gilders new avatar

dubhlinn · Post by **dubhlinn** » Sat Jun 11, 2005 7:36 pm

I voted commie

Slan,
D.

jsluder · Post by **jsluder** » Sat Jun 11, 2005 7:40 pm

I voted "other", because it's really a combination of the first three options.

jGilder · Post by **jGilder** » Sat Jun 11, 2005 8:54 pm

I voted "other" because this is what I look like from the other side of my monitor screen. (except my beard is much bigger now)

Cynth · Post by **Cynth** » Sat Jun 11, 2005 10:10 pm

Okay, I honestly have thought about this alot. I don't understand why "worse? " is in bold at the beginning of the choices as though it were a title. It seems like it would be a choice if "better?" is a choice. And then why cannot the avatar be both human and better or both human and commie? Well, actually it is human, I think there could be no question about that, so why would "human?" be a choice at all?

In short, what is it I am not understanding here?

WAT IS DADA?

jGilder · Post by **jGilder** » Sat Jun 11, 2005 10:37 pm

Cynth wrote:WAT IS DADA?

==========================

Art History 101 - Dada

From Shelley Esaak

Your Guide to Art History.

The Non-art Movement (1916-23)

Dada was, officially, not a movement, its artists not artists and its art not art. That sounds easy enough, doesn't it? Of course, there is a bit more to the story of Dadaism than this simplistic explanation.

Dada was a literary and artistic movement born in Europe at a time when the horror of World War I was being played out in what amounted to citizens' front yards. Due to the war, a number of artists, writers and intellectuals - notably of French and German nationality - found themselves congregating in the refuge that Zurich (in neutral Switzerland) offered. Far from merely feeling relief at their respective escapes, this bunch was pretty ticked off that modern European society would allow the war to have happened. They were so angry, in fact, that they undertook the time-honored artistic tradition of protesting.

About the only thing these non-artists all had in common were their ideals. They even had a hard time agreeing on a name for their project. "Dada" - which some say means "hobby horse" in French and others feel is just baby talk - was the catch-phrase that made the least amount of sense, so "Dada" it was.

Using an early form of Shock Art, the Dadaists thrust mild obscenities, scatological humor, visual puns and everyday objects (renamed as "art") into the public eye. Marcel Duchamp performed the most notable outrages by painting a mustache on a copy of the Mona Lisa (and scribbling an obscenity beneath) and proudly displaying his sculpture entitled Fountain (which was actually a urinal, sans plumbing, to which he added a fake signature).

The public, of course, was revulsed - which the Dadaists found wildly encouraging. Enthusiasm being contagious, the (non)movement spread from Zurich to other parts of Europe and New York City. And just as mainstream artists were giving it serious consideration, in the early 1920s, Dada (true to form) dissolved itself.

In an interesting twist, this art of protest - based on a serious underlying principle - is delightful. The nonsense factor rings true. Dada art is whimsical, colorful, wittily sarcastic and, at times, downright silly. If one wasn't aware that there was, indeed, a rationale behind Dadaism, it would be fun to speculate as to just what these gentlemen were "on" when they created these pieces.

What are the key characteristics of Dada art?

• Dada began in Zurich and became an international movement. Or non-movement, as it were.

• Dada had only one rule: Never follow any known rules.

• Dada was intended to provoke an emotional reaction from the viewer (typically shock or outrage). If its art failed to offend traditionalists, Dada writing - particularly Tristan Tzara's manifestoes - proved a fine, nose-thumbing Plan B.

• Dada art is nonsensical to the point of whimsy. Almost all of the people who created it were ferociously serious, though.

• Abstraction and Expressionism were the main influences on Dada, followed by Cubism and, to a lesser extent, Futurism.

• There was no predominant medium in Dadaist art. All things from geometric tapestries to glass to plaster and wooden reliefs were fair game. It's worth noting, though, that assemblage, collage, photomontage and the use of ready made objects all gained wide acceptance due to their use in Dada art.

• For something that supposedly meant nothing, Dada certainly created a lot of offshoots. In addition to spawning numerous literary journals, Dada influenced many concurrent trends in the visual arts (especially in the case of Constructivism). The best-known movement Dada was directly responsible for is Surrealism.

• Dada self-destructed when it was in danger of becoming "acceptable".

==========================

So what did you expect me to do?

Wormdiet · Post by **Wormdiet** » Sat Jun 11, 2005 11:10 pm

I'm disappointed that there was not a Nostradamus option.

Lambchop · Post by **Lambchop** » Sat Jun 11, 2005 11:46 pm

I'm always a bit shocked to realize that men have facial hair.

Jack · Post by **Jack** » Sun Jun 12, 2005 4:04 am

I voted "pale."

dubhlinn · Post by **dubhlinn** » Sun Jun 12, 2005 5:15 am

Cynth wrote:Okay, I honestly have thought about this alot. I don't understand why "worse? " is in bold at the beginning of the choices as though it were a title.

That was just how it came out Cynth - baffled me as well???

Slan,
D.

Joseph E. Smith · Post by **Joseph E. Smith** » Sun Jun 12, 2005 5:20 am

I voted other as I think it resembles Da Vinci... So, ummmmmm, what was the Mona Lisa really smiling about? Hmmmm?

izzarina · Post by **izzarina** » Sun Jun 12, 2005 6:24 am

I voted commie too....although I think that you should have put "pinko" in there too, Dub. It just sounds so much cooler

::skipping off to find her Che beret and more bubble wrap::

emmline · Post by **emmline** » Sun Jun 12, 2005 6:26 am

Wormdiet wrote:I'm disappointed that there was not a Nostradamus option.

You're right. There should have been.
But according to the Enquirer, Nostradamus predicted that there would be no Nostradamus option.

dubhlinn · Post by **dubhlinn** » Sun Jun 12, 2005 6:39 am

Anybody ever wonder why the Nostrdamus brigade only appear after the event when the damage is done but never appear the day before to warn everybody of the impending disaster?????

Slan,
D.

Joseph E. Smith · Post by **Joseph E. Smith** » Sun Jun 12, 2005 6:53 am

dubhlinn wrote:Anybody ever wonder why the Nostrdamus brigade only appear after the event when the damage is done but never appear the day before to warn everybody of the impending disaster?????

Slan,
D.

... I'm thinking that there's a financial reason behind this... :roll:

Cynth · Post by **Cynth** » Sun Jun 12, 2005 9:55 am

jGilder, thank you for that most informative and concise description of Dada.

dub wrote:That was just how it came out Cynth - baffled me as well???

You have set my mind at ease, although I stil have a suspicion that this is a Dada poll.

Oh, just because I thought "worse?" would make more sense as a choice doesn't mean I think the avatar is worse---I voted "better".