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BERLINDAM AND THE NOTION OP CONTEXT

by

JEFFREYDAVIDWALL

B.A.,UniversityofB r i t i s h Columbia,1968

A THESISSUBMITTED INFARTIAL FULFILMENTOF

THEREQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF

MasterofArts

in'theDepartment

of

FINEARTS

Weaccept this thesisasconformingto the

requiredstandard

THE UNIVERSITY OF. BRITISHCOLUMBIA

May, 1970

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I n p r e s e n t i n g t h i s t h e s i s i n p a r t i a l f u l f i l m e n t o f t h e r e q u i r e m e n t s f o r

a n a d v a n c e d d e g r e e a t t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f B r i t i s h C o l u m b i a , I a g r e e t h a t

t h e L i b r a r y s h a l l m ak e i t f r e e l y a v a i l a b l e f o r r e f e r e n c e a nd s t u d y .

I f u r t h e r a g r e e t h a p e r m i s s i o n f o r e x t e n s i v e c o p y i n g o f t h i s t h e s i s

f o r s c h o l a r l y p u r p o s e s may b e g r a n t e d b y t h e H e a d o f my D e p a r t m e n t o r

by h i s r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s . I t i s u n d e r s t o o d t h a t c o p y i n g o r p u b l i c a t i o n

o f t h i s t h e s i s f o r f i n a n c i a l g a i n s h a l l no t be a l l o w e d w i t h o u t my

w r i t t e n p e r m i s s i o n .

D e p a r t m e n t o f

T he U n i v e r s i t y o f B r i t i s h C o lu m b i a

V a n c o u v e r 8, C a n a d a

D a t e

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i i

A B S T R A C T

I. B E R L I N DADA A ND T H E NOT I O N OF CONTEXT

A . D o m i n an t m a t e r i a l f o r c e = d o m in a n t i n t e l l e c t u a l f o r c e i n s o c i e t y .

B . S o c i e t y a n d l a n g u a g e a r e a s p e c t s o f a s i n g l e p r o c e s s .

C . I n t w e n t i e t h c e n t u r y s o c i e t y t h e f u n d a m e n t a l h um an p r o c e s s o f l a b o u r i s

d i s t o r t e d .

D . A r t i n c o n f l i c t w i t h s o c i e t y o v e r t h e a t t i t u d e t o w a r d l a b o u r a s p r o c e s s .

1 . - A r t i s i n s t a t e o f t e n s i o n w i t h l a n g u a g e .

E . I n t w e n t i e t h c e n t u r y t h e i d e o l o g i c a l f u n c t i o n o f a r t i s t a k e n o v e r b y

o t h e r m e d i a .

1 . - T h e a r t i s t i s d e p r i v e d o f s o c i a l n e c e s s i t y .

a . - A r t i s t s ' i m m e d i a t e r e a c t i o n w a s a b s o l u t e r e j e c t i o n o f s o c i e t y

( e . g . R i m b a u d . )

F . T h e D a d a m o v em e n t i s t h e f i r s t s t e p b e y o n d a b s o l u t e r e j e c t i o n t o w a r d a

v i a b l e c r i t i c a l d i a l e c t i c .1 . - B e r l i n D a d a e s t a b l i s h e s c r i t i q u e o f t h e n o t i o n o f t h e a v a n t - g a r d e ,

a . - M a r x i s t a t t i t u d e s i n B e r l i n 1 9 1 7 - 1 9 2 2 . B e r l i n D a d a r e s i s t s m y s

t i f i c a t i o n , ( e x a m p l e : a t t i t u d e t o w a r d p r i m i t i v i s m i n p o e t r y . )

G . P o w e r o f m y t h i s a b i l i t y t o c o n t r o l d e f i n i t i o n s . A p p l i e d m e a n i n g s b e c

ome a b s o l u t e m e a n i n g s ( r e i f i c a t i o n ) .

H . R e s i s t a n c e t o m y s t i f i c a t i o n m ea n s h i s t o r i c a l a w a r e n e s s ; h i s t o r y a s t h e

p r o c e s s o f d e v e l o p m e n t o f m e a n i n g s .

1 . - H i s t o r i c a l a w a r e n e s s i s c o n t e x t u a l a w a r e n e s s a n d p r o c e s s a w a r e n e s s .

2. - A r t i n c o n f l i c t w i t h s o c i a l d e f i n i t i o n s e n g a g e s i n c o n t e x t u a l s t r

u g g l e .

3. - M a n i f e s t o i s t h e t o o l o f c o n t e x t u a l s t r u g g l e .

a . - C r i t i c a l a n a l y s i s o f H u e l s e n b e c k ' s a n d T z a r a ' s m a n i f e s t o s s ho ws

t h a t m a n i f e s t o i s a n t i t h e t i c a l t o " a r t c o n d i t i o n " . M a n i f e s t o i s

s u c c e s s f u l t o t h e e x t e n t t h a t i t d o e s n o t o p e r a t e a s a r t .

I . H i s t o r i c a l a w a r e n e s s ma ke s n e g a t i o n o f a r t p o s s i b l e : n e g a t i o n o f a r t b y

a r t . ( D u ch a m p a n d B e r l i n D a d a ) .

1 . - N e g a t i o n o f a r t m e a n i n g f u l o n l y i n s o c i a l t e r m s .

2 . - N e g a t i o n o f a r t b y D uc h am p a n d B e r l i n D a d a b r o u g h t a r t i n t o e x i s t

e n c e a n e w. A n ew m e t ho d o f c r e a t i o n i s e s t a b l i s h e d .

a . - N e w m e th o d i s t o t a l l y h i s t o r i c a l / d i a l e c t i c a l . O b j e c t i o n t o

r e i f i c a t i o n m ak es a r t p o s s i b l e .

