sake of simplicity and clarity, I note a republi cation only when the titles of two articles or book chapters are the same. It should be noted, however, that in many cases paragraphs of text from one article might also appear in an arti cle of another title. Conversely, two articles or chapters of the same title do not necessarily have the same exact text. All translations are my own unless otherwise noted. 1 There is no printed information on the back of the postcard to credit the manufacturer, art ist, or date of the work. I am using “romantic” here following Alison Rowley’s description of the commodity of picture postcards in fi ndesiècle Russia: “Russian romantic postcards were quite interchangeable with their European counterparts, and typically featured scenes of courting couples.” See her chapter “Bodies on Display: Romantic and Erotic Postcards in FindeSiècle Russia,” in Open Letters: Russian Popular Culture and the Picture Postcard 1880– 1922 (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2014), 105–35. 2 This was a common symbol in Deveˇtsil design—directly referencing the Deveˇtsil magazine Disk, which fi rst appeared in 1923—and was a popular motif in New Typography design generally.

© 2020 ARTMargins and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology https://doi.org/10.1162/artm_a_00270 7 8 artmargins 9:3 Fond JaroslavSeifert,Památníknárodníhopísemnictví(MuseumofCzechLiterature),Prague. Postcard fromKarelTeige andJindrˇich HonzltoJaroslav Seifert,datedAugust17,1923.Postcardmanufacture detailsunknown. art intodirectconfrontationwithpressingsocialandpolitical issues. geois artoftheacademyinorder“tofightforanewlife” thatbrought include Teige andSeifert)proclaimedtheirrejectionofthestaid,bour paper inDecember1920.Intheshortstatement,co-signers (which Republic, announcingitselfwithamanifestopublishedin a weekly the Deveˇtsil groupwasformedinthenewlyconstitutedCzechoslovak became thegroup’s leadingfigure.Intheaftermath ofWorld War I, 1900, Teige wasanartist,writer, editor, andtypographer whoarguably garde groupDeveˇtsil, activeinPragueandBrnothe1920s.Born Postcard from KarelTeige and 3 a has A timental midst “art oflife” ethosthroughpoetry, performance,architecture, andvisual this vein,theDeveˇtsil groupultimatelyforged Poetism, expressingan KarelTeige etal.,“U.S.Deveˇtsil,” inAvantgarda známáaneznámá , ed.VlašínŠteˇpán, 4 put

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Downloaded from http://direct.mit.edu/artm/article-pdf/9/3/7/1846583/artm_a_00270.pdf by guest on 25 September 2021 September 25 on guest by http://direct.mit.edu/artm/article-pdf/9/3/7/1846583/artm_a_00270.pdf from Downloaded Dada—and wasauniquecontributiontotheinterwaravant-gardes. art thatnotablydrewonConstructivism—andasIwillarguehere, 8 Gerald Janacek, “Dada inCentral andEasternEurope,”inCrisis intheArts:TheHistory of 7 MichelSanouillet,DadainParis, trans.SharmilaGanguly (Cambridge, MA:MITPress, 6 ThesolidscholarshipinEnglishandCzechontheDeveˇtsil groupandPoetism continuesto 5 orbit.” an import,”andPragueasa“primetransferpointfortheEasternDada consistent withSanouillet’s framing—withanemphasisonDada“as attempt inEnglishtoshowthemigrationsofDadaeastward,but— Orbit, editedbyGerald Janacek, wasperhapsthefirstcomprehensive “there isnoindigenousmovementtoreport.” the authorstatesthat,intermsofaDadapresenceCzechoslovakia, Michel Sanouillet’s massivetome,DadainParis, firstpublished in1965, pervasive thanthehistoricalrecordwouldsuggest.Inpreambleto down. Nonetheless,aDadaelementwithintheDeveˇtsil groupisfarmore in theCzechmilieu,andafullylocatable“CzechDada” isdifficult topin aware ofDada.At thesametime,thatmovementhadabelatedreception and againwithanemphasisonexchangeininternationalmilieu. a preliminarychronologyofdiscreteDadamoments,namelyinPrague, von DADA(Zürich: EditionSchulblade,2016). of Dada:Tomásˇ Glanc,“Sie faulenbereits,undderBrandistentfacht”:Die russischeRezeption 2018. InGerman, Tomásˇ GlanchasalsodocumentedthecontemporaryRussianreception sented attheMuseo NacionalCentro deArtsReinaSofia,Madrid, June 6–October22, 2018); publishedinconjunctionwithan exhibitionofthesametitle,organizedandpre 1924 (Madrid: Museo nacionalcentrodearteReinaSofía andCambridge, MA:MITPress, claim foranothereasternDadaconstellation.Margarita Tupitsyn, ed.,Russian Dada:1914– simply RussianDada,curatedbyMargarita Tupitsyn attheReinaSofiainMadrid, makesa of Cabaret Voltaire (Cambridge, MA:MITPress,2006).Additionally, a2018exhibitiontitled Romanian influence,asitssubtitlesuggests.SeeTom Sandqvist,DadaEast:TheRomanians women andintheconditional” (103). 103–7. Vachtova similarlypositsahistoryofCzechDadaas“import .without Guido Magnaguagno, RaimundMeyer, andJuri Steiner(Zurich: LinmatVerlag, 1994), on Prague,seeLudmila Vachtova, “Prag,”inDadaglobal,eds.Hans Bolliger, Judith Hossli, Europe andJapan, ed.Gerald Janacek (NewYork: G. K.Hall &Co.,1998),1, 2. Dada, ed.StephenFoster, vol.4,TheEasternDadaOrbit:Russia, Georgia, Ukraine,Central 2009), 33. Bell HouseofthePragueCityGallery, December11,2019,toMarch 29,2020. in conjunctionwithanexhibitionofthesametitle,organizedandpresentedatStone Pomajzlová, ed.,Deveˇtsil 1920–1931(Prague:Galerie hlavníhomeˇsta Prahy, 2019);published grow. ThemostrecentmajorcontributionistheexhibitionDeveˇtsil 1920–1931.SeeAlena High Jindrˇich As thepostcardtoSeifertsuggests,Deveˇtsil memberswerewell Karel Teige’s EarlyRationalism,”Umeˇní/Art 43,no. 1–2(1995):29–33. 7 More recently, inEnglish,wehaveTom Sandqvist’s DadaEast,butthisfocuseslargelyon In German, thevolumeDadaglobalhadappearedfouryearsprior. For ashortsection Inthisvolume,Jindrˇich and Toman, “NowYou SeeIt,Now You Don’t: DadainCzechoslovakia,withNoteson Low,” in Eastern Dada Orbit, Toman’s chapteronCzechDadaprovides 11. See also Jindrˇich 6 In1998,TheEasternDada

