Dadaism

“[Dadaism is] not the beginnings of art, but of disgust”

                   - Tristan Tzara

Dadaism, an art movement characterized by the avant-garde and "nonsensical," became popular during World War I and slowly lost popularity during the 1920s.  The movement came about as a reaction to the violence and corruption of the war.  Poet Tristan Tzara describes the beginnings of Dada as “not the beginnings of art, but of disgust.”    

 In Hannah Hoch's 1919 piece, Cut with the Kitchen Knife through the Beer-Belly of the Weimar Republic she is endorsing the shift away from the old Weimar Republics and toward the new communist party. Hoch features the heads of many politicians, such as Keiser Wilhelm II and General Hinderberg.  More telling is the title of the piece which very clearly indicates her opinion of the Weimar Republic.  She also juxtaposes the words "beer-belly" - which is stereotypically associated with men - and "kitchen knife" - which is associate with the push for women to go back in the home (and in the kitchen) - to make commentary on the gender politics at the time. 

Less political and more philosophical, Marcel Duchamp's 1917 installation of a signed urinal entitled Fountain was a reaction to mass production.  In an age where everything could be mass produced, Duchamp intended to challenge the nature of artistic authorship.  The installation poses the question, "What is art?”  If he takes a mass produced object and signs it, does that act of signing make the urinal an authentic piece of art?

Much of Hoch artwork centers around political and gender issues while most of Duchamp's work around this time are commentaries on the art world.  While both artists produce pieces of art that are personal reactions to larger systems, Hoch addresses issues of gender equality while Duchamp does not.  Duchamp's silence on this matter likely indicates that he does not experience the same gender discrimination as Hoch and is therefore less concerned and aware of the issue.  Ultimately, Hoch challenges ideas and politics that jeopardize her right to be an artist as a woman while Duchamp questions implications of mass production on art and authenticity as it stands to jeopardize the identity of artists in general.