J . N e w m e t h o d o f B e r l i n D a d a a n d D u c h am p t a k e s a r t - c o n t e x t a s i t s s u b j e c t -

m a t t e r .

K . O l d c o n t e x t b e co m es a r t i f a c t i n new c o n t e x t ; a t o t a l b r e a k i s e s t a b l i s h

e d i n w h i c h new s y s t e m c o m p l e t e l y r e d e f i n e s a c t i v i t y .

L . A r t ' s a c t i v i t y i s i n h e r e n t l y r e v o l u t i o n a r y .

1 . - F o r B e r l i n D a d a , t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f a r t l a y i n t h e c o n t e x t u a l a s s u m p

t i o n s m ad e b y t h e b o u r g e o i s a u d i e n c e .

I I . A L I E N A T I O N AN D IDEOLOGY

A . A c c o u n t o f M a r x ' s a n a l y s i s o f l a b o u r p r o c e s s ; c o n c e p t o f a l i e n a t i o n , c r -

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i i i

itique of p o l i t i c a l economy,philosophy.

B. Ideas are created from practice.

C. A l la c t i v i t y i s by definition sociali n thehumanworld.

D. Dialectical c r i t i c i s m establishes existence as a process.

E . The nature of ar t i sd i a l e c t i c a l . The center of ar t i s process, revealed

through theorywhichdescribes context.

F.Account of the theory of ideology. The opposition of theory to ideology.

G.Marx:Ideology = False consciousness.

H. Account of how ideology enters language; truth and error part of single

process ofknowledge.

I.Languagei ssocial i n nature.

J. Ideology mediatesbetweenaction and language.

K. Ideology i s function of classantagonism.Account ofdifferencebetween

myth and ideology.

L. Dialectical c r i t i c i s m bringsknowledge (true theory) out of false conscious

ness through contextualawareness.

M. Knowledgedestroys ideology.

H. Art i s a funct ion ofknowledge.

III. ART VS.CULTURE

A. Culture i s so ciety'sdefinition; i t i s a function of ideology.

B.Account of bourgeois-idealist concept of culture.

C. Post-bourgeois world altering bourgeois-idealist cultural ideology,moving

i t towardmore p o s i t i v i s t i c viewpoint i n connection with technological ra

t i o n a l i t y .

D. Art i s a particularkind of labour: i t i s theimageof a l l labour.

E. Bourgeois-idealist concept of culture remained d i a l e c t i c a l ; new ideology

denying dialectic idea completely.

F.Marcuse's c r i t i c i s m of post-bourgeois cultural ideology.G. Account of new notion of"empty category" ofDuchampand Berlin Dadaists.

H. Social function of aworkof art essentially transforms i t smeaning.

I.In face of antagonisticsocial r e a l i t y , art structuresalternative events,

generates an alternative language.

J. Thislanguageand event i s unreal; the fact that i t proclaims i t s e l f as

antagonistic to the existing i s the basis of i t ssignif icance.

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"The ideas of the rulingclass are, ineveryage, the rulingideas: i. e.

the classwhichi s thedominantmaterial force in society is at thesametime

itsdominantintellectualforce. The classwhichhas themeansof material pro

duction at i t s disposal, has control at thesametime overthemeansofmental

production, so that inconsequencethe ideas ofthosewhollackthemeansof

mentalproduction are, in general, subject to i t .The dominantideas are nothing

morethanthe ideal expression of thedominantmaterial relationships, thedom-inant material relationshipsgraspedas ideas;henceof the relationshipswhich

makethe one class the ruling one, therefore, the ideas of i t sdominance. The

individualscomposingthe rulingclasspossessamongother things consciousness,

and therefore think. Insofar, therefore, astheyrule as a class and determined

the extent andcompassof anepoch,i t i s self-evident thattheydo thisin i t s

wholerange,henceamongother things rule also as thinkers, asproducersof

ideas, and regulate the production and distributionof the ideas oftheir age:

thustheir ideas are the rulingideas of theepoch.For instance, in an age and

ina countrywhereroyalpower,aristocracy and bourgeoisie arecontendingfor

masteryandwhere,therefore,masteryi sshared,the doctrine of the separation

ofpowersprovesto be thedominantidea and i sexpressedas an 'eternallaw*.

The divisionof labour,whichwe already saw aboveas one of the chief

forces of history up t i l l now, manifests itselfalso in the ruling class as the

divisionofmentaland material labour, so that insidethisclass one partapp

ears as the thinkers of the class ( its active, conceptive ideologists, whomake

the perfecting of the illusion of the classabout itself theirchiefsourceof

livelihood), while the others' attitude totheseideas and illusions i smorepassive and receptive,becausetheyare inreality the activemembersof this

classandhavelesstimetomakeup ideas and illusionsaboutthemselves.Within this classthiscleavagecanevendevelopinto a certain opposition andhos

t i l i t ybetweenthe two parts,which,however,in thecaseof a practical c o l l i -sion,inwhichthe classitself isendangered,automaticallycomesto nothing,

inwhichcase there also vanishes thesemblancethat the rulingideaswerenotthe ideas of the rulingclass and had apowerdistinctfromthepowerof this

class.The existence of revolutionary ideas in a particular periodpresupposes

the existence of a revolutionary class..."

K a r lMarx,TheGermanIdeology

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"Every alienation of man fromhimself andfrom Natureappearsi n the relationwhichhe postulatesbetweenother men and himself and Nature.Thus r e l i g i ous alienation i s necessarily exemplified i n the relationbetween l a i t y andpriest, or, since i t i sherea question of the s p i r i t u a lworld,betweenthel a i t y and a mediator. In the real world of practice, this self alienation canonlybe expressed i n the real, practical relation of man to hisfellowmen. The

mediumthrough which alienation occurs i si t s e l f a practical one. Through alienated labour, therefore, man not onlyproduceshisrelationto the object, andto the process of production as toalienand hostile men; he alsoproducestherelationof other men to his production and his product, and the relation bet

weenhimself and other men. Just as he creates his own production as a v i t i a t ion, apunishment,and his own product as a loss,as a product whichdoesnotbelong to him, so he creates the domination of thenon-producerover productionand i t s product. As he alienates his own a c t i v i t y ,so he bestowsuponthe strangeran a c t i v i t ywhichi s not his own."

