Christened Andrew Warhol was born on August 6, 1928.

10 interesting facts about Andy Warhol

The American artist, who was also a director and producer in his time, was one of the foremost figures as far as pop art was concerned. His works often research the correlation between artistic expression, advertising, and celebrity culture seen flourishing in the 1960s. 

His impact in this field was so great that he was nicknamed and fondly referred to as ‘The Pope of pop art’.

Most times, the subject of his work changes from symbolic American objects to fiction, to celebrities to traditional concepts.

His paintings triggered a turnaround in the way art was perceived.

Andy Warhol’s works span a range of paintings, silk-screening, photography, film, and sculpture. 

Warhol has been featured in several books, documentaries, and exhibitions. In his native city of Pittsburgh, there is a Andy Warhol museum.

Quite a lot of His works have been found to be collectible and greatly valued. His painting called the Silver car crash happens to be his highest-priced work, though his creations include some of the most expensive paintings ever sold. In  Nov2013  Silver Car Crash (Double Disaster) by Andy Warhol sold  for $105.4 million .

For the purpose of this article, we’ll be talking about 7 most famous Andy Warhol artworks.

Top 7 Paintings By Andy Warhol

1.Banana

First on our list is the painting called ‘Banana’ made by Andy Warhol in 1966. He was associated with a band known as the velvet underground and was their manager as of 1965. This art called banana is featured on the cover of the band’s debut album titled, The Velvet Underground & Nico.

The cover featured the image of a banana covered by a banana skin sticker that viewers could pull back and reveal the flesh-colored nonexistent fruit under.

The album was referred to as “the most prophetic art album ever made.” After ranking 13th on Rolling stone magazine’s greatest album of all time list, Warhol’s Banana became one of the most sought-after pieces of pop art.

Banana can rightly be referred to as the international symbol of Warhol.

2. Coca Cola

Next on our list is Warhol‘s ‘coca-cola’.

There is hardly anyone who would claim to not know the coca-cola brand. The coca-cola bottle is a symbolic American object which happened to tickle Warhol’s fancy. 

One of his famous quotes has a thing to do with it. He created many works on the coca-cola bottle. Unlike his later silkscreens, coca-cola is hand-painted and happens to be one of Warhol’s most expensive paintings ever sold.

The coca-cola bottle was an inspiration to Warhol as he set out to develop his own identity. Throughout his career, Warhol created about 15 different artworks related to coca-cola.

3. Mao

This work of art was created in 1973, started the year President Richard Nixon, who was the US president, made his first visit to China, 1972.

He made hundreds of MAO paintings using a photograph from MAO’s little red book. This painting is quite huge and is about 15 feet tall. It is also the most well-known MAO portrait by Warhol.

In making this painting, Warhol used strong and colorful brushstrokes to apply makeup with overly ostentatious colors on MAO’s face.

This particular painting reflects Warhol at his most painterly self and is said to be one of the best paintings he made.

4. Soup Cans

Campbell’s soup cans, also known as 32 Campbell’s soup cans, is one of Andy Warhol’s famous works. It was produced between November 1961 and April 1962. It comprises 32 canvases, each one representing the canned soup varieties that the company offered at the time.

This work of art made pop art become a major art movement in the USA.

The debates that stemmed from the merits and ethics of such work made Andy Warhol the leading and most well-known pop artist.

5. Marlin Diptych

Following Marilyn Monroe’s death in August 1962, Warhol created this masterpiece which consists of 50 images of Marilyn using the same publicity photograph from the film titled Niagara.

The work is divided into two halves, with 25 images on both sides. The 25 images on the left are colored, and those on the right are in black and white with a fading effect. 

This piece is considered a symbolic work of pop art and was once rated the third most influential piece of modern art in a survey by Guardian.

6. Eight Elvis

Created in 1963, this work is a 12-foot painting of eight identical, overlapping images of Elvis Presley in cowboy attire.

It is a unique painting as it was not mass-produced

like the majority of Andy Warhol’s works. As of 2008, it sold for $100 million, making Warhol the fifth artist to have a work sold.

It is a masterpiece and remains one of the most expensive paintings ever sold.

7. The Shoes Series

Andy Warhol was known to have a fetish for shoes and feet. This was probably the inspiration behind the shoe series.

His advert for women’s footwear in the 1950’s was outstanding and recognized. It is a collection of different shoe paintings by Andy Warhol.

The exhibition poster depicts a single emerald green shoe hanging in a starry sky. However, he incorporated a lot of different shoes in his shoe series that were reminiscent of still life.

Closing Thoughts

Andy Warhol influenced art in many ways; he used bright colors, celebrities, and everyday objects to enable everyone to relate to art. He wanted to give people something to question, and his works like the Campbell’s soup cans and Marlin Diptych raised can be closely tied to the question of what is art? why art  is important? through his exploration of popular culture, consumerism, and the nature of artistic production.

