Mar 28 2006
“Everybody can Dada”
Even with a little art history in my background, it is still hard to put a finger on exactly what "Dada" is all about… and as I walked through the National Gallery’s new exhibition last week, I was utterly fascinated as to how a cultural / art movement like Dada could be a "catch all" for so many of the creative expressions in early 20th-century Europe.
(picture taken at my last visit to NGA in August 2005 - East Wing)
Dada was reactive - to the times (WWI), to the prevailing notions about what art should be, and to the whole culture in general. The people involved in the movement prided themselves in creating anti-art: things that may not be beautiful to look at, things that were so ordinary that they were overlooked, or skilled pieces that did not fit into the "fine art" description.
One of the Dadaists, Sophie Taeuber, (her likeness is featured on the Swiss franc, as Cara displayed last week) took many applied art forms, such as needlepoint, sewing and embroidery, and woodworking to show that these forms are not simply handcraft, but works of fine artistry.
Hannah Höch was another influential Dadaist; she was employed by a German magazine to write knitting and crochet patterns, and she also received very high marks for her sewing capabilities.
One of Höch’s major contributions to the Dada movement was her use of the photographic montage - a very new form that was first experimented with by the Dadaists. Many of her montages made strong political and cultural statements: about the government, about women’s role in society, and about the atrocities of World War I.
The first artist to experiment with "readymade" and found art was another Dadaist, Marcel Duchamp, a French artist who moved to New York. The most ordinary of manufactured objects became art, simply because Duchamp deemed them as such. One of Duchamp’s most famous readymades is the "moustachioed" Mona Lisa.
As I surveyed the images, and the sounds (Dadaists also experimented with sound poerty and film) I was struck by the eclecticism, and by the lines that are drawn and the definitions that separate art and craft.
What is it that we do? Do we make art? When I sit down and make a postcard for my PS pal, am I making art? am I making art when I stitch together the hem on my skirt? Sophie Taeuber’s needlepoint project is in the National Gallery of Art. Is that really any different than the needlepoint that Amy’s dad is working on? is scrapbooking any different than Hannah Höch’s photo montages? and Duchamp’s found art - the Project Spectrum Flickr page is chocked full of found art, in a beautiful array of pink and red.
Think about the objects around you. Think about the paper clips, the dinner plates, the glass bottle, the needle and thread, the crochet hook… is this art? is it craft? and in the meantime, let me know your thoughts and/or definitions of art and craft - I would love to hear from you.
Ah, the eternal dilemma of makers everywhere!
http://tinyurl.com/rmde8
The link above will take you to a post I made on my beading blog about Art vs. Craft.
Lolly - fantastic point! I have written a little entry on my blog about the whole art vs. craft issue!!
I enjoyed reading this post! I was lucky to have an art teacher (an artist himself) who decided to skip the school’s schedule. Thus, I learned among other fun stuff about dadaism, constructivism, Bauhaus. While I as not aware of the textile works, I remember how the mechanical Mensch-Maschine ballets used to give me the creeps
You! Really got me thinking - once again - about craft and art. I enjoy your thoughtful posts so much!
Ah, well, on the definition. I don’t have one, of course (see above, ‘the eternal dilemma’) I have the feeling that it is usually considered to be more intelligent and sensous to detect art in everyday life and things. Well, I tend to the seperation of art and craft (and nature) and therefore, a knitted garment or an extraordinarily prepared dish of food cannot be ‘art’ for me. (I might as well call them this anyway now and then.) However, I do not agree on a hierarchy of art and craft. While art may outrival craft often for being ahead of the times, its uniqueness, energy and expressive power, I think craft is the ‘good pal’. It has to do with both, simplicity and diligence, and a carefully crafted thing will not let you down (so fast) whereas art can be just a littly bit too airy to rely on. I like to make best pals when examining a safety pin, a clever cable design or the copy of an ancient viking boat. Maybe I am just a little too down-to-earth for art and its revolutionary and inventive spirit. Good to look at but I’ll rather stay with my ‘friends’.
Lolly, what an excellent post. I thought a lot about this after I saw an exhibit here in Cleveland on the Arts and Crafts movement.
This quote is getting a little tired, I guess, but I do think St. Francis was onto something: “He who works with his hands is a laborer. He who works with his hands, and his head is a craftsman.
He who works with his hands, and his head, and his heart,
is an artist.”
