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Group 2 Modernism Part 1 MODERNISM the lasting influence of dadaism dada- and surrealism in japanese photography precisionism and the photographical influence aleksandr rodchenko The Lasting Influence of Dadaism What is Dada? ● In general, it is difficult to define any art movements as we cannot treat them as discrete concepts; instead, they are ‘living organisms’ that evolve with the time and place they inhabit, and are continually altered by the subjectivities of individual artists ● According to Hans Richter, Dada is “anti-art”, portraying the ‘opposite’ of everything which art stood for. Where art was concerned with traditional aesthetics, Dada ‘ignored’ aesthetics. If art was to appeal to sensibilities, Dada was intended to offend. ● Cut-up technique and assemblage ● Collage and photomontage ● Readymades and found objects ● Political activism and ‘anti-bourgeois’ ● Photography Hannah Höch, Cut with the Kitchen Knife Dada Through the Last Weimar Beer-Belly Cultural Epoch of Germany (1919-1920) Recap: Dadaism in Photography ● Dadaists embraced photography as a modern means of creation even though it is often slandered as being more technological than creative ● Their experiments with the medium include use of double exposures, radical perspective, and unconventional subjects. Dadaists also experimented with photograms, or cameraless photographic prints that record the placement of objects on photosensitive paper (e.g. Rayographs). Disclaimer ● It is impossible to accurately pinpoint who influenced whom, especially in our increasingly globalised art world ● Moreover, the ideas espoused by Dadaists have become mainstream. Hence, artists might not even recognise that they are influenced by Dadaism. ● It is also important to note that many artworks fall into more than one of these ‘categories’. Although movements and concepts are useful when studying artworks, we should never reduce works of art into essentialising labels. 1. ‘Anti-Aesthetics’ ● The Dadaists is often touted as the first artists to abandon conventional materials and techniques ● They were ‘not interested’ in creating works which the public would admire in a detached manner. What is important to them is that they provoked the public into reacting to their activities. To the Dadaists, a violently negative reaction was better than passive acceptance. Replica of Marcel Duchamp’s Fountain (1917) Andy Warhol, Liz (1965), screenprint on paper Rong Rong, Beijing No. 3 (1998) 2. Social Realism ● John Heartfield played a major role in the Dada Movement; he learned techniques and styles from many other artists who expressed their political ideas through art ● His experiences in World War I led him to conclude that the only worthy art, was that which took account of social realities. He witnessed a country of hungry, desolate people in the midst of chaos during the World War II, and through his art, he protested their suffering. John Heartfield, Those Who Read Capitalist Newspapers Will Become Blind and Deaf (1930) Shomei Tomatsu, Melted Bottle (1961) Zhang Dali, Dialogue: Forbidden City (1998) Meridel Rubensein, “Damaged shrine near Al-Sagyal. Now deserted, it was once the largest city in the marsh,” part of the Eden in Iraq series (2011 - present) 3. Conceptualism Conceptualism is art in which the concepts and ideas involved in the work take precedence over traditional aesthetic, technical, and material concerns Replica of Marcel Duchamp’s Fountain (1917) Conceptualism vs. Concept According to Zhuang Wubin, Let me use the quote of Chua Chye Teck, who once said to me that there is no such thing as conceptual photography in Singapore. But there are Singaporean photographers who are doing projects with a concept [...] There’s a difference between the two. Conceptualism as a practice has a specific history: 1970s, Western Europe, America, parts of Canada [...] So now a lot of people say that “I’m doing conceptual photography”. My question is: are you referring to the Conceptualism of the 1970s? Or are you doing photography that seems to have a concept? Nobuyoshi Araki, Flowers (1985) Hong Lei, Autumn in the Forbidden City (1997) Robert Zhao Renhui, World Goldfish Queen (2013), part of the Institute of Critical Zoologists series 4. Celebration of Technology ● It was not only the war, but the emergence of modern media and the emerging industrial age of science that provoked the Dada artists ● Although many works mocked the ‘dehumanisation’ of society as a result of technology, Dadaists were also concerned with investigating how art can cope with the advancement of technology ● Oftentimes, Dadaists used technology in their art-making as well as used art to investigate objective science, like mechanics Marcel Duchamp, The Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors, Even (1915-1923) Oil, varnish, lead foil, lead wire, and dust on two glass panels 277.5 cm x 175.9 cm Cao Fei, A Mirage (2004), part of the Cosplayers series Cao Fei, RMB City (2008) 5. Expanded Notion of Art ● In a way, Dadaism can be thought of as a collage as it was started by writers, poets, painters, sculptors, architects, a textile designer and an interior designer ● Similarly, Dadaist artworks incorporate techniques from every field - including the ones that are not traditionally concerned with art-making (e.g. social research) - as well as practices from all around the world ● Of course, globalisation cannot be attributed to Dadaism. However, it exemplifies transnational art-making as the members come from all over Europe, and different Dadaist groups began to sprout around the world Summary 1. 'Anti-Aesthetics’ 2. Social Realism 3. Conceptualism 4. Celebration of Technology 5. Expanded Notion of Art Dada- and Surrealism in Japanese Photography Dadaism Early Beginnings (1931) ● Shifted photography towards the illustrated concept ● In Japan, pre-WW2 and possibly pre-Dada, it was often seen as merely a means of recording and communication Kiyoshi Koishi, Drunken Dream, Fatigue (1936) Kiyoshi Koishi, Smile Eye-drops (1930) Halftone reproduction Kiyoshi Koishi, Early Summer Nerves (1932) Kiyoshi Koishi, Early Summer Nerves (1932) Nakayama Iwata, Untitled (1935) Nakayama Iwata, Eve (1940) Nakayama Iwata, Composition, 1933 Nakayama Iwata, Woman From Shanghai Surrealism Hirai Terushichi, Fantasies of the Moon (1938) Hirai Terushichi, Life (1938) Kansuke Yamamoto, Untitled (1938) Kansuke Yamamoto, A Chronicle of Drifting (1949) Shoji Ueda, My Wife in The Dunes III (1950) Shoji Ueda, Dunes Shoji Ueda, Papa, Mama & The Children (1949) Shoji Ueda, Dunes Photographic Culture in Japan Post-WW2 Both in form and subject matter, "serious" prewar Japanese photography (meaning that work done with aesthetic intention) imitated the aspect of the traditional pictorial arts. John Szarkowski Provoke Era What they were all about? Incorporation of documentary elements into their concepts ● Concerned with the state of photography post-WW2 ● Photography beyonds the means to illustrate an idea ● Highly keen to ‘redefine the visual language’ in photography. Provoke Magazine Takuma Nakahira, 1968-1970 Takuma Nakahira, For a Language to Come (1970) Takuma Nakahira, Circulation: Dates, Places, Events (Paris 1971) Daido Moriyama, from Provoke 2 Daido Moriyama, Lips (1970) Daido Moriyama, Stray Dog (1971).
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