He successfully merged popular culture and art just as he intended to.

He had an immense contribution to the development of pop art, and the King of pop art cannot be ignored by anyone looking to learn more about that Genre.

The article contains sponsored affiliate links from Amazon to valuable resources.

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Personal, Psychological, and Emotional Depth

Distinctive Visual Language

Frida’s Feministic Icon

Cultural and Political Engagement

Modern Relevance

Commercial Appeal

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In 1889 he spent three years studying at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague where he painted historical and patriotic themes. He then enrolled at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna where he focused his attention on the symbolic and allegorical subject matter. 

Kupka’s first exhibition was at the Kunstverein in Vienna, 1894. His interest in theosophy and Eastern philosophy emerged at this time. In the same year, he settled in Paris, where he briefly attended the Académie Julian before studying at the Ecoles des Beaux-Arts. 

During his early years in Paris Kupka found work as an illustrator of books and posters. Through this work, he became known for his satirical drawings published in newspapers and magazines. 

During this time Kupka was heavily influenced by the Fauvist and Neo-impressionist paintings he would see in Parisian galleries. This pushed him to begin experimenting with different styles. 

In 1909, Kupka began to drift from his representational style with his piece titled Piano Keyboard/Lake. His work became more and more abstract around 1910-11 as he used his art to explore his theories surrounding color, motion, and the relationship between music and painting. 

His style became known as Orphism, although Kupka didn’t want to be associated with any particular art movement. In 1912, he exhibited his Amorpha. Fugue à deux couleurs at the Salon des Indépendants. His work was displayed in the cubist room despite the artist’s rejection of being associated with one particular art movement. 

In 1913, Kupka completed a book titled Creation in the Plastic Arts. This book was eventually published in 1923 in Prague. In 1931, Kupka was a founding member of the group Abstraction-Création, a loose group of artists formed to counteract the influential Surrealist group led by Andre Breton. 

Kupka’s work was exhibited in North America for the first time in 1936. His work was included in the Cubism and Abstract Art exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Over the years Kupka had several solo shows in New York and finally gained general recognition in the early 1950s. Just before his death, Kupka gave nearly 500 drawings to the Museum of Modern Art in which he continued to explore nonrepresentational art. 

Kupka’s strong interest in color theory is obvious in his work. The subject of many of his pieces is the dominant color of the piece as opposed to the subject matter. For example, his piece The Yellow Scale. Despite being a self-portrait, the subject of the piece is the color yellow. He believed that color should be free from descriptive associations and attempted to portray this in his work. Art critics believe he was successful at this attempt. 

Kupka died in 1957 in the Parisian neighborhood of Puteaux. 

1. The Beginning Of Life

‘The Beginning of Life’ was created in c.1900 by Frantisek Kupka in Symbolism style.

2. The Wave

The Wave was created in Paris during the year 1902, Frantisek Kupka followed the symbolist tradition. Depicted among the raging elements the girl seems part of the element.

3. Woman Picking Flowers

‘Woman Picking Flowers’ was created in 1909 by Frantisek Kupka in Orphism style.

4. Organisation Of Graphic Motifs

In Organization of Graphic Motifs created by Frantisek Kupka in the year c.1912 all the elements of the composition converge into a single focal point, into a sort of window onto the infinite.

5. Music

‘Music’ was created in 1936 by Frantisek Kupka in Constructivism style.

6. Two Grays II

Frantisek Kupka was a pioneer of abstract art and he created Two Grays II in 1928 in Orphism style.

7. Two Grays I

‘Two grays I’ was created in 1928 by Frantisek Kupka in Orphism style.

8. Fanny Machine – The machinery

‘Fanny Machine – The machinery’ was created in 1928 by Frantisek Kupka in Constructivism style.

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Despite the reclusive artist rejecting the usual conventions of the art world, his work skirts the line between surrealism and realism executed with his self-taught classicism. 

Balthus is most well-known for his subject matter of pubescent girls depicted in erotic and sometimes shocking, scenes and poses. The imagery in his paintings takes on a dreamlike quality that makes his work popular with fans of surrealism. Balthus stunned audiences in his first gallery exhibition at Gallerie Pierre, Paris in 1934, and continued to do so for the entirety of his 60-year career. 

While the subject matter of Balthus’ work may be shocking to some, this is the artist’s attempt to portray the physical and mental struggles that come with adolescence while positioning the viewer as a voyeur to this turbulent time in one’s development. 

He insisted that his work was not erotic but that it recognized the uncomfortable facts surrounding children’s sexuality. 

