The Museum of Modern Art is always worth another visit. The exhibitions are frequently changing and the collection is so vast and varied that we often spot a work of art that we overlooked during past visits.
Accompanied by recent visitors, we viewed MoMA's new Dada exhibition, Dadaglobe Reconstructed. Dadaism is hard to explain, which will make sense in a moment. The term Dada is a made up word coined in 1916 by a group of like-minded artists, writers, musicians and performers who consciously rejected accepted artistic rules and expectations. In short, they valued nonsense and freedom. Dadaists include the great artists Man Ray and Marcel Duchamp. (A fuller explanation of Dadaism appears below.)
The Dada exhibition includes artwork and other artifacts that were collected in the early 1920's for eventual publication. The project was begun but unfortunately it was never completed and the large volume of Dadaist artwork was never published. Fortunately, MoMA's exhibition is an excellent representation of what the published volume might have looked like.
Acording to MoMA's website: "Dadaglobe Reconstructed reunites over 100 works created for Dadaglobe, Tristan Tzara’s planned but unrealized magnum opus, originally slated for publication in 1921. An ambitious anthology that aimed to document Dada’s international activities, Dadaglobe was not merely a vehicle for existing works, but served as a catalyst for the production of new ones. Tzara invited some 50 artists from 10 countries to submit artworks in four categories: photographic self-portraits, photographs of artworks, original drawings, and layouts for book pages. The exhibition brings together these photographs, drawings, photomontages, and collages, along with a selection of related archival material, to reconstruct this volume. Though never published, due to financial and organizational difficulties, Tzara’s project addresses concerns about art’s reproducibility that continue to be relevant today."
Acording to MoMA's website: "Dadaglobe Reconstructed reunites over 100 works created for Dadaglobe, Tristan Tzara’s planned but unrealized magnum opus, originally slated for publication in 1921. An ambitious anthology that aimed to document Dada’s international activities, Dadaglobe was not merely a vehicle for existing works, but served as a catalyst for the production of new ones. Tzara invited some 50 artists from 10 countries to submit artworks in four categories: photographic self-portraits, photographs of artworks, original drawings, and layouts for book pages. The exhibition brings together these photographs, drawings, photomontages, and collages, along with a selection of related archival material, to reconstruct this volume. Though never published, due to financial and organizational difficulties, Tzara’s project addresses concerns about art’s reproducibility that continue to be relevant today."
Below are a few photos from our visit.
P.S. You might the April 10 post about the Dadaist symphonic performance at Lincoln Center. The New York Philharmonic performed an original musical work based on the Dada poem below. Blago bung, indeed!
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