Toman, “Dada Well Constructed: 8 5

9 forbes | Dev eˇ t s i l a n d d a d a Downloaded from http://direct.mit.edu/artm/article-pdf/9/3/7/1846583/artm_a_00270.pdf by guest on 25 September 2021 September 25 on guest by http://direct.mit.edu/artm/article-pdf/9/3/7/1846583/artm_a_00270.pdf from Downloaded 10 artmargins 9:3 Dada trendsand locales. practices thatmight attempttoresponsiblyaccount forthefullrangeof the Czechcontextwithincontemporary historiographiesandexhibition doing, Ihopealsotosounda call foramoreseriousconsiderationof ples intoPoetism, using theseprinciplesfortheirownpurposes.Inso how Deveˇtsil members,andespeciallyTeige, incorporated Dadaprinci I amnotarguinghereforaCzechDadaassuch.Rather, Iaimtoshow building thatdoesnotaccommodatelocalcontextsontheir ownterms, does notwhollyfit,intheserviceofanexpansionistmode of canon cal formulationsrelatedtoPoetism. Wary ofinscribingavocabularythat thinking aboutsomeofDeveˇtsil’s own artisticproductionandtheoreti tion ofDadatendenciesoccurringelsewhere,butausefulcategory for within Deveˇtsil. Itpositionssuchmanifestationsasnotmerelyareflec The currentessayisanattempttomorefullyassertastrain ofDada Fond Artusˇ C Photographer unknown. Karel Teige. Undated. Literature), Prague. (Museum ofCzech národního písemnictví

erník, Památník Downloaded from http://direct.mit.edu/artm/article-pdf/9/3/7/1846583/artm_a_00270.pdf by guest on 25 September 2021 September 25 on guest by http://direct.mit.edu/artm/article-pdf/9/3/7/1846583/artm_a_00270.pdf from Downloaded graphic design,andeditorialdecisionsprovidesasalientpointofdepar 0 Thefirstvolume ofOnHumor, Clowns,andDadaists(Ohumoru,clownechadadaistech)was 10 See,forinstance, 9

a offer and grations Dada as from 1928and1930. volume collectionofTeige’s writings,OnHumor, ClownsandDadaists, 26), publishedinBrno,andReD (1927–31),inPrague—andthetwo- Here, aspecialemphasisisplacedontwomagazines—Pásmo(1924– in hisdualroleaseditorandprolificcontributortoDeveˇtsil publications. lar amonghiscolleaguesintakinganinterestDada,heisexceptional lished acrossDeveˇtsil booksandmagazines.WhileTeige wasnotsingu group’s engagementwithDadaispicturedinavarietyofimagespub indicate one of retical