The blend between realism and surrealism comes in the form of Balthus painting scenes with realistic characters and techniques to depict psychological or dream-like themes and ideas. This is a technique that was also used by the famous surrealist Salvador Dali. 

Balthus died in Switzerland in 2001 at the age of 92. His funeral was a high-profile affair, with prime ministers and rockstars alike in attendance to celebrate the prolific artist’s life and work.  Here are some famous artworks by Balthus: 

1. The Street

The Street by Balthus in the year 1933 was his first large painting and was one of several that scandalized audiences when it was included in the artist’s earliest solo exhibition and hence is in the list of famous artworks by Balthus

2. guitar lesson

‘Guitar lesson’ was created in 1934 by Balthus in Surrealism style.

3. Patience

The Patience was created by Balthus is the year 1943.

4. The Cat In The Mirror

The Cat in the Mirror was created in 1990 by Balthus in Expressionism style.

5. Nude With a Guitar

The Nude With a Guitar was made by Balthus in the year 1986 in expressionism style.

6. Young Girl Asleep

Young Girl Asleep was made in the year 1994 By Balthus.

7. Nude With A Silk Scarf

Nude With A Silk Scarf was made in the year 1982 by Balthus.

8. Sleeping Nude

‘Sleeping Nude’ was created in 1980 by Balthus in Expressionism style.

9. Great Composition With Corbel

‘Great composition with corbel’ was created in the year 1985 by Balthus in Surrealism style.

10. The First Communicants

‘The First Communicants’ was created in 1926 by Balthus in Expressionism style.

11. The Barracks

‘The Barracks’ was created in 1933 by Balthus in Metaphysical art style.

12. The Fear Of Ghosts

The Fear Of Ghosts was made on an oil canvas in the year 1933 by Balthus in Surrealism style.

13.  Lady Abdy

‘Lady Abdy’ was produced by Balthus in the year 1935.

14. Cathy

‘Cathy’ was created in the year 1935 by Balthus in Expressionism style.

15. The King Of Cats

The King Of Cats made in the year 1935 by Balthus shows him standing in an elegant outfit, one hand holding his jacket lapel, the other on his hip.

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By the 1940s, she was an established surrealist artist, and her work focused mainly on lust, desire, and sexuality. Her work during this time caught the eye of fellow artist Max Ernst, whom she married in 1946. The couple relocated to Sedona, AZ, and later to Paris, France, where they lived until Ernst’s death in 1980. 

Over the decades, Tanning’s art went through various transformations. The first, and most obvious, the influence was surrealism and the themes of lust and sexuality. By the time she lived in Paris in the 1950’s Tanning’s paintings became more abstract. In the ’60s, Tanning changed mediums completely and began making grand-scale sculptures out of fabric. The most well-known being a life-sized depiction of an imaginary hotel room titled Chambre 202, Hotel du Pavot 1970-3. This piece depicts bodies growing out of the walls of a fictional hotel room and offers a fascinating glimpse into the mind of one of the most famous surreal artists in history. 

Tanning continued to switch mediums for the rest of her life and spent much of her time writing in her older age. Her final book of poems, Coming To That, was published in the last year of her life at the age of 101. She passed away in 2012. 

Collections of Tanning’s work are held in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., the Tate Gallery in London, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Here are some of the famous artworks by Dorothea Tanning: 

1. A Little Night Music

A Little Night Music is a Surrealist Oil on Canvas Painting created by Dorothea Tanning in 1943.

2. The Temptation Of Saint Anthony

The Temptation of St. Anthony is a painting by Spanish surrealist artist Dorothea Tanning in 1945.

3. Interior With Sudden Joy

‘Interior with Sudden Joy’ was created in 1951 by Dorothea Tanning in Surrealism style.

4. Some Roses And Their Phantoms

Some Roses and Their Phantoms was made by Dorothea Tanning in 1952.

5. The Guest Room

Another fascinatingly unsettling painting by Dorothea Tanning was The Guest Room made in 1952.

6. Insomnies

The Insomnias is one of the Famous Artworks, produced by Dorothea Tanning In 1957.

7. Rainy-Day Canapé

Rainy-Day Canapé was Made in the year 1970 by Dorothea Tanning.

8. A Mi-Voix

A Mi-Voix is a large, vertically oriented, abstract painting made in 1958 By Dorothea Tanning.

9. Pincushion to Serve as Fetish

Pincushion to Serve as Fetish, 1965, was one of the earliest sculptures Dorothea Tanning made.

10. Nue couchée

Nue couchée, 1969-70, is one of a group of soft sculptures made by Tanning that evoke the female body.

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The Treachery of Images

The Treachery of Images is a painting produced by Rene Magritte between 1928 and 1929. The Belgian artist was only 30 years old when she completed this painting and this was one of the masterpieces in the field of Surrealism. This painting can be viewed at Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, California.