KarlMarx,Economicand PhilosophicalManuscripts of 1844

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I

BERLINDADAAND

THE NOTION OF CONTEXT

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Certainly therehave beenperiods of his tory i nwhichart was generally

integrated with the organization of society; the period of the twentieth century

i s not one of these. One of the primarycharac terist ics of art particularly

since the beginning of the F i r s t WorldWar has beeni t sprofoundantagonism

towhathas beendefined as "culture".

Insucha historical situation,art isseentohavea c r i t i c a l function.

Its rel ationsh ip to the existent state of affairs i s negative, and i t i s invol

ved with a l l thatwhich,i n society, i sdenied ordoesnot exist. By taking on

sucha role, the activity ofart-making developsan acute concernwith context.

Everysocietymaintainsthe right, or thepower,todeterminedefinit ions i n

regard to a l lactivity, including of course artistic activity. Artalwayshas a

context. However,i nthis century, art hasbecomeinvolved with the creation of

a context i n the face of an already e xisting one, and therefore, with resisting

an e xi st in g set of definitions. It may seemaudaciousto claim that, in the ind

u s t r i a l and late industrial soc ietie s, art i s the expression of a l l thatdoes

not exist, a l l that i sdenied.This paperattemptsto justify such a claim.

AsMarx says, the dominantideas of an age can be seenas the "dominant

material relationshipsgrasped as ideas". This paperattemptsto discuss, in

theoreticalterms,the basesof thedominantmaterial relationships and to de l

ineate theirdivergencefrom the very material relationships exemplified by the

art-process.

Society's definition of art functions as the horizon of art. InDuchamp's

terms,"...the artist may shoutfrom a l l the rooftops that he Is s ,a genius; he

w i l lhaveto wait for the verdict of the spectator i n order that his declarat

ions takeon a social v a l u e . . . T h i s definition i s the fundamentalor univers

a lgrammarof possibilities, judgementsand categories. This i s anunescapable

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fact, justas i tinescapable (therefore) thattheartistcan neverconsiderhim

self separate from societyor fromhistory.But this horizoni s a broken one,

i t s rationaleaskew.We shall discusshow i t hasbeencreated out of, and i n

turnhas created,adistortionof a fundamentalhumanprocess, thatwhichMarx

called "labour". This basicdistortioncauses theartist toresist thehorizon

as oppressive.

The horizoni s ahorizonofcodifications.anddefinitions.Soc ial organiz

ationcan be seen as, i ncertainterms, theresults of standardized patternsof

interactionand perception,as "constant scanning patterns".Languagei sobvious

ly acentra l factori n theestablishment and maintenance ofconstant scanning

patterns.Inthissense, language i s a structuralsystem, i n which the universe

i s represented symbolically,and i t srelations depicted.I t i s an a priori that

humansocietyi slinguistic i nnature, thatlanguage and social organizationare

i n factone process.Marxmaintains thatthehumanbeing i s the only creature

onearthwho "creates theworld"; i fthis i strue,wemustrememberthatat the

sametime and i n thesameaction,hecreateshis language, and his language

creates him.

If thedefinitionofsocietywhich hasbeenproduced by thematerial basis

of societyi s adistortionof thelabour process,and i f ar t hasrecognized this,

thenartmustexist i n astate of^tension with language.Muchnineteenth and

twentieth century art,fromRimbaudtoDuchamp,Burroughs and Warhol, can be

seen, i nabstractterms, as anattackuponthe language ofindus tria l capit alist

society.I t i s anattack,not by being apropagandadevice,butsimply by being

art.

Inthesociety withwhichMarxconcernedhimself the immediate ancestor

ofoursociety thefunctionof ar t and theroleof theartist hadundergonea

deepand radical transformationfrom thestatei n which i texistedi n a pre-

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technological-rationalsystem.OneneedonlymentionRubensorBerniniandthei r

relationshiptothe social processesoftheir timeto makethe pointclear.The

years since the beginningofWorldWar Ihavewitnessed the f i n a l stagesof the

removalof anyreal socialnecessityfroma r t i s t i c activity. Thisremovalhas

i t s beginnings i n the establishmentofthebourgeois-industrialworld inthe

nineteenth century,buti t s sources arediscerniblein the organizationofIta ly

2

during the "Renaissance". Inthe nineteenth century thenewconditionsofmate

r i a lproduction createdbythe bourgeois classestablishedas acorollary, their

mediaofcommunication,theirmethodsofrendering themselves symbolic,ofest

ablishing i n consciousness the abstract representationoftheprinciplesofth

e i r righttopower.Mechanicalmethodsofcommunicationandthe distributionof

informationandimagesweregraspedbythe conceptualizingideologistsof the

societyas amajorpartofthe tool-complexoftheir intellectualdominance,

justasthe factory,theopenmarket,andrentwereunderstoodasthe basisof

theirmaterialdominance.Masspublication, s t i l landmoviephotography,radio

andso onare i n the strictest sensemajorfactorsi n the c r i t i c a l statein

whichfine artexistsi nthis period. Consciousness ofthesituationwasappar

entfromthe beginningsofthebourgeois-industrialworld,buti twas not at a

workable level; i twasarticulatedpurely i ntermsofthe negative,andtheab

solutedespairofartistsandtheirattempt (as i nLautreamont)toturncomple

telyawayfromthenewsociety. Certainlybythe f i f t hdecadeofthe nineteenth

century artistsweredeeplyawareofthealteration i n themode oftheir exist

ence.I twasapparent that arthad noplace i n thenewworldori n i t s concept

ualizations, savethat accordeda"great tradition"andi t s valueascultur al

j u s t i f i c a t i o n ,ascultural symbol.Butthe bulkofthis ideologicalworkwas

taken overbythemechanicsofcommunicationof ageometrically-progressing

technology.ThetoneofEuropean(and particularlyFrench)ar tofthe later

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nineteenthand early twentiethcenturiesi nrelationto advancing bourgeois so

ciety,i s epitomized byRimbaud:desperate negation and adeep,cellular loathing:

