WATERPLANET
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3/21/2006 10:05:14 AM
How the Dadaists were the geniuses of art
Hello. I can only speak on my behalf, because I'm not sure if James (the other planetian) would agree, but after seeing the Dada retrospective at the National Gallery in Washington, DC, I remain impressed.
It used to depress me when I was younger that whatever I thought to do artistically had already been done. At the time any baby boomer you met would take full credit and blame you for being bland and unoriginal. But I started reading about the dadaists and bauhaus artists--producing between 1917 and about 1930. I now politely refer the boomers to the dadaists, who seem to have left no artistic stone unturned and who revolutionized ("modernized") every artistic medium in their wake.
Two ridiculous impressions: a. sitting in a small room with straight-faced strangers listening to nonsense poems--machine-randomized syllables and animal sounds. I had the last laugh. b. parents shaming their small children for screaming during dadaist films. Firstly, is it fair to make kids watch dada? Secondly, what's more dada than public screaming? Fave painting title: "45% Fit for [Military] Service".
Anyone else see this exhibit? Any other fans of dada?
Millie
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