Golconda

Golconda is a painting produced by Rene Magritte in 1953. Louis Scutenaire who was a poet was also a friend of the Belgian artist and helped her with the title of this painting. This painting can be viewed at The Menil Collection, Houston, Texas.

The Lovers

The Lovers is a painting produced by Rene Magritte in 1928. This painting depicts two figures, male and female whose face is covered with a cloth and that they are locked in an embrace. This painting can be viewed at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA.

The False Mirror

The False Mirror is a painting produced by Rene Magritte in 1928. This painting was completed around World War I and during this time several artists depicted the same subject of the human eye. This painting can be viewed at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA.

The Menaced Assassin

The Menaced Assassin is a painting produced by Rene Magritte in 1927. The subject of this painting is that a woman is being murdered by a team of assassins. This painting can be viewed at Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA.

Personal Values

Personal Values is a painting produced by Rene Magritte in 1952. This painting is now lent by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and many historians believe that the style of this painting is similar to her old master’s style. This painting can be viewed at Musée Magritte Museum, Belgium.

The Son of Man

The Son of Man is a painting produced by Rene Magritte in 1946. The Belgian artist painted this painting as a self-portrait. The subject shown in this painting is dressed gently and an apple is painted on his face. This painting is in Private collection.

On the Threshold of Liberty

On the Threshold of Liberty is a painting produced by Rene Magritte in 1937. Mark Isham was an american composer who composed music of similar title dedicated to this painting. This painting can be viewed at Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago

The Human Condition

The Human Condition is a painting produced by Rene Magritte in 1933. The Belgian artist is famous for producing paintings within paintings and this painting is considered as one of them. This painting can be viewed at National Gallery of Art, Washington DC.

Not to be Reproduced

Not to be Reproduced is a painting produced by Rene Magritte in 1937. Edward James was Magritte friend who commissioned this painting and it it believed that this painting depicts him but the face of the man is not depicted. This painting can be viewed at Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam.

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She was infamous for her social fire. She danced, flirted, and seduced. Her ferocious tongue rolled out a black sense of humor and sharp wit. She kept a home for her husband Diego.

She loved her pets – spider monkeys and gods. She loved guff, gossips, and jokes. She treated servants like family and kids like equals

But Frida’s vitality was juxtaposed with anguish.

“Do not forget me”, she begged her friends and lovers to visit her often. She was often lonely and was confined to the prison of the hospital bed.

Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) has often been classified as a surrealist, though she herself argues that she draws more “her reality, that her dreams”.

A brilliant painter, she is most famous for her portraits in which she paints herself in a surrealistic manner.

“The Suicide of Dorothy Hale”, one of the exceptionally powerful paintings of Frida Kahlo, depicts the suicide of the aspiring American actress Dorothy Hale. The painting combines the literal and metaphorical, the real and the surreal, showing every step of Hale’s suicide.

A life full of setbacks

Frida Kahlo endured two great life tragedies.

The first: a horrific trolley accident in her youth. In the wake of its destruction, it left Frida with her spine and pelvis broken, a crushed foot, and a lifetime of suffering and pain.

The second: The “worst” tragedy was her husband: the two-timing painter Diego Rivera and his numerous infidelities.

“Diego,” she said, “was by far the worst.”

Kahlo was distressed, but the couple attempted to compromise: Each was free to have sex with whomever they wanted. For a while, this arrangement appeared to work to an extent, and Kahlo engaged in several affairs with men and women alike.

But while she trained herself to tolerate Diego’s alliance with strangers, Kahlo was deeply betrayed by his affair with her own younger sister, Cristina.

Subsequently, Frida would have an affair with the exiled Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky. Trotsky was Frida’s el Viejo, “the old man,” who delighted her with his intellectual spirit. Of course, conducting an affair with Rivera’s idol did not please him.

Even in the midst of his philandering ways, Rivera did show his love by providing Frida financial support and exposure in the art world. He didn’t just view himself as a husband but also a fellow artist to her. It was a miracle their romance survived.

The transcending pain of Frida Kahlo paintings

In her long-drawn-out recovery, she willed herself to paint. Her compositions were surreal

Kahlo’s art had become increasingly refined and highly personal over the years. Expressionist painter Edvard Munch would be one of the few to have comprehended her exorcism.

One of her “straightforward” works was “Self-Portrait,” essentially a painted mirror image of herself with a thorn necklace, not unlike Christ’s crown of thorns, piercing her neck, and a pendant in the form of a hummingbird, symbolizing the souls of Aztec warriors killed in battle.

“The Broken Column” of 1944 depicts a nude Kahlo jailed in the constraints of her medical corsets. Nails protruded from her skin like hair. Her body reveals a shattered Greek column in place of her spine. Pale tears stream down her face.