Si j'avaisdes antecedents a un point quelconque de

l'histoirede France!Mais non, rien.I Im'estbien evident que j ' a i toujours ete race infe-

rieure.Je ne puiscomprendrel arevolte.Ma race ne sesouleva jamais que pour p i l l e r : tels les loups a l a betequ'ilsn'ontpas tuee.

Je me rappelle l'histoire de l a France f i l l e ainee de1'Eglise.J'auraisf a i t , maintenant, l evoyage-.deterre sainte;vuesde Byzance, des remparts deSolyme;l eculte deMarie,l'attendrissement sur l ecrucifie s"8eveillent en moiparmimille feeriesprofanes.Jesuisassis, lepreux, sur le spots casses et lesorties, au pied d'un mur ronge par l es o l e i l .

Rimbaud's"career" was one of the fundamental guideposts for the Dadaists.

Theytook him as a hero, understanding the implicationsof his vast and severe

rejection ofEuropeanculture.Intheirmostlucidmoments,theyreveal the

awarenessof thecrucialmeaningofRimbaud:thenecessity ofconfrontingthe

culture,ofmakingapublic denialof i t s .validity and, therefore,of i t s defig

nitions. In acertainsense, Harrar i s theultimate,mythic rejection; but i t

i s at thesametime an imcomplete rejection,which i s content with the device of

"absolute"denial,whichmakesno attempt atdevelopmentof an alternative.I t

i simportant to understand thatRimbaud'sreaction, like thatof such figures

as Gerard de Nerval, Lautreamont and Baudelaire aswell, took place in amore

"primitive" context, one i n which the emerging realityhad not yetattained a

degree ofresolutionand delineationwhich wouldmakepossibleastructured

progressionout of the immediate act of negation.

By 1916, theconfigurationofEuropeanculturehadbeenmoreclearly defin

ed; formanypeople, the1914-1918war was asummation.The war was an immediate

catalyst forDadaactivity, though i t i s obvious thati t was not, s t r i c t l y spea-

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king, the cause.. The war was, for the Dadaists, the objectificationof the fac

torsi nEuropeansociety vhichweremostdistressing.TheDadagroupswerefaced

withasituationi nwhichthe advancing' culture and i t s dying sources revealed,

onceand fora l l i n a specific c r i s i s / the corruption of i t s assumptions. Rimbaud

had established the definitive rejectionper se; i t was leftto theDadagroups

to makethe f i r s t important extension of hisposition.To emulatehim was meani

ingless: s i t t i n g quietlyi n neutral Zurich, they may as wellhave beeni n Harr-

ar. RichardHuelsenbeck,one of the originalmembersof the earliestZurich

group,discusses the alternatives:

"If Tristan Tzara had barely suspected themeaningofthisfamousexistence we drag alongbetweenapesandbedbugs,he wouldhaveseenthe fraud of a l lart and a l l artisticmovementsand hewouldhavebecomea Dadaist.Wherehavethese gentlemenwho are soeagertoappeari n the historyof literature left theirirony? Buried i nbooks,theyhavelost theirindependence,the ambition to be asfamousasRabelaisor Flaubert has robbedthemof thecourageto

laugh there i s somuchmarching,writing, l i v i n g to bedone.Rimbaudjumpedi n theoceanand started toswimto

St. Helena, Rimbaudwas a h e l l of a guy, they s i t i n thecafes and rack theirbrains over the quickest way of gettingto be a h e l lof a guy.Theyhaveanacademicconceptionof l i f e a l l l i t t e r a t i areGermans;and for thatreason they w i l l never.get close to l i f e .Rimbaudverywellunderstood that literatureand art aremighty,suspicious things and how well a man can live as apashaor a brothel-owner, as the creaking of thebedssings asongofmounting profits."4

To s i t i n the cafes i sessentially the "bourgeois" reaction: toadmire the

"work"and ignore the implications; that i s , to enforce the contextwhichis

applied to ar t, to accept the situationi nwhichan artist i sadmiredso long

as histermsand theirextensions are denied existence and effectiveness. Huel

senbeckunderstood immediately that one cannotprofess toadmire"Rimbaud" and

then by accepting a contextwhichthe artistdemandsbe obliterated,assumethat

this i ssufficient. "While Tzara was s t i l l writing'Dada

ne signifie rien' i n

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Germany Dadalost i t s art-for-art 1s-sake characterwith i t s very f i r s tmove.

Insteadofcontinuingtoproduce art,Dada, i ndirect contrastto.abstractart ,

-5

wentout andfoundanadversary."

WhatsetsDadaapart from other"radical" European artmovements of thetime

i s i t s explicit, self-conscious c r i t i c a l nature. Moving intothearena fromthe

domainofartandliterature, i taffirmed theirnecessitybydenying i t s e l fthe

righttopracticethem,becomingaspeciesof"didactic theatre",i nwhichthe

centralthemesare: context,definition, language, politics.

Iti snecessarytomakeadistinction.InPrance,Dada wascarriedout i n

theshadow of theimmediate traditionofavant-garde poetry,and an immediate

interesti n theworkingsof theunconscious consideredlargelyfo ri t sownsake.