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and as EnavantDada:dieGeschichte desDadaismus(Hanover: Paul SteegemannVerlag, 1920); Odeon, 1930),123–56,withanearlierversion inTvorba 2,no. 6(June 1927):168–86. Ralph of Dadaism,”inTheDadaPainters andPoets: AnAnthology,ed.Robert Motherwell,trans. Dada (Paris: Leterrainvague,1958);RichardHuelsenbeck, “Enavant Dada:AHistory Well Constructed”; andVachtova, “Prag.” letech 1921–1926,”Umeˇní 25(1987):30–42;Toman, “DadainCzechoslovakia” and“Dada Marta Filipová, ArtinTranslation 3,no. 1(2011):54–55;IrenaSuboti´c, “Zenit ajehookruh v (Leipzig: Reclam-Verlag, 1992);Frantisˇek S Holger Siegel, InunserenSeelen flatternschwarze Fahnen: Serbische Avantgarde 1918–1939 “Poetism andDada,”inKarelTeige: Captain oftheAvant-Garde (Prague:Kant,2018),177–84; Jazzová sekce,1980);Ludvík Kundera, Dada(Prague:Jazzová sekce,1983);ReaMichalová, Dada extensive andserious accountofDadainCzech.”Toman, “DadainCzechoslovakia,” 20. the 1924essayinSršatec fromwhichthetwovolumestaketheir namewasalready“thefirst in bothvolumeshadappearedpreviously asessaysinvariouspublications.AsToman notes, with thesequestionsalreadyinthepreceding volume,from1928,andthemajorityoftext was “thefirstbookonthehistoryofDadaism inEurope” (58),Teige certainlywasoccupied World WhichSmellsNice (Sveˇt, kterývoní published withthesubtitleTheWorld WhichLaughs (Sveˇt, kterýsesmeˇje), andthesecondThe In sum,thisessayasks:whatdidDeveˇtsil wantoutofDada?The

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forbes | Dev eˇ t s i l a n d d a d a Downloaded from http://direct.mit.edu/artm/article-pdf/9/3/7/1846583/artm_a_00270.pdf by guest on 25 September 2021 September 25 on guest by http://direct.mit.edu/artm/article-pdf/9/3/7/1846583/artm_a_00270.pdf from Downloaded 12 artmargins 9:3 “real initiatorandmainculpritofDada.” movement, butTeige assertsinnouncertaintermsthatTzara wasthe the essay“OnDadaists” introducesmanyfigurescentraltotheDada lished in1927andreproducedTheWorld WhichSmellsNice in1930, associates mostexplicitlywithDadaacrosshiswritings.First pub at home[inCzechoslovakia],around1922,withtheinceptionof academic prejudice,asTzara himselfspeaksofit,playeditsroleeven of Dada,thelessonalivingpoetry,emancipatedfromrefuse between aDadaandPoetist viewoftheworld:“Thespecificlesson poetry” (živoucípoesie)andmakesexplicittheconnection a “living his owndefinitionofDadathatunderscoresaDadaistembrace Poetism.” tainly Tzara, orthe“shybaladinofRomanianorigin,” of 1922.Whileitisuncertainwhetherthetwocrossedpaths,cer 1920, andTeige madehisfirsttriptotheFrench capitalinthesummer Tristan Tzara movedtoParis fromZurich—the birthplaceofDada—in Constructivism andD A LivingPoetry: PoetisminRela Deveˇtsil’s intersectionswithamoreglobalDadaconstruct. had aplatforminCzechavant-gardeprint,thisarticlemakesexplicit Through aconsiderationoftheoreticaltextsandartisticproductionthat the contextofitsbetter garde. ThisarticlealsointroducesDeveˇtsil’s Dadaengagementwithin ture forarticulatinghowDadamanifesteditselfwithintheCzechavant- žíti) inthemostbeautifulsenseofword,amodernEpicureanism.” from 1924,Teige describesPoetism similarly: “the artofliving(um 4 Karel Teige, “Poetism,” inKarelTeige/1900–1951: L’EnfantTerrible oftheCzechModernist Ibid.,123.Emphasisistheauthor’s. 14 13 Teige, “Odadaistech,”124. Teige, “Dadaismus,”Tvorba12 1,no. 8(February 1,1926):143. 11 no. 9–10 (July 1924). Emphasisismyown. MA: MITPress,1999), 71;originallypublishedasKarelTeige, “Poetismus,” Host 3, Avant-Garde, ed.EricDluhoschandRostislavS some Dadaisteveningsincommunistcircles after thefallofrepublic” (153). a groupof“Hungarian emigrants, membersofthegroupMa, whocarousedinPraguefor Schwitters, manyofwhommadevisitsand hostedperformancesinPrague.He alsonotes Richard Huelsenbeck, Johannes Baader, John Heartfield, RaoulHausmann, andKurt include thoseheassociateswithGerman Dada,suchasWalter Mehring, Hans Arp, (and wouldbothvisitPrague).But healsoextendshissummaryofthekeyfiguresto André Breton,whomadearathertumultuousdeparturefromDadatoformSurrealism and Georges Ribemont-Dessaignes,amongothers—evenincludingPhilippeSoupault and In thistext,Teige alsoreferencesfromtheFrench milieuFrancis Picabia,LouisAragon, 13 Inthefirstmanifestodedicatedto -understood affinities withConstructivism. ada tion to ˇ vácha, trans.AlexandraBüchler(Cambridge, 12 Inthisessay, Teige offers Deveˇtsil 11 ’s “art oflife”-ism whomTeige eˇ ním 14