Bedridden in Mexico, Kahlo summoned her strength to paint between bouts of illness with little relief from the body aches. In the 1950s, she endured a year in a Mexico City hospital. Many treatments to straighten her spine worsened the disease. Being suspended from the ceiling with sandbags attached to her feet, they only served to damage her further.

Whether or not they were cognizant of the autobiographical context of Kahlo’s work, art communities were enchanted by her fantastical and grotesque imageries. In 1938, Frida was overjoyed when a Network gallery owner invited her to hold a one-woman show, in which she was celebrated as a painter outside of her more famous husband’s shadow.

Frida delighted in another achievement: In the spring of 1953, a gallery in Mexico presented her a solo exhibition, her only art show in her life held in her home country.

But doctors prescribed her to stay in bed. So she stayed in bed she did. But she did not stay at home. The quick-witted artist was not going to be absent from her show.

Waiting for the show, a crowd of fans watched as an ambulance deposit Frida Kahlo onto a four-posted bed in the middle of the gallery.

Her expression betrayed the life of unending pain. Yet, it glowed with exhilaration, for she was in the spotlight of attention and the center of the party.

Frida’s Immortality

Despite her paintings frequently categorized as surrealism, Kahlo considered her masterpieces as bizarre reality.

“They thought I was a Surrealist, but I wasn’t. I never painted dreams. I painted my own reality.”

Frida Kahlo infused her canvas with her native Mexican birthright and the historical epochs of her life.

The stars, the earth, and the body all mingled with her painful reality, the long-term aftermaths of the life-changing trolley accident bleed onto the abstracts of Mexican symbols and history. It was colonial and revolutionary. The abstract was all too concrete for her, as real as the prison of pain.

While, many dislike Salvador Dali’s form of expression or undeniably love it for it is abnormal, thought-provoking style, the world has unanimously mulled over Kahlo’s diversity on the canvas

Frida Kahlo was not forgotten.

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Art covers virtually everything about the world, both living and non-living. Above all, it is the means of expressing one’s thoughts, beliefs, feelings or perceptions through creative prowess or skill exhibited in painting, writing, music, dancing and even communication.

Art brings out the creativity embedded in humans. For instance, a beautiful morning can serve as a source of inspiration for a poet. He can write a masterpiece through that inspiration. The poem is an art because it is expressing something.

As far as art is concerned, its primary aim is to pass across a message. A painting can be breathtaking. A poem can be touching. A song can be enchanting. However, behind the beauty of these arts, lies a message to be passed. Hence, art is not solely concerned with aesthetics. It is an embodiment of the message.

Art is wide.

Sculpture, painting, music, designing, fashion… are under the umbrella of art.

Among the concepts enshrined in the household of art is Dadaism.

Origin of Dadaism

The term “dada” was invented by the Roman writer, Tristan Tzara (1896–1963) at Hugo Ball’s Cabaret Voltaire in Zürich, during one of the meetings held by a group of artists in 1916.

“Dada” is a colloquial French word which means “hobby-horse.”

Dadaism sprang to life as a form of protest against the absurdity and ridiculousness of modernity.

Dadaism as a movement began during the early hours of the 1910s.

Artists of this movement through their works ridiculed the meaningless and baselessness of the modern world. Due to the “controversial” nature of Dadaism, it was seen as an art movement that is against the standard and norms that society stands for.

One major factor that facilitated the start of Dadaism was World War 1 between 1914 – 1918.

The first World War cost the lives of millions of people, with millions wounded. The traumatic effect of the first World War is the loss of reality by Europe as stated in the words of Dickerman:  “World War I produced a collapse of confidence in the rhetoric—if not the principles—of the culture of rationality that had prevailed in Europe since the Enlightenment.”  This loss of reality gave way to confusion.

Dadaism aims at making humor out of this confusion through parody.

Furthermore, refugee European artists and intellectuals who were affected by World War I started Dadaism in Zurich. They saw the war as being meaningless and baseless.

What is Dadaism, Dada Art, or a Dadaist? 

To simply put, Dadaism is an art form. It is an art movement.

The definition of Dadaism is revolving around the incidents that occurred during its origin. It is a movement because it is an art form spearheaded and adopted by a group of artists with a similar philosophy and style at a particular period.

Every art movement has a focus. Dadaism is not an exception.

As a movement, Dadaism opposes the surge or the uprising of capitalism culture.

“When the artist finds himself he is lost. The fact that he has succeeded in never finding himself is regarded by Max Ernst as his only lasting achievement”. – Max Ernst

This movement sees art in the danger of being degraded. During its origin, the founders thought that the art existed during that time is degrading. Hence, Dadaism aims at creating a new art form different from all other preceding arts.