ThepositionofAndreBretoni n theFrenchDada movement, andhisattitudeto

wardthatmovement, areimportantconsiderations.Hisearly interesti npsychi

atry,hislateracquaintancewithFreud,hisinvolvementwithJacquesVache have

becomecommonknowledge. From thebeginningof Dada i nParisin 1919Bretonun

derstood thati twas aparticular manifestation,something which would necess

a r i l ybetranscended.Hisearlyinvolvementwiththeexplorationof theuncon

sciouscombinedwitha deep and,i t mightbeargued,rather "traditional"comm

itmentto thepoetryof theFrench avant-garde mediated againstthe development

ofthekindofovertanddirect p o l i t i c a l actionwhichcharacterizesthe Dada

groupi nBerlin,and to alesserextent,i nCologne.

As well,thep o l i t i c a l situationwasdifferenti n the twocenters. Certain

ly, post-war Pariswas notquiet,buti t experienced nothingliketheimmediate

political crisiswhich grippedBerlin,whosestreetsrangwiththegunfireof

theSpartakusRebellion,andwithwordof theOctober Revolutioni nRussia.The

Berlingroupbecame directly involvedwithrevolutionon theconcrete level,

whilei nParistherevoltwasconfinedtoliterary circlesandbourgeois cultur-

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a l ignorance, i n themannerof Zurich.** The Pa ris ia nDadagrouphad no connect

ions with p o l i t i c a lorganizations; the earliestmemberof the French circle to

take this kind of action was PierreNaville,who joined the FrenchCommunist

7

Party in1925 out of the Surrealistgroup. InGermanyhowever,the Marxist

analysis and the Partywere constant companionsofDada.Of the original Berl

i n conclave, WielandHerzfelde, his brotherJohann (who changedh isnameto

JohnnyHeartfield as an act of p o l i t i c a l provocation duringWorldWar l ) had

beenPartymembersprevious toHuelsenbecksreturn toGermanyto beginDada

there, and before eventhe beginnings of the Zurichgroup. Thesetwowerei n

collaborationwith thepoets FranzJungand RaoulHausmann,and with the graphic

a r t i s t ,GeorgeGrosz. JohannesBaader,"derOberdada",hadbeena contributor

to Die Frie Strasse during the war and entered themovementimmediately upon

g

Huelsenbeck's arrivaluponthescenei nJanuaryof 1917.

Huelsenbeckwas the uni fying factor fo rDadai nBerlin, for he brought the

"idea" ofDadawith him fromZurich, as Tzara tooki t to Paris i n 1920. These

peoplewho had spentthe war years i nGermanywereparticularly receptive to

theDadamessageof revolt.Huelsenbeck'sZurich residence lasted lessthan a

year (February 26,1916-January, 1917);he was ambivalent aboutthe foundation

ofDada:on the one handhe recognized thedepthof the issueswhichi t had

raised; on the other he was suspicious of the consciousness and therefore the

motivesofsomeof the par ticipa nts i n theCabaretVoltaire and the GalerieDada.

"The GalerieDadacapriciously exhibited cu bist, expressioni s t and futurist pictures; i tcarried on itsl i t t l e art business

at literary teas, lectures and recitation evenings, while the

wordDadaconqueredthe world. It was something touching to behold. Day.after day the l i t t l e groupsat i n i t s cafe readingaloud the c r i t i c a lcommentsthatpouredi nfromevery possiblecountry, and whichby their toneof indignationshowedthatDadahad strucksomeoneto the heart. Strickendumbwithamazement,we baskedi n our glory. Tr is ta n Tzara could think of no-

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10

thing elseto do butwritemanifestoaftermanifesto, speakingof 'l'artnouveau,which i sneithercubism norfuturism", butDada.ButwhatwasDada?'Dada',cametheanswer, 'ne signifierien.'Withpsychologicalastuteness, the Dadaistsspokeofenergy and w i l land assured the world that they hadamazingplans.But concerning the nature of these plans, no informationwhatever was forthcoming....As Ithinkbackon i t now, an artfor art's sakemoodlay over theGalerieDada i t was amanicure salon of thefine arts, characterized by tea-drinkingoldladies trying torevive theirvanishing sexualpowerswith thehelp of 'somethingmad'....Theremighthave beena way tomakesomething of thesituation. The groupdid nothing, and garneredsuccess..."10

Huelsenbeck maintains that theZurichmovementnever reallyunderstood i t -

self, and therefore,nevercomprehendedwhatDadacouldmean.I t took the Berlin

groupto do so. One can appreciate hispoint:Zurichwas aneutral territory

and auniversitytown.Mo-onewas i ndirect physicaldangerand themannerof

living was not unbearable. The Cabaret Voltairegroupwas flushedwith the ach

ievements of avant-garde art: Picasso andBraque'sanalyticcubism, the "revo

lutionary"violence and contemporaneity offuturism and theworkof Marinetti,

the "cause" ofabstractart(Arp),andevenGermanExpressionism, through Huel

senbeckhi ms el f. ^ The proposals of "anti-art"wereumbilicallyboundto the

discoveriesand methodologies of othera r t i s t s , andweredirected generally ag

ainst theuncomprehendingbourgeois and bourgeois-student audience. I t i s not

u n t i l themovementbegins to operate i nGermanythat the d i a l e c t i c a l and c r i t i c

a laspectsbecomeclearly articulated andDadatakes on a p o l i t i c a l role.

In this senseZurichDadawas a totally artistic revolt,a proclamation of

the new artsand adeclarationoftheir "opposition" to bourgeoisculture.Zur

ichDada,underTzara, did not find anything toopposei n thestate of avant-

garde arti t s e l f . His manifestoes 'of the time do not address themselves to this

question,which i s acentralconcern to Huelsenbeck i n En AvantDada.and other

writingsof theperiod iand to the conduct of theBerlinmovementas a whole.