Downloaded from http://direct.mit.edu/artm/article-pdf/9/3/7/1846583/artm_a_00270.pdf by guest on 25 September 2021 September 25 on guest by http://direct.mit.edu/artm/article-pdf/9/3/7/1846583/artm_a_00270.pdf from Downloaded his ity, tary principlehetermedPoetism.” as onlyone‘pole’ ofavant-gardeculture,coexistingwithacomplemen “For mostofthedecade[of1920s]Teige conceived Constructivism Constructivism totheEastandDadaWest. Peter Zusi notesthat Deveˇtsil tofind philosophicalandartisticpointsofinterestinboth an embraceofindividualistpleasuresispresent.Thisdualismled the veryfirstmanifesto,anunlikelysynthesisofsocialistrhetoricwith terms: “Poetism isthecrownoflife;Constructivismitsbase.” with Dadaasathirdpoint. vision forPoetism inthe1920sisconceivedratheratriangulation, tently positivereadingofDadaacrossthe1920s,norasingle as previousscholarshavepointedout,thatTeige doesnotoffer aconsis as “anartoflivingandenjoying,” a strongassociationbetweenConstructivismandnewbeauty. Teige alsoforegrounds,bothinthisPoetist manifestoandelsewhere, 0 Teige, “Našezákladnaanašecesta.Neˇkolik principielních poznámek.Konstruktivismusa 20 Teige, “Dada,”inSveˇt, kterývoní,76;originallypublishedinHost 6,no. 2(1926). 19 Tristan Tzara, “DadaManifesto 1918,”inTheDadaPainters andPoets , 82;originallypub 18 Peter Zusi, “TheStyleofthePresent:KarelTeige onConstructivism andPoetism,” 17 Ibid.,67.Emphasisistheauthor’s, andthetranslation ismodified. Ibid.,66.Emphasisistheauthor’s. 16 15 is the construction–poetry, ment–intellect, rupt, difference sition, Dada Dada colors, inconsistencies:

setting project project set poetismus,” Pásmo1, no. 3(1924):2. lished as“Manifeste Dada1918,”3(December 1918). Representations 88,no. 1(Fall 2004):103. Within thiscontextofcontradiction,itisimportant toacknowledge, The It mightseemunlikelythatPoetism, emphaticallyinsistedupon

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forbes | Dev eˇ t s i l a n d d a d a Downloaded from http://direct.mit.edu/artm/article-pdf/9/3/7/1846583/artm_a_00270.pdf by guest on 25 September 2021 September 25 on guest by http://direct.mit.edu/artm/article-pdf/9/3/7/1846583/artm_a_00270.pdf from Downloaded 14 artmargins 9:3 in aworldwhichshedsbloodtoredeemitstomorrow.” were compelledtoquestionthesense,utility, andgeneralbenefitofart drastically alteredsociety, when“intheageof[First] World War, we face oftrauma.Teige seesinDadaareimaginingoftheplaceart Poetism couldaddresstheneedtofindjoyineverydaylifeoreven Teige’s interpretation, Dadaperformedapoeticsofplay, andlikeDada, “amidst day-tobitterdisappointments.” times, foritisour“great fortune,”hewrites,tobeablelaugh,even Dada forTeige couldbeunderstoodasfindinghumorevenindark ing Constructivismwithhumor.” tions ofPoetism. But itwasalso,asToman notes,“morethanembellish nihilism. ItisaversionofDadaalignedconvenientlywithearlyitera times contradictorywithhissimultaneousreadingofitasaform tears?” ship, inaworldwhichlaughs,[then]whocaresifititselfto Dadaists, thatifthe-ism“wasborninanatmosphereofcheerfulfellow of thefirstinhisfuturetwo-volumetomeOnHumor, and Clowns, wrote intheoriginalPoetism manifestoof1924,anticipatingthesub of acomedytenuouslyconstructedontherubbleWorld War I, Teige months andliberatingnonsense:themeaningofyouthisdizziness out lookingawayfromtheworld’s tragedies: “Longlivethevictorious nonsense(osvobozujícínesmyslnost)” called a “liberating emphasis oncatharsisandrehabilitationinthepostwarperiod—whathe could beunderstoodasavulgarized(mis)readingofDadawithan harshness ofreallifethroughnonsenseandabsurdhumor. was a“somewhatgeneralizedanddomesticatedformofDada.” 7 Teige, “Poetism,” 68.Emphasisistheauthor’s, andthetranslation ismodified. 27 Toman, “DadaWell Constructed,”32. 26 Ibid.,580. 25 Teige, “Ohumoru,clownechadadaistech,”inAvantgarda známáaneznámá,ed.Vlašín 24 Teige, “Dada,”80. 23 Toman, “DadainCzechoslovakia,”21. 22 AsChalupeckýwrites,inlightofTeige’s fluidperceptionofDada,“To describeTeige’s opin 21 it. 21 Deveˇtsil’s interpretationofaDadasensehumor, writesToman, volumes ofthesametitle,Iemployitalics. erencing thearticlespecifically, Iusequotationmarks, andwhendiscussingthecollected Due tothemultipleiterations,Iquotefrom theanthologizedversionofthistext.Whenref (July–August 1924):3–4,1–2,2–4;alsorepublished inPásmo2,no. 1(October1925):6–10. Šteˇpán, vol. 1(Prague:Svoboda,1970),571; originallypublishedinSršatec4,nos.38,39,40 of Dadagoes“inalldirections:wasconfused,funny, important,tragic” (105). ion ofDadaisratherdifficult” (10).IllustrativeofthisisVachtova’s claimthathisreception In the1920s,Teige andDeveˇtsil wereemphaticallyyouthfulwith 27 Dadahadappealpreciselybecauseitinterveneddirectlyinto the 26 Acknowl 24 edging thecatharticaspects His interpretationofDada 23 25 Theutilityof —which isat 22 In title