Dadaism, therefore as an art movement, is an art style shared by artists with a similar thought, orientation and goal – challenging the capitalistic notions of the society

Dadaism or Dada art is anarchical.

As stated above, it deviates from the style of preceding arts. In fact, it was termed as an “anti-art” by Marcel Duchamp, a famous French-American painter.

Despite the fact that Dadaism is an art, yet it opposes art itself by questioning it. So, when glanced at, Dada art may appear meaningless or even absurd. And that is where its potency lies, absurdity.

The central weapon of Dadaism is absurdity.

Through creative absurdities, dadaists protest and frantically react against the frivolities that encapsulate the modern world.

Just as the modern world it protests against is absurd (to Dadaists), Dada art is coated in absurdities to express the very ridiculousness of modernity. Due to the defying nature of dadaism to art convention, dadaists often attempt to make newer forms of art.

A typical example of Dada art that defies art convention is Man Ray’s art piece termed “gift.” He presented this art piece to Erik Satie during their first meeting.

Conventionally, an art piece takes hours, if not days, to accomplish and bring up to an aesthetic level of admiration by the audience. However, Man Ray finished his art piece titled “gift” by simply sticking some tacks to flatiron with some glue. He then presented it as a gift to Erik Satie.

Man Ray finished his art piece in no time compared to the standard time required of a conventional art piece. Anyone can virtually join some things together and christen it a fanciful name.

But can such a person’s piece be seen as art?

Ray’s “gift” faced this particular criticism by art critics.

However, the absurdity, meaninglessness or the “artlessness” of Ray’s art piece “gift” is exactly what made it be a perfect Dada art piece.

An artlessness in artfulness.

That is the way of Dadaism.

Key Ideas of Dadaism

Dadaism, as a movement, has three basic ideas – Spontaneity, Negation, and Absurdity.

These three ideas express Dadaism as an art that is creatively anarchical. 

SPONTANEITY

This idea is of the view that art will be meaningful and worthwhile if and only if it is spontaneous. Therefore, it emphasizes on the keen relationship that must exist between an artist and his works.

The beauty of an artwork is not something to be judged by the system, rather, it is a subjective judgment of the artist. This is why, Tristran Tzara even wrote that literature is never beautiful because beauty itself is dead.

Hence, beauty should be left as a private affair to the artist.

Spontaneity makes appeal largely to the concept of individuality. Spontaneity is Creativity

NEGATION

This idea aims at contrasting or negating art conventions and establishment through the spread of demoralization. Thus, the idea sees no line of difference between the moral standard of goodness or badness.

Good is in no way different from the bad. It sees everything with one view: as being irrelevant. Nothing is relevant. Even man is of no importance. This idea sees the relevance of everything as being imaginary and unreal.

ABSURDITY

This is perhaps the best idea that captures the framework of Dadaism.

Dadaists employed absurdity as a weapon to attack elites who were perceived to support the war.

Several factors influenced the start of Dadaism. Concepts such as expressionism and futurism are some of these factors.

Dada arts are expressed in music, sculpture, painting, literature, and photography. All these arts aim solely at ridiculing and provoking political elites supporting the war. You may like to know What is Art? Why is Art Important?

As an idea, absurdity is one of the major tools or weapons used by dadaists to ridicule or make sarcasm. This idea sees everything as being absurd and ridiculous in the end. Paradox permeates everything, with everything having opposition to harmony. Tzara in his “Dada Manifesto 1918” expressed this clearly:

I write a manifesto and I want nothing, yet I say certain things and in principle I am against manifestos, as I am against principles. This manifesto is to show that people can perform contrary actions together while taking one fresh gulp of air; I am against action: for continuous contradiction, for affirmation too, I am neither for nor against and I do not explain because I hate common sense. Like everything else, Dada is useless.

DADA ARTISTS

Dada artists are especially known for their use of ” readymades.”

“Readymade” is the artistic manipulation of normal everyday objects by the artist and then presented as art.

Ready-made triggered questions that pertain to the creation of art, it’s meaning, what it stands for and its relevance in the society. Furthermore, Dadaism paved the way for the ushering in of Surrealism, another modern art movement.

There are many important Dada artists. who have articulated the definition of Dadaism. Some of them are:

1) Marcel Duchamp (1887 – 1968). His readymades included a humorous and cheap reproduction of Mona Lisa with a mustache and goatee, the fountain and a bottle rack.

2) Tristan Tzara (1896–1963, a poet, painter and performer artist.)

3) Marcel Janco (1895 -1984, his ready-made was “bishop dress.”)

4) Hugo Ball (1886 -1947, his readymades were “Karawane,” and the “Dada manifesto”)

5) Emmy Hennings (1885 -1948, his readymades were “itinerant poet” and “cabaret chanteuse).

