Last year dadaStation21 from Austin, Texas, was looking for mail art postcards without a specific theme or motto.
However, the word dada provided enough inspiration. Hundred years ago, the European avant-garde took a firm stance against imperialism and chauvinism: John Heartfield’s Prussian Archangel, a dummy of a German soldier with a pig’s head was the central installation at the International Dada Fair in 1920.
The fair featured almost 200 works by 31 artists including Hans Arp, Johannes Baader, J. T. Baargeld, Otto Dix, Max Ernst, George Grosz, Raoul Hausmann, Hannah Höch, Francis Picabia, Walter Serner, Rudolf Schlichter, Kurt Schwitters, and Hans Heinz Stuckenschmidt.
Their works often appeared grotesquely exaggerated. In fact, they were realistic warnings about the militarization of German society, which was supported by both industry and the petty bourgeoisie.
Against Imperialism
Gerald’s collage tackles imperialism and its supporters today in the spirit of Heartfield.February 24, 2023, marks the anniversary of the Russian invasion in Ukraine, which is heavily supported by the Russian Orthodox Church. Patriarch Kirill of Moscow has been a staunch ally of president Putin for many years.
The phrases to the left and right of the Orthodox primate’s head mock the pathetic language of both the state and the church. (The final statement is a homage to the French artist Marcel Duchamp aka Selavie Rrose.)
dadaStation21 provides a virtual exhibition on YouTube.
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