HA14 Task 02 – Dada and Sophie Taeuber-Arp Research

Dada
The 'Dada' movement was a European art movement that began in Zurich, Switzerland in the early 20th century. The movement ended in 1924, becoming unstable, and moving closer towards Surrealism.
In 1916, various artists, including Sophie Taeuber, and Hugo Ball, the man who founded and lead the movement, went to the Cabaret Voltaire, discussed art and put on performances, showing how they were disgusted with World War 1 and the things that caused it.
Some say that Dada as we know it was formed from this on October 6th, but others say that it grew from an existing tradition of art from Eastern Europe.

Dada art is incredibly diverse, being anything from poetry to sculptures, paintings to performances. The movement often mocked materialistic and nationalistic attitudes, and was against the 'bourgeois culture'.

Some of the more famous pieces of Dada art are 'Fountain' and 'LHOOQ', by Marcel Duchamp.
Fountain is is porcelain urinal that was flipped upside-down and signed 'R.Mutt'. Duchamp says that he did not create this piece, and he submitted it for a friend, who used the alias R.Mutt.

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LHOOQ is a piece of art that shows the disliking of/lack of respect for traditional art. Marcel Duchamp took a cheap postcard showing the Mona Lisa, soon after its return to the Louvre after it was stolen in 1911. Duchamp took the postcard and drew a mustache and goatee to the Mona Lisa's face, and named it LHOOQ. It was named this because if you pronounce the letters the way a native french speaker would, it would spell out a sentence that translates to "she has a hot ass". Although this piece offended many, it also posed a question that challenged art and its value.

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Sophie Taeuber-Arp

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Sophie Taeuber-Arp was an artist, painter and sculptor from Davos, Switzerland, who was born on 19th Jaunuary 1889. She is considered one of the most important Dada artists of the 20th Century, as she took part in many Dada performances as a dancer and puppeteer, and also co-signed the Zurich Dada manifesto.
In 1915 she met Jean Arp, a Dada artist, who she went on to collaborate with, and eventually marry until her death in 1943.


Sources:
Dada:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dada
http://www.theartstory.org/movement-dada.htm
http://www.theartstory.org/movement-dada-artworks.htm#pnt_5
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fountain_(Duchamp)

Sophie Taeuber-Arp:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophie_Taeuber-Arp
http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/jonathanjonesblog/2016/jan/19/sophie-taeuber-arp-google-doodle-dada-art