Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Paris museums 7 -- Dada at the Pompidou

Paris is the home of Dada -- so of course there's lots of it at the Pompidou.

Here's the grandfather of it all -- Duchamp's famous urinal, signed "R. Mutt" (a pseudonym that he used and adapted in other works) and displayed lying on its back.  It opened the door to using "readymades" -- stuff found or bought from non-art contexts -- as art.  The original is lost, but replicas are found in several museums.

Marcel Duchamp, Fontaine, 1917 / 1964

Jean Arp, Femme, 1927

Obviously it's a woman, but is it her face or her figure?

Raoul Hausmann, Mechanischer Kopf (Mechanical Head), 1919























Finally, here's one of Hans Bellmer's famous almost-lifesize dolls, disturbing constructions that mocked the Nazis' fixation on physical perfection.

Hans Bellmer, La Poupée, 1935-36


1 comment:

  1. Why, oh why, did I not get to the Pompidou? Thanks for the virtual tours.

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