Hmm… What a fascinating question. I think art is something were someone is making something entirely new using their preferred medium. An artist is adding to the body of knowledge so to speak. A craft is a skill set or use of knowledge of how to make or craft something. Most of us are working on our craft when we knit, crochet, scrapbook or the like. Crafting has been considered the lesser stepsister if art, but I don’t think that is true. A lot of personal and more universal history holds the use of crafting. Crafting is something that anyone can do to connect with that inner creative desire and drive that is a part of the human spirit.
Thanks for the pics Lolly! Not only is knitting (and other crafts) soothing , it IS my art!
Don’t you love DaDa? All the way through my art history classes I kept saying “How do they get away with that?” with absolute awe. It’s one of my favorite movements because of the Nerve. But “What Makes It Art?” People have written books trying to figure that out! As for my opinion: When form transcends function, and that form communicates on some level with another individual, you are approaching art. Maybe not Fine Art, but for day to day, that’s still pretty good.
Hi Lolly! Not sure if we are supposed to be updating you or not on our Project Spectrum items but just wanted to let you know that I’ve got a pair of pink baby socks just added and a red scarf as well. I have the pics on my blog (the socks are the current post, and about 4 posts previous is the pic of the scarf) if you were interested in seeing them for “proof”.
I’m already trying to figure out what to do with yellow and orange…thanks for creating this KAL!
Thanks for sharing all that dada stuff Lolly - I’m not up on my Modern Art (I took Renaissance Art in college) but find it all so fascinating. I have a preview up of my April fiber today as well. Such a great project! Thank you!
to me, it is all art. hemming a skirt, making a quilt, scrapbooking..it is all a form of expresion. I think that art is defined as a personal form of expression, so art is everywhere. I alos think that the single greatest thing that a human can do in life is to create. i think we were created to create!
thanks for this great post!
I’ve been meaning to go see that exhibit since I saw the posters all over the Metro stations.
Dada and surrealism are of particular interest to me…you know, the frustrated art historian. I might just walk over to the National Gallery of Art over lunch today or tomorrow. Thanks for reminding me.
If Wikipedia is right (and I’m sure they are) the definition of art is as follows: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art
I think it basically boils down to being a form of self-expression and with this I totally agree. I studied art and find that world to be stultifying at times. There’s a certain snobbery involved in so-called fine-art that I find repelling. Individual art is so personal, but at the same time, it often has a usefulness. Scrapbooking, knitting, crocheting, quilling, quilting, and on and on. I’ve always thought the term “arts & crafts” was a structure forced on those without art degrees. I’m sorry I rambled so, I guess I still feel very passionately about this subject.
If you ever have a chance to visit the Philadelphia Museum of Art, they hold the largest collection of works by Marcel Duchamp. One of his last installations is called “Given” and has always intriged me. It is located in a small room at the end of the gallery. You would miss it if you didn’t know to look for it. There are two large wooden doors with peepholes carved into them for gazing at the piece. What is on the other side of the doors is wild! Dada has always been fascinating to me. Thanks for writing about it!
Lolly, you have done more to educate me about art and get me thinking about art and color in my environment than anyone else ever. Hands down. No contest. Thank you!
Hmmm…you really got me thinking today! I think that there is really no difference between arts and crafts. Art is often thought of as something pleasing to look at, full of aesthetic beauty, while crafts are traditionally thought of as rudimentary in nature-more of a ‘homemade’ look. But to me, the difference is not so black and white. While I do think of crafts as something made by hand, so is much art-and often a hand-crafted item, like a quilt, is really art. It is the person’s recreation of the world surrounding them-color, lines, nature-and they are incorporating it into their work. Sometimes these things actually go against what we find in nature-putting bright pink leaves on a tree, or giving personality to an inatimate object. A person may not set out to create art in the “normal” definition of what we think of as art, but often crafts are an expression of who the crafter is. Now, I am not talking about some of the crafts that we do-it is hard to add personality to some of the simple crafts ( I am thinking of those “Honey-Do” list my MIL makes), and of course some art is created purposely to reflect a social movement or politics. Yet at the same time when I look at pottery found from early civilizations, or an old rag doll that once was loved by a little girl, I can’t help but find their social significance. They may have been crafted to serve a specific purpose, yet their impact can be as significant to some just as “The Last Supper” is to others. Photography is something else that is so important artistically as well as socially. I am thinking of Alfred Eisenstaedt’s photo, which was taken on VJ-Day. He took that photo just because it happened, yet look how many people have that infamous print hanging in their home. At the time I am sure the photographer wasn’t thinking he was capturing a work of art, but he sure was.