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11

The Zurichgroup mightbe seen, then, as akind of "nascent"Dada,i n wh

ich themajorthemesof themovementwereindicated.Both Berlinand Parisdev

eloped out of the originalZurich impulse,Parisas a continuation and refine-

12ment,and Berlinas arejectionof i t .

"The Dadaists of the Cabaret Voltaire actuallyhad no ideawhattheywanted the wisps of'modernart'that atsometimeorother had clung to themindsof theseindividualsweregathered together and called 'Dada'.TristanTzara was devouredby ambition tomovei ninternational artistic circles as an

equal orevena 'leader'....Andwhatan extraordinary, never-to-be-repeated opportunity now arose to found an artisticmovementand play the part of a literarymime!...Noneof us

suspectedwhatDadamightbecome,f ornoneof us understoodenoughaboutthe times tofree ourselves from traditionalviews and form a conception of art as a moral and socialphenomenon.Artjustwas therewereartists and bourgeois.You had to love one and hate the other.

We see therationalef or Huelsenbecks departure from Zurich i n 1917. The

SpartakusMovement,which wouldaid i nbringingGermanytorevolution, was fou

ndedi nMarch, 1916. Huelsenbeck cameto Zurichspecificallyto avoid particip

atingi n the war, aboutwhich he obviously had very strongfeelings;developments

i nGermanycould nothaveescaped bisattention.He could see the looming p o l i

t i c a l crisis and the attendantpossibility of realrevolutioni n the nation he

seemstohavedeeply despised. Hemadethe connectionbetweenthe psychological

and cultural implicationsofDadaand concrete political conditions.

"InJanuary 1917 I returned toGermany,the face of whichhadmeanwhile undergonea fantasticchange.I felt asthoughI had left asmugfati d y l l fo r astreet f u l l of electricsigns,shoutinghawkersand auto horns. In Zurich the internationalprofiteerssat i n the restaurants with well-filledwalletsand rosy cheeks, ate withtheirknives andsmackedtheir lips i n amerryhurrah f or the countries thatwerebashing each other'sskulls i n .Berlinwas a city of tightened stomachers, ofmounting,thunderinghunger,wherehidden rage was transformed intoa boundlessmoneylust, andmen'smindswereconcentratingmoreandmoreon questions ofnakedexistence.Herewe wouldhaveto proceed with entirely

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12

differentmethods,i f we wantedtosay somethingto the people.Herewe wouldhave to discard our patent leatherpumpsandtie our Byronic cravates to thedoorpost....Thepeoplehad anexalted and romanticattitudetowardart and a l lcultural values.Aphenomenonfamiliari nGermanhi st or y was again manifested:Germanyalwaysbecomesthe land ofpoetsand thinkers

wheni tbeginsto bewashedup as the land ofjudgesand butchers."^

The pattern of cultural revoltwhich Huelsenbeckhad learned to be so eff

ectivefromZurichblendedperfec tly with the politically-aligned attack onGer

man culture already inprocessi n the publications of Herzfelde, He ar tfie ld ,

15

JungandHausmann. One of theirmostsignificant actions was the issui ng and

reading of the CollectiveDadaManifesto 1^in February,1918, whichattacks ex

pressionism, cubism,futurism and abstract art, while endorsing "Bruitism",

"simultaneity", and the "StaticPoem"(whichcan becomparedwith Marinetti's

"Parole in l iberta").

Fromthe Zurich experience, Huelsenbeckunderstood thephenomenonof the

manifesto. Speaking generally, the production ofmanifestoes can be seen as

arising out of theconsciousnessof the necessity to es ta blis h previously non-

apparentdefinitions i n the face of existing definitions.That i s , themanifesto

i s a tool of contextual struggle.

"Therei s one literary formi nwhichwe cancompressmuchofwhatwe think and feel: the manifesto. Tzara hadenunciated this principle as early as 1916. Fromthe daythe CabaretVoltaireopenedi t sdoors,we read and wrote

manifestoes. We did not only read them,we spokethem asvociferously and defiantly as we could. The manifesto asa literarymediumansweredour needfo r directness. Wehad no timeto lose; we wantedto incite our opponentsto resistance, and, i f necessary, to create new opponentsfor ourselves. We hated nothing somuchas romantic s i l -enceand search for a soul: we wereconvinced that thesoul could onlyshow i t s e l f i n our own ac tio ns." ^

It i s important tograsp the nature ofHuelsenbeck'sstatement and that of

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14

sees i t s e l f consciously as a dividerof thecontinuumof reality on thegrounds

that this continuumi s not a static "entity", but a process,whichi s constantly

changing and developing. Therefore, the crucial relationshipsarebetweenthe

partsof this process the apparentlystatic conditions of the world and the

movementof thewhole,betweentheformof thewhole grasped by themind, and

the events whichboth create thewholeand participate i ni t .By accepting the

divisionbetweenthe "inner" and the "outer" worlds,betweenthe realm of theory

and that i fpractice (which characterizes expressionism for the Dadaists), the

externalworld is accepted as i ti s .Huelsenbeckclaims that such acceptance i s

nothing better than cowardly resignation, an admission ofweakness,lack of

control, of alienationi n thesensethatMarxapplies the term to philosophy.

The conception of thehumancondition as inherentlypainful,frustratingor"

"absurd" (cf.Schopenhauer)is the ultimatereification, and a totally semantic

20

problem. Expressionism i n art, forHuelsenbeck,occupies essentially thesame

positionas philosophy specificallyGermanIdealist philosophy held for

Marxi n the context of the materialcontinuumof thought.