FIVE TOP DADAISM WORKS

FOUNTAIN

This art piece was produced by Marcel Duchamp in 1917. Many Historians affirm it to be an iconic symbol of twentieth-century art.

 LHOOQ.

This art piece was also produced by Marcel. It is a ready-made involving a cheap reproduction of Leonardo’s “Mona Lisa.” Marcel added a mustache to the portrait and inscribed the title “LHOOQ.”

THE SPIRIT OF OUR TIME.

A Dada art piece produced by Raoul Hausmann, a German artist

UNTITLED (SQUARES ARRANGED ACCORDING TO THE LAWS OF CHANCE, 1917)

The Untitled Dada art was produced by Jeans (Han) Arp in 1917.

THROUGH THE LAST WEIMAR BEER BELLY CULTURAL EPOCH OF GERMANY (1919)…

A Dada artwork produced by a German woman named Hannah Höch. It is considered one of the greatest works in Dada arts.

THE RISE OF NEO-DADAISM

Dadaism as art despite its seeming offensive and artless nature, is funny and humorous. It spread to many other parts of Europe after its start in Zurich.

Although, it eventually declined at some point, because right from the onset, it was obvious that it cannot hold on for long.

However, Dadaism opened the door for a new concept in modern art. This new concept is Neo-Dadaism. It is a “new” form of Dadaism.

Neo-Dadaism is an art movement with artistic manifestations with audio, visual and literary concepts. It has strong ties with Dadaism. It shares similar thought, method, intent, and technique with artworks in Dadaism. Its aim is to bridge the gap that exists between art and daily experiences. Neo-dada employs the use of materials that are modern and also absurdist contrast.

Neo-Dadaism takes its lead largely from the works of Marcel Duchamp and Kurt Schwitters. It totally denies the traditional conceptions of aesthetics.

Dadaism – A Living Art

Dadaism is an artwork that outlives its time.

Its relevance can still be felt in the world of art, especially the internet. Memes that are used as communication cues stem from dadaism.

Fashion is not left out. Dadaism has its touch there.

In music, literature, sculpture, painting and even technology, Dadaism still thrives and lives on. Despite its seemingly meaningless state, it found a way of nesting itself in the hearts of people.

This shows the power and awe that Dadaism carries. Undoubtedly, Dadaism is not just an art, but it is an art with a soul, a living art

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Born in Catalonia, Spain in 1904, he was a true surrealistic artist, drawing often from his own childhood sexual desires, mostly freakish and quite disturbing.

Dali always stated that he didn’t do drugs, although many would look at his art and disagree, but Dali claimed he was drugs.   That through his work he could influence many an open mind, whether for the good or bad.

If we take a look at a few of his famous pieces, we can see that his obsession with the unconscious mind was obvious.

The Persistence of Memory shows us a few seemingly soft or melted pocket watches lying about in an open land.  Dali’s message was to show that time and space are relative and that we, in fact, live in a universe of complete disorder.

Another of his most recognizable artworks is ‘The Great Mastrubator’, which at first glance seems more like fellatio being performed that masturbating.  It is clear though that Dali had real issues with sex and the sexual act itself, stemming from his youth.  He claims that as a young boy his father had accidentally (or not) left out a book of sufferers of untreated venereal diseases.  The disturbing photos must have left a deep mark on Dali and in turn, he brought these into his paintings.

People are strange creatures and while they may hesitate at the idea of expression like this, they are secretly fascinated.  This is the main reason why Dali’s works are so popular.  With his surrealism style, he takes everyday activities and combines them with fantasy, yet managing to connect and communicate his thoughts through a truly theatrical medium.

Not all of Dali’s works are so sexual.  Take The Elephants for example.  While still a surrealist view and one to debate for hours, there doesn’t seem to be a sexual connotation to this painting, or is there?  You decide.

One can never mistake Dali’s works for realism; however there is a potent aspect to the out-there paintings, that cries out the reality of everyday life.  But unlike true realism, which examines the conventional outward appearances at close quarters, surrealism takes those outward appearances and merges it with imaginative idealism.  Dali captured this with perfection and sometimes downright absurdity.

Always one to provoke the self-righteous and conceited, Dali drove his messages home with black comedy and often grotesque graphics.  Never to veer near conventionality, he thrived on the shock factor, which gave him many an undesirable name in the art fraternity.

To show you how unconventional he was, when instructed to have his art examined for his degree, he refused, stating that none of the Professors were competent enough to judge his works.  He pompously declared he had retired.