Downloaded from http://direct.mit.edu/artm/article-pdf/9/3/7/1846583/artm_a_00270.pdf by guest on 25 September 2021 September 25 on guest by http://direct.mit.edu/artm/article-pdf/9/3/7/1846583/artm_a_00270.pdf from Downloaded festation ofthisimpulse. February 1925,wasarealmani which tookplaceinBrno Eccentric Carnival ofArtists, nude. Eiffel Tower andalargefemale with astylizedrenderingofthe masks, infrontofabackdrop painted facesorpapier clownish poses,donning people gatherinavarietyof capture thefestivities,asyoung Brno-based magazineSalon Photographs publishedinthe have beenthelifeofparty. the groupmembersappearto announced inPásmo,and as aDeveˇtsil event, itwas Though notexclusivelybilled Václavková, partnerofanother BrnoDeveˇtsil memberBe as “Adorable ‘Deveˇtsil girl’” (Deveˇtsilacˇka) butisactuallyJaroslava back, butkeepshersmilingfacevisible.Thewomaniscaptioned only to revealanumber9(deveˇt inCzech,referencingDeveˇtsil) onher long-sleeved blouse,withheeledpumps,turnsawayfromthe camera 0 ak,“I.excentrickýkarneval umeˇlcu˚ vBrneˇ,” Salon 3,no. 10(1925):n.p. 30 Inthesame period,in1925and1926,aseriesofraucous,carnivalesque“eccentric eight 29 Teige, “Dada,”83. 28 and laughter.” Václavek, aneditorofPásmo . Bothphotographsonthispage—the Moravian Gallery, 2014),75–79,aswell as plates23–30. Garde, ed.Lucie C International Avant-Garde,” inBrnoDeveˇtsil andMultimedia Overlaps oftheArtisticAvant- Carnival ofArtists,seePetr Ingerle,“BrnoDeveˇtsil: ALocalChapterintheHistory ofthe description, alongwithdocumentationof theeighto’clocks aswelltheFirst Eccentric o’clocks” werealsohostedinBrnoandassociatedwith thelocalDeveˇtsil chapter. For abrief Museum inBrno. Photographs byVladimírLehk´y. Moravian of ArtistsinBrno")Salon3,no. 10(1925). umeˇlcu From thearticle“I.excentrick´y karneval 30 Inoneimage,awomandressedinflouncy, beltedpantsanda ˚ vBrneˇ” ("FirstEccentricCarnival 28 TheFirst ˇ esálková andPetr Ingerle,trans. Miloš Bartonˇ andAlanWindsor (Brno: -mâché 29