Huelsenbeck,moreover,condemnsthe inward-seekingmovementas less than

an intellectual attitudetoward the world, fo r i tdoesnot attempt to"compre-

21

hendthe world", but toescapefrom i t .Likewise,Marxassaults the idealist

philosophy which, "likeGermanProtestant theology before i t ,transforms the

aimsof men into spiritual values; i t thus renouncesas hopeless the task of

22

anchoringthemi n materialreality." Marxand Huelsenbeckestablish parallel

methodsi ntheirvariousframesof reference; both attack the reification of

very material conditions ofimpotence and despair.Suchreification,masquerad

ing as true intellectual activity or as authentic art , reveals i t s e l f as the

negation of thatwhichi t purports to uphold; therefore i ti s , i n addition to

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15

i t s other faults, hypocritical:

"On the pretext of carrying out propagandafor the soul,theyhave,i ntheir struggle with naturalism, found their waybackto the abstract, pathetic gestureswhich presupposea

comfortable l i f e freefrom content or s t r i f e . The stages aref i l l i n gup with kings, poets and Faustian characters of a l lsorts;the theory of a melioristic philosophy, the psychologi c a lnaivety ofwhichi s highlysignificant fo r a c r i t i c a l understandingof expressionism, runs ghostlike through themindsofmen who neveract....That sentimental resistance to the times,whichare neither better norworse,neithermorereactionarynormorerevolutionary than other times, thatweak-kneedresistance, f l i r t i n g with prayers and incensewheni tdoesnot

preferto load i t s cardboard cannonwithAttic iambics i sthequalityof a youth thatneverknewhow to beyoung. Expressionism,discovered abroad, and i n

Germany,true to style,

transformed intoan opulent i d y l l and the expectation of agoodpension, has nothing i ncommonwith the efforts of activemen."23

This hypocritical attitude,whichformsan apology for a contradictory

state of affairs, i s theattitudeof theEuropeanbourgeois. The working class

and the other poor, forexample,could not turnawayfromthe world, for to do

so onemusthaveresources. Apoorman cannotfollow the formulations of ideal

i s t culture,becauseto live the inward l i f e onemustbe assured of the surviv

a lof, not sorrmuchhis"mind",but of, hi s very physical heart,whichpumpsblood

through hisbrain. Likewise, i t i s not the activebourgeois himself who leads

such a l i f e ,but his symbolic culturalcounterpart. The philosophers and artists

who belong to thegroupwhich, i nMarx'sterms,"makethe perfecting of the i l l -

usions of the classabout i t s e l f their chief source oflivelihood",carry out

this charade. The a r t i s tand philosopher play the role determined forthemby

the society i nwhichthey exist. In thisway the context for artand'thoughtis

established.However,we shall see how, i n thesamecapacity as the artisti s

created by the socialcontext, he i sc r i t i c a l of i t ,or atleast has the potent

i a l to be so (see pp.37-40).Thispotential,whenrealized,led toBerlinDada.

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16

As aconsequenceof theawarenessof the basis of the culturetheywere

dealing with, the Berlingroupmovedint o a dialecticalprogramwhich transcen

ded the existentboundariesof art . In thisway theyset up a critique of the

avant-garde i t s e l f . In contrast to ParisDada,the Berlingroupoperatedfrom a

positionwhich included that of the a r t i s t i c avant-garde,but whichunderstood

i t as a socialproduct, like everything else, and therefore f u l l y within the

area of criticism. BerlinDadaincludedavant-gardeart as part of i t stact ical

methodology,but theyplaced no faith i n i t as an e ffective opposition to soci

ety and "culture".Theyunderstoodthat i t was i n apoorposition to effect a

meaningfulcritique as long as i ttook i t s e l f for granted. In Paris, the Dadaists

wereinvolved inwhatHuelsenbeck analyzed as a puerile and circular activity of

attempting to c r i t i c i z e froma position within the confines of the definition

underattack. This was seenas a failure ofconsciousness and i s the basis of

24

Huelsenbeck'sdisdain for Tzara.

The BerlinDadaists, i n attacking the avant-garde i t s e l f , attacked the en

tirenotion of "high art"; during their period of activity, with very few ex-

25

ceptions, thegroupproducedmainly collage and photomontageas visualart ,muchofwhichwas implementedas published material i n the severalmagazines

26

and bulletinsbroughtoutbetween1918 and 1922. Acomprehensivecatalogue of

theworksofHausmann,forexample,doesnot exist;muchof hisworkwas u t i l

ized i n publications. It is only f a i r l yrecently that theoeuvreofJohnHeart-

f i e l d has receivedmuchattention:virtually a l l hisworkwas u t i l i t a r i a n , as27 ..,

propaganda. Severalmemberswe, as we havementioned,poetsand writers. This

activity was notabandonedduring theDadaepisode, but i t was not given elevat

ed statusabovethe pressure of themomenttoproducemanifestoes, flysheets,

pamphletsand bulletins.Jung,Hehring,Einstein and Huelsenbeckcontinued to

publish throughout the period.

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17

Nevertheless,i ti sclear thati nattackinghigh ar tand theavant-garde,

theywereacting,so tospeak, " i nthenameofart"; that i s , theunderstanding

ofsocietyand the manner i nwhich i tappliesmeaning to artrendered i t imposs

ibleforthese peopletoaffirmtheunlimited activityof theavant-gardeasi t

wasdefined.Theyactedi nfactas avanguard themselves,but, as we shallsee,

this positionwasconfirmed,asactively c r i t i c a l onlyto theextentthati twas

actively s e l f - c r i t i c a l .Theavant-gardecould functiononlyi n astateof ex

tremetension "with i t s e l f " becauseof theoverwhelmingknowledgei thad of i t -

selfas asocial process. Thisi s thedriveofHuelsenbeck'sargumentagainst

ZurichandParis,andi twas thecentral preoccupationof theBerlinmovement

(thoughtheconceptuallevelofthis preoccupationvariedfrom yeartoyearand

from persontoperson; for example, Grosz,Herzfelde,JungandHeartfieldwere

themostpurely p o l i t i c a li ntheir activities,Huelsenbeck veryp o l i t i c a lbut

committed topolitics throughana r t i s t i c consciousness,Hausmann a l i t t l e fur

theri n thedirectionofa r t i s t i c revolt,Hannah Hoechfurther s t i l l , and Baad-

eri n asortofone-manclass.)AsHuelsenbeck saysi n EnAvantDada,i twas

necessarytoformaconceptionofartas amoralandsocialphenomenon; the

BerlinDadamovementshouldbeseenas theimmediateoutcome ofsuchanecessity

in1918.

Their objectiontohigh artwas not somuchformalasideological;high

art,asi texistedi nEurope,hadallowedi t s e l fto beintroduced intothedom

inant culture,thebourgeoisideology.High art suchasPicasso'shad, by 1919

aplacei n thebourgeoisscheme, arolewhich precludedthepossibilityofi t s

maintainingaposition actively outside thatscheme. TheBerlinDadaists found

thatthe most"advanced art"oftheir timehad notsufficientlyanalyzed i t s

positioni nregardto thesocialmeaningwhich i tcarried,and to theorigins

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1 8

of that meaning. In "taking a posi tion outside the bourgeois scheme" i t should

be remembered that Berlin Dada in no way "escaped" the bourgeois world; and in

no way did i t attempt to do so. As mentioned previouslywith reference to Rim

baud and the notion of "absolute" re jection, the extreme attitude i s most tot

ally bound to i t s subject, but this binding is dialectical, in which the crit

i cal attitude attempts to indicate the negative aspect of the existent, to show

what is not i n the apparent continuum of "what i s " .

Certainly, a spir i t of " revolt" colours a l l advanced art of the time; Huel-

senbeck and the Berlin group cr i t ic ize i t because i t has not extended the bound

aries of this revolt to include rejection of the manner of operation of the cul-

tural definitions which establish the art-context. The avant-garde of the cubists

and the abstract artists were content to carry out the contextual action only

to the limits of the already-organized definitions of art-process, and no fur

ther. That is, the Berlin group fel t that i f one i s involved withquestioning

the nature of a particular art-process, like painting, one is implicitly accep-

2 8

ting the wider definition of art altogether. To become involved in a revolut

ion of paintingwould mean not to become involved in a more totally revolution

ary action against the entire bourgeois context of art. Huelsenbeck's endorse

ment of Bruitism, Simultaneity and the "new medium" collage-stems from the

understanding that media themselves are definitions and tend to create contexts,

and that such defini tions and contexts can operate strongly as 1a "conservative"

element, although they seem to operate on such a broad level of acceptance and

such a high level of abstraction that they appear unquestionable. In this sense

art media can be seen as analogous to Roland Barthes' notion of language as

horizon;

" . . . a language is a kind of natural ambience wholly pervading

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19

thewriter's expression, yet withoutendowingi t with form orcontent: i tis , as i twere,an abstractcircle oftruths, outsideof which alone the solid residue of an individual logosbegins tosettle. I t enfolds thewholeof literary creationmuchas the earth , sky and the linewheretheymeet.outline afamiliarhabitatformankind.I t i s not somucha stock ofmater

i a l s as a horizon, which impliesboth aboundary and a perspective; i n short i t i s the comforting area of an orderedspace."29

Therefore, aviable revolutionarymovewouldnot involve paintingi n a new

manner,i f onewereconcerned with the definition ofpaintingas a rt . To paint

ina new mannersimplyreinforces the existingcontext,givingi t theappearance

of i n f i n i t e f l e x i b i l i t y . Rather, amorewide-rangingactioni s necessary. Huel

senbeck saw Picassomovingtoward this i n hisworkof1906-19135

"The concept of reality i s ahighly variablevalue, andentirelydependentuponthebrain and the requirements ofthebrainthat considers i t .WhenPicassogaveup perspective, he f e l t that i t was a set ofrules that had arbitrari l y thrownover "nature*:theparallels,whichcross on the

horizonare a deplorable deception behindthemlies thei n f i n i t yof space that can never bemeasured. Consequentlyhe restricted hispaintingto the foreground, heabandoned

depth, freed"himself from themorality of a plastic philosophy,recognized theconditionality of optical laws, whichgoverned his eye i n a particularcountry at a particular

time;he sought a new, direct reality hebecame,to use avulgar term, nonr-objective. Hewantedto paint nomore men,women,donkeysand high-school students, since they partookofthewholesystem of deception, the theatre and the blagueofexistence and at thesametime he felt thatpaintingwith o i l was a verydefinite symbolof a verydefinite culture and morality.He invented the new medium....Hewellunderstood the ideal, slick, harmoniousquality inherent i nperspective and i no i l painting,and the falsehood of the , 0

'landscape' produced by thesentimentalityof o i l painting."

Huelsenbeck's approval of Picasso i s mainly concerned with the artist's

growing consciousness of theframeof reference of language i n which he works,

and the a b i l i t yto grasp theframeof reference as nothingmorethan an histor

i c a l situation,opentoscrutinyi n the broadest senses. Out of such examination

action necessarily takes place; i t i sclearly arevolutionary praxis Huelsenbeck

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20

i sdemanding.Considering Picasso'sdevelopmentjustbefore and soonafter this

statement wasmade,one mightfeel that,i n theeyesof those holding the theo

r e t i c a lviewpoint of theBerlingroup,i twouldbe seenas afailureto carry

31

through the veryradical implications of his ownwork. Cubismradicalizedte

chnique, and theentirelanguageofpainting