The Spectre of Sex Appeal painting, exhibited in 1932, is most disconcerting, and shows us, once again, Dali’s mixed up mind on all that is sexual.  The little boy in the right-hand corner represents Dali himself as a boy and we can only imagine the broken, half body of Sex Appeal is another reflection of his left view on all that is sex.

Dali expressed that because his works were mysterious they were loved by most.  Love may not be the word to describe the reaction his paintings ensue, but art lovers across the world are quite obsessed and intrigued.

Dali compelled and forced us to look at life from a lateral perspective, to always question the normality of everything.  He lived a life of craziness.  He expressed his craziness or as he may have viewed it, his normality, through his paranoia and cranky imagination.

Whether we completely dislike his form of expression or undeniably love it for it is abnormal, thought-provoking style, his works will always have us guessing, questioning and mulling over their diversity.

It remains, without question, that to have one of Salvador Dali’s works of art up on your wall, will bring about questions of your own sanity and mindset, but unfailingly it will always instigate interesting conversations.  As you stand debating the ins and outs, the possibilities as well as the meaning behind his macabre graphics, you will never have to worry about those uncomfortable silences.  Unless, the uncomfortable silence is because of an unwillingness to discuss masturbation, sexual appetite or any other controversial subject that Dali’s art brings about.

Courage is possibly the most important aspect of any creative work. It breeds authenticity and is not there to please the audience, but to show them the way the artist sees the world. It’s there to make people ponder questions and think about their own reality. If you don’t do that, if your art doesn’t bring people to new heights, then what’s the point?

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However, so do – Visionary.  Surreal.  Authentic.

This late artist was viewed by most native Japanese with disdain, more than likely because he portrayed their lives as they truly were.  And we are referring to the era that Ishida grew up in, being the 70’s and 80’s, as this is what he based his art on.

Tetsuya Ishida was born in Yaizu, Shizuoka, Japan in 1973 and his art exposes Japanese living to the core, at least that is what critics are saying.  Sadly, Ishida died in 2005, following a railroad crossing accident in Tokyo and many of his works have been left unexplained.

In particular, the fact that a recurring motif in the form of a plastic shopping bag often appears in many of his works.  Ishida, himself, refused to explain the appearance or meaning of the plastic bag and this remains an intriguing and much-deliberated phenomenon with today’s art critics.  This is still a mystery that will be the talk of the town for a while still.

Ishida’s artworks portray three major themes:

• One of the main themes is how his art depicts Japan’s role in today’s modern world as well how they are identified by the rest of the world
• The way he expressed Japan’s social and academic educational structures was clearly a topic that was close to his heart
• Many of his works exposed the Japanese people’s trials in trying to acclimate to the changes involving social and technological contemporary life

While most Japanese wouldn’t express how they felt about their living situation, however difficult and constricting, Ishida would, through his art.  He was bold and flamboyant, often baffling people but mostly astonishing the masses with his fearlessness.  His fearlessness to show, through his art, the true everyday lifestyle of the Japanese, is still, to this day, revered with awe and wonder.

His ability to take everyday household objects and combine them with Japanese schoolboys mixed in with factory settings is beyond a simple glance.  One has to take a long, detailed look at his works for many minutes to appreciate the true essence of what he was trying to express.

It was clear that Ishida was reproducing his younger life through his art – the isolation, the claustrophobia, and anxiety – is all deeply etched into his style.

Many say he filtered his own face into most of his paintings, although he flatly denied it many a time, stating that they were not self-portraits.  As a boy, Ishida was forced to channel his focus into academics instead of art, his passion, and this frustration is plainly shown in one of his works where you see a young boy seemingly growing beyond the walls of a school.  The painting is aptly called ‘Prisoner’.

Many have titled his work surrealist portrayals of his observations as a child of his growing up in Japan.  Some call his work just plain madness.  Disembodied figures tangled up with machinery and arbitrary objects make for an interesting conversation.  One cannot deny the similarities between the tight squeeze of Japanese life to his impressions of men crammed into subways like cargo.  People, all over the world, can appreciate the humor and realism in this, the fact that many Japanese natives are forced to conform to this way of life, as was he.

[quote_colored name=”” icon_quote=”no”] His unfailing ability to take the salaried man’s everyday monotony and twist it with skepticism, mixed with a little irony, has made his art very sought after and very criticized too.[/quote_colored]

Ishida’s hypnagogic approach to the ordinary way of life in Japan will forever be remembered and iconically lived through his bizarre bodies of work.  While they trigger heavy reactions in most, they are not easily interpreted.  When we think of Japanese art, we imagine quiet, flowing gardens painted with soft, neat patterns or an ancient pot, ingrained with history the way only the Japanese can.

Tetsuya Ishida’s expressions are considered unsettling but will forever have their place in Japanese art.

Title Courtesy – Tetsuya Ishida Exhibition in 2014[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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