Bottom line to me is this: if you are putting your heart (and often time your soul) into something, it really doesn’t matter if it is ‘art’ or ‘craft’. It seems to me that everything I create takes a little piece of me with it and is always made with care-and that is where the beauty is.
One thing about your blog Lolly, I always feel a little smarter after reading it! Thanks for posing such and interesting subject!
xo,
-T
It’s strange because when I sit down and think about it, I cannot really define “art.” What is art to me may not be art to someone else, and vice versa. I’d love to say that anything creative and full of emotion could qualify as art in some way, but is that too broad of a concept? We know that art isn’t purely visual… but how many senses should an art piece affect to actually be considered art? For example, I would consider the perfect smelling pie to be a form of art, but yet most of the population would not consider it so.
In your picture of the NGA, it looks like God threw down some Rubik’s Cubes!
OK, so I’m an engineer and have not one artsy bone in my body! :o)
YEAH for LOLLY! Yeah for DADA! This is why Mail Art is so wonderful because it is part of the dadaist movement that allowed EVERYONE to be an artist. Oh come play along in my mail art show “birds of a feather”
Wow. That was a very interesting a thought provoking post!
What a great post Lolly! Another one that has me thinking…and looking at my artisan endeavors in a new light. Thanks for starting this discussion!
When I was growing up my mother painted - absolutely gorgeous oil paintings and later acrylics - I always felt as though I could climb into the scenes she created and explore her imagination. She taught me embroidery, sewing, needlepoint, crocheting and knitting - I never thought of these “hand crafts” as art until I started cross stitching and framing pieces for friends and gifts etc. I realized that anything created with your time, hands, heart and imagination is an art form and an art form that is incredibly precious, like curling up in an afghan made by your grandmother and laying your head on a hand embroidered, hand tatted pillow case. Art touches your heart and soul on many different levels!
I knew this exhibition was coming for a little while, but I didn’t realize it was open yet. I’ll have to get down there to see it soon!
I love what Dada stood for - nonsense - nothing. It has always amazed me why one piece of art stands out as a perfect example and another is put in the crap pile. Why can one person’s “artwork” be displayed in a museum and someone else’s is not “important” or relevant”? Everyone can create - but is it art? I say it is. I don’t see any difference in what lies protected in a museum from what surrounds me everyday.
Fantastic and thought-provoking post, Lolly! You have such a knack for taking a subject and inspiring all of us to look at it from a different angle. Are arts and crafts one and the same? Do they exist on a continuum? There seems to be no objective way to differentiate between the two- so then, what subjective basis do we use to differentiate art and craft? Even on this point, there seems to be no one answer. Historically, “craft” was not considered the scrapbooking and needlepoint that we tend to associate with the word today. In fact, it seems that craftsmen were respected for their artistry and skill. One of the things I remember most about visiting the Victoria and Albert Museum was the knitted lace display. It’s odd that it should have struck me so, especially since I wasn’t a knitter then. But I remember being so awestruck by the beautiful lace pieces, which clearly were art. I’m not sure that I have an answer for this one, but I think that art is about a passion to create and a commitment to that process… and certainly, any “craft” that is executed with that mind and heart set could then be considered art. Thank you, again, for such an inspiring topic… take care, Miss L!!
Love ya, c.
Everything YOU look at AS art, becomes art. Isn’t that great? And what a freedom we have, and responsiblity, to judge and look and enjoy what we see. I think what I do is art, because it feels like art. And some of the stuff I sew or crochet is craft, because it feels like that. To define is to judge, and I looove being the judge myself.
Thanks for the art lesson Lolly, Höch is great!
Sunday Morning on CBS had a piece on the Dada movement. It was fascinating. The curater of the museum took the audience around the exhibit and explained the art. It was great! Thanks for the reminder.
Well first thanks for the history lesson in Dada.
As far as art v. craft. I think art is in the eye of the beholder. Some things that people call art, I think are junk, trash, wierd, etc. Other things that people think are junk, trash, wierd, I think of as art. I have a WPI tool, that I think is a piece of art, but it’a also a useful tool. Craft, well that’s a word with many definitions, my father is a printer and he’s good at his craft, some may even say he’s an artist. Crafts as in the things we spend our time doing, well there are things I’ll never understand such as those plastic pieces woven with yarn. But people make them, and they sell them at craft fairs, and people love them.