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forbes | Dev eˇ t s i l a n d d a d a Downloaded from http://direct.mit.edu/artm/article-pdf/9/3/7/1846583/artm_a_00270.pdf by guest on 25 September 2021 September 25 on guest by http://direct.mit.edu/artm/article-pdf/9/3/7/1846583/artm_a_00270.pdf from Downloaded 20 artmargins 9:3 5 Teige, “Sclownyakomedianty,” inOhumor, clownechadadaistech:Sveˇt, kterýsesmeˇ 45 were byGeorge Grosz. German version,intendedtobepremieredinKönigsberg1922, Though neverrealized,theinitialcostumedesignsfor play’s tions arefeatured. literary sceneinitsprogramming.SeveralinternationalDadaproduc design, andshowshowtheLiberatedTheaterengagedapan-European dance performancesdocumentinginnovativeCzechcostumeandstage of ReD—which wasassembledbyHonzl—alsofeaturestheaterand poem, publishedinReD thesameyear, wellillustratesthissentiment. music hallisclosetotheintegralpoetryofPoetism.” Deveˇtsil’s workandtheatmosphereofmusichall:“Theart On Humor, Clowns,andDadaists,hewritesoftheconnectionbetween Dada generally)assiteswheremodernpoetryandartsynthesize.In and dance(whichhealsotendedtoconflatewitheachother, andwith hall (ormagazine).Teige situatedthemusichall,circus,jazz,sport, page andbeckoningtheviewertofollowintointeriorsofmusic Heythum. Ribemont-Dessaignes’s TheMute Canary, withsetdesignbyAntonín from theLiberatedTheater’s productionoftheFrench DadaistGeorges 9 SeeRichard West, “Georg Grosz: Figure forYvan Goll’s Methusalem ,” TheBulletin ofthe 49 48 TheplaypremieredattheTheaterNaSlupionMarch 17,1926,whichwouldbecome the 47 OneexampleofaDadacollaboration withtheLiberatedTheaterthatdoesnotfigureinthis 46 ´c IamthinkingwithAleksandarBoškovi here,wholikewisedrawsonToman’s conception 44 that aspirestowardacinematicreading, as wellsketchesofclownishcostumedesignsbyOtakarMrkvicˇka. Goll’s Methusalem, withphotodocumentationattributedtoRössler, reproduction). Asadvertisedonthecover, therearealsoimagesfrom right andalargeumbrellatohisleft (alsobearingtext,illegibleinthe name oftheplaywrightschematicallyrenderedinblocklettersathis Review 76,no. 2(Summer 2017):395–427. Rozhkov’s PhotomontagestoMaiakovskii’s Poem ‘To theWorkers ofKursk,’ Cleveland Museum ofArt 55, no. 4(April 1968):91–94. Methusalem premieredonMarch 10,1927,attheUmeˇ playhouse ofthebreakawayDadatheater group. Theater in1926,arestillrememberedwell).” Teige, “O dadaistech,”146. that Schwittersis“an excellent orator(hiseveningperformances,arrangedbytheLiberated issue ofReD isSchwitters’s “Evenings ofGrotesque.” Teige writesoftheseperformances (Prague: Odeon,1928),66. book other means” todelineatetheavant-garde photomontage’s function(specificallywithin the of “photopoetry” inrelationtothepicturepoem,andPavle Levi’s coinageof“cinema by A compendiumofphotographsinsidetheApril 1928issue form) 47 Intheimage,amanstandsperchedonscaffolding, the as a “cinematic 46 For instance,onephotographcapturesascene 49 Marking anotherexampleofthecollapsed dispositive.” See “Revolution, 44 gesturingatalifebeyondthe lecká beseda. Reproduction, 45 Rössler’s picture Representation: ” inSlavic je 48 Iurii

Downloaded from http://direct.mit.edu/artm/article-pdf/9/3/7/1846583/artm_a_00270.pdf by guest on 25 September 2021 September 25 on guest by http://direct.mit.edu/artm/article-pdf/9/3/7/1846583/artm_a_00270.pdf from Downloaded nology,” Constructivist group,initsconcertedemploymentof“good newtech describes thecompanybothasa“cheerful cult” (veselýkult)anda clear Dadaaffinities, asort-ofpressreleasefortheLiberatedTheater of theCzechperiodicalTam Tam , amusicandtheaterpublicationwith 1926 issueofPásmovisualizesthisinterplay. 2 Uponseeingthiswork inPásmo,Hannes Meyer wouldwritetoeditorArtušC “Osvobozenédivadlo!”Tam52 Tam no. 5(December1925):29. 51 Ibid.,93. 50 the insignia“Grosz, Constructor.” drawings forthisDadaistplay—createdwithcompassand ruler—with opposition betweenDadaandConstructivism,Grosz stampedhis Deveˇtsil,” Umeˇní 64,no. 3–4(December 2016):291–303. “‘To ReachovertheBorder’: An InternationalConversationbetweenthe Bauhausand essentially deconstructingthemontage. For more onthisexchange,seeMeghan Forbes, therein—one ofa“moreconstructive” stage designandtheother“circus image”— to reproduceinaspecialissueofDasWerk aspecific selectionofphotographsincluded An earlierphotomontagecollaborationofMrkvicˇka andTeige ina 51 thushighlightingbothitsDadaistandConstructivistaspects. 50 Likewise,inthelasttwoissues 52 Themontagemixes ˇ erník asking Rádl. Privatecollection. Upper photographbyOtto (April 1928):234. Interior ofReD1,no. 7 21

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the Downloaded from http://direct.mit.edu/artm/article-pdf/9/3/7/1846583/artm_a_00270.pdf by guest on 25 September 2021 September 25 on guest by http://direct.mit.edu/artm/article-pdf/9/3/7/1846583/artm_a_00270.pdf from Downloaded theater . couldlearnalotfromtraditionalcircus,” cus andDadainclearterms:“Thehumorcharacterof our ageis tanecˇnífraška (farce), parodie(danceparody),and,predictably, cirkus. title ofTheMute Canary appears inboldlettersalongsidethewords Cover ofPásmo2,no. 8(April1926).PhotomontagebyAntoninHeythum.Privatecollection. 56 55 from“MíraHolzbachová,”inC Teige, “Ohumoru,clownechadadaistech,” 584. Holzbachová’s choreography, held onMarch 11,1926,atNaSlupi. Liberated Theater. Thelattertwowordsherearederived fromaneveningdedicatedto Thewordsarecutfrompromotionalposters withtheprintedtitlesofperformancesat The ArtBulletin 86,no. 1(March 2004):114–35. Matthew Witkovsky, “StagingLanguage:Milcˇa Mayerová andtheCzechBookAlphabet,” Divadelní ústav, 2001),100–1.For moreonMayerová andherrelationship toDeveˇtsil, see In “OnHumor, Clowns, andDadaists,”Teige assertsthat“modern ˇ eský tanecˇní slovník:Tanec, balet,pantomime(Prague: 56 equatingthecir 55 23

forbes | Dev eˇ t s i l a n d d a d a Downloaded from http://direct.mit.edu/artm/article-pdf/9/3/7/1846583/artm_a_00270.pdf by guest on 25 September 2021 September 25 on guest by http://direct.mit.edu/artm/article-pdf/9/3/7/1846583/artm_a_00270.pdf from Downloaded 24 artmargins 9:3 compared thecircusclown—an“expert inallformsoflife” honorary BrnoDeveˇtsil membership. along withDouglasFairbanks andHarold C.Lloyd, hasbeenoffered and cane.Thesamepageincludesanoticeannouncingthat Chaplin, laugh, andsportinghisfamiliaraccessories—bowlercap,big shoes, is gracedwithafull-bodyphotographicportraitofChaplin, caughtmid- poet, “thegreatestofwhomisChaplin.” Léger fromGoll’s bookChaplinade. Teige began toreproduceCubistrenderingsofChaplinbyFernand Chaplin appearsfrequentlyacrossDeveˇtsil publications.By late1922, HoHiHoHo Bang.” convents bawdyhousestheatresrealitiessentimentsrestaurants claimed: “We arecircusdirectorswhistlingamidthewindsofcarnivals famous “Mr. Antipyrine,”firstrecitedin1916,whichTzara pro in his1926essay“Dadaismus”). Thecollectionopenswiththenow appeared inprintasSeven DadaManifestos (whichTeige references lished, textsrelatedtoTzara’s earlierZurich andParis performances Teige, whoproclaimedthat“theartoftheclownissynthetic,” dic attributesoftheclownandcircustoengageserioussocialissues. perfect embodimentofthePoetist “art ofliving” inhisuseofthecome beloved acrosstheavant-gardes,whorepresentedforTeige themost the limitedspacehereallows.But itwasperhapsCharlieChaplin,much ing aroundlookedlikeamongDeveˇtsil actorsanddancers,beyondwhat for catharsisandlaughterevenintheaftermath ofdevastation. of humorrelatedtothenihilistqualitiesDadaandcanreflectadesire World War I; inTeige’s interpretation,itboth canbeasubversiveform certain typeofhumorappropriatetoaddressingtheterribleabsurdity 3 SeePásmo 1, no. 13–14(1925):1. 63 Teige didmeetLéger inParis in1922,andtheysubsequentlycorrespondedaboutpermis 62 Teige, “Estetikafilmuakinografie,”47. 61 Ibid. 60 Teige, “Sclownyakomedianty,” 57. 59 Tristan Tzara, “Manifesto ofMr. Antipyrine,”inTheDadaPainters andPoets , 75;originallypub 58 Ibid.,582.Emphasis istheauthor’s. 57 to usthespectacularcircus.” Dada. Thespiritofisthecircusclown.presents 25, 1922,Fond KarelTeige, Památník národníhopísemnictví,Prague. sion toreproduceLéger’s “Charlot.”Letter fromFernand LégertoKarelTeige, November Budry, n.d.).Subsequent scholarshipanda2005reprint datetheoriginalpublicationto1924. lished as“manifestedemonsieurantipyrine,” inSept manifestesDada(Paris: EditionsJean There areampleexamplestoillustratewhatthiselementofclown 58 Thecircus,forDeveˇtsil andDada,stoodinfora 57 Inthesameyearasthisessaywasfirstpub 62 Thecoverofa1925issuePásmo 63 61 Itislittlesurprisethenthat 60 —to the 59

had Downloaded from http://direct.mit.edu/artm/article-pdf/9/3/7/1846583/artm_a_00270.pdf by guest on 25 September 2021 September 25 on guest by http://direct.mit.edu/artm/article-pdf/9/3/7/1846583/artm_a_00270.pdf from Downloaded 4 KarelTeige, “ModernTypography,” inKarelTeige/1900–1951: L’EnfantTerrible, Dluhosch 64 The Circus Circus The Laughs book,” cover and and Dadaists:AWorld whichLaughs).Prague:Odeon,1928.Privatecollection. Cover ofKarelTeige, Ohumoru,clownechadadaistech:Sv

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forbes | Dev eˇ t s i l a n d d a d a Downloaded from http://direct.mit.edu/artm/article-pdf/9/3/7/1846583/artm_a_00270.pdf by guest on 25 September 2021 September 25 on guest by http://direct.mit.edu/artm/article-pdf/9/3/7/1846583/artm_a_00270.pdf from Downloaded 28 artmargins 9:3 new machineart.” Heartfield holdingasignthatreads:“Art isdead.LongliveTatlin’s (1920) inBerlin,atwhich aphotographcapturesGrosz andJohn This echoesasloganthatgracedtheErsteInternationaleDadaMesse smaller formtoBrno(asTheExhibitionofNewArt)inearly1924. was subsequentlyhungasabannerwhentheexhibitionmovedin Tzara aswellwithEhrenburg,Hausmann, andTatlin. a productivevalueofrepudiationinartthatisarguablyinflectedwith means nothing” (or, wecouldtranscribeit,Da assertation that“inanewworldarthasfunction.” burg’s proclamationthatnewartisnolongerart,andfollowswiththe (Revolutionary AnthologyofDeveˇtsil, 1922), Teige againquotesEhren (including Russian,butnotCzech). the word“Dada,”sincedameans“yes” inseveralSlaviclanguages Seifert in1923,hewasperhapsdrawingoutthe“yes” hiddentwicein these pagesattheBazaarofModernArtinPrague1923. (Da “all togethernothing” in factsquaresuptopreciselysomething that thecatalogofDadamomentsinCzechcontextamountsto terms—on theglobalDadamap. 1920s stakesaclaimfortheCzechinterwaravant-garde—onitsown 4 SeeHelena Manˇasová Hradská,“Avantgarda vevýkladnísk 74 5 SeePetr Ingerle,“Brnoaliterárníumeˇlecká avantgardadvacátýchlet20.století,”in 75 8 Teige explicitlynoted thishimself,alsousingthenotation ofanequation:“[theword‘Dada’] 78 KarelTeige, “Umeˇní dnesazítra,”Revolucˇní sborníkDeveˇtsil (1922):199. 77 InDadaAlmanach , n.p.(betweenpages40and41). 76 2 =0Dada).Betterthannothing,theworkofDeveˇtsil inthe When Teige scrawledtheequation“Da (1924) vBrneˇ trans. the Twenties: TheMomentofSweetEjaculation,”inKarelTeige/1900–1951: L’EnfantTerrible, Palace oftheNationalGallery, Prague,fromOctober24,2018;KarelSrp,“KarelTeige in with along-termexhibitionofthesametitle,organizedandpresentedatTrade Fair Lada Hubatová-Vacková (Prague:Narodnígalerie Praha,2018),55;publishedinconjunction “Deveˇtsil—Bazar moderníhoumeˇní,” inPrvnírepublika1918–1938,ed.AnnaPravdováand Deveˇtsil 1920–1931,70.For moreontheseexhibitions see,forinstance,Hana Rousová, a výstavbe in Russian=yes,yes.” “Odromantismukdadaismu,”8. latter upheldasamoresuccessfulconstruction, asitwasinfactexecuted. of itisreproduced,forinstance,inŽivot , alongsideaphotographoftheEiffel Tower—the was neverbuilt,butitbecameapopular symbolacrosstheinterwaravant-gardes.Asketch Museum ofArt;Cambridge, MA:MITPress,2002),114–18. ed. Timothy O.Benson,trans.AndréeCollierZáleská (LosAngeles:LosAngelesCounty as Projectile,”inCentral EuropeanAvant-Gardes: ExchangeandTransformation, 1910–1930, Vladimir Tatlin’s modelfortheconstructionofamonumenttoThirdInternational Karolina ˇ Brna(Brno:Statutárnímeˇsto Brno, Archivmeˇsta Brna,2012),345. pohledemdobovéhotisku,”inBrnovminulostiadnes:p Vocˇadlo, 76 Inanotheranthology, Revolucˇní sborník Deveˇtsil 25–27; and Srp, “Poetry 78 InthecontextofTzara’s “Dada in the 2 =dada Midst 2 =0),Teige’s concession rˇ íni. Výstavanovéhoumeˇní of ” onapostcardto the 77 World: Teige proposes rˇ íspeˇvky kdeˇjinám 74 The Theslogan Avant-Garde 75