Honestly I think it’s all about personal preferences. I could go on and on and on and on, but I’m sure I’m boring you.
Wonderful post, Lauren!! I am not going to weigh in on the definition of art… after 4 years of art college and frequent, exhaustive discussions of that very topic, I am allergic to discussing it. Instead, I have to mention the funny title of Duchamp’s Mona Lisa (in case you don’t know it). It’s LHOOQ. When you say the letters in French, it sounds similar to “Elle a chaud au cul”, or roughly, “She has a hot ass.” Those crazy Dadaists…
I don’t think that we can definitively say what is art and what’s not because we all come to art with different perspectives and esperiences. I think that if you see something as art, then it is art. Tha same goes with creating art, I think. At the same time, though, did Duchamp think he was creating art when he put a mustach on the Mona Lisa? Or was he just being irreverent and making the point that we need to lighten up about art?
I think it comes down to the point that if something makes us reexamine ourselves or the world we live in or newly appreciate what we see around us everyday, that is art that’s doing it’s job. And it doesn’t matter if it’s a painting or a piece of clothing or a sculpture made out of a toilet. I think that too many of us are hesitant to call what we create art because that implies some level of greatness that we don’t think we deserve- but we should!
Thanks for sparking this thought.
I loved this post Lolly! This exhibit, or at least many of the same items, were at the Dallas Museum of Art last fall through January, and I was employed by them to do staged readings of many of the writings - poems, treatises, and letters to the bewildered crowds. Totally surreal experience. Busy with that, I totally missed the knitting connection, and now that I think about it, the crowds might have been less off center had I just knitted for them! At any rate, the DMA payed well (more yarn money!) and I am now eerily familiar with Tristan Tzara, Marcel Duchamp, Andre Breton, et al. I did love one line in particular, by Breton, and although it has no literal meaning, it is lovely:
“It was then that the bird with sulpher plumage sang. It sang the interiors of houses, and it’s song complained of the trees; it sang the view one has from windows, and its song tucked a desperate bed. Then the star vanished in a scented vapor, and the sainfoin of the mirrors faded, and the closets opened onto boreal scenes, scenes of love that could not be verified because of the cold.”
You have to say at least one thing for that set - they had good drugs.
Some of my favorite classes in college were my two Art History electives (I was a poli sci major). This post reminded me of how much I loved sitting in that darkened classroom listening to my professor lecture as she showed beautiful slides of art. Anyway! IMO, art doesn’t have to be removed from us in museums or text books. Beauty and art can be found in our every day living. I like to think that the things I make are art.
Dadaism doesn’t really strike a chord with me. Come to think of it, modern art doesn’t do anything for me, either. Often when I’m standing in front of a painting with huge circles of solid color paint, I’m thinking “what on earth was this artist thinking? I could do this just as easily.”
Impressionism and realism, as well as 16th and 17th century art, are much more appealing to me.
I loved going to the museum with you that day. There was something wrong with the authentication number earlier. I am glad it is better now…
I am home now. I will have to tell you the wild story later. Thanks for the thought-provoking entry. Love you!
I’m going to avoid the whole art vs. craft controversy. It’s way too complex to pin down. Thanks for the good, thoughtful post, Lolly.
Thank you, Lolly for a very inspiring post!! I went to a dadaism exhibition in Paris last fall - but learned even more by reading your post!
i love your blog. i love your energy. that said, i love color. when i was younger, and in college, i was not “into” color. how? no clue. i liked red. and black. that was kind of all. i missed all those years that i could have been in love. now, i find that not just texture and form is compelling to me…but color is hypnotic to me. when i dye fiber, or spin it up, i can just look at it and my heart swells. not that i am old, by any means, but as i get older, i find that i am able to really absorb the things around me, the light, how things smell, feel, and the minutia of how things look. like something being a gorgeous amazing color that seems to just hum.
as for art/craft…intention, i think. and the understanding of what you are doing, exactly. i like the fact that in europe, craft has an entirely different connotation, not country wooden signs with ducks, or whatever, not that there is anything wrong with that, i think you have to understand to some degree what art is about to make it, as opposed to just being a beautiful object. not that one is better than the other.
[…] museum trip brought about some of the same thoughts I had after seeing an exhibition last year. I posed the question then, and I still don’t have a definitive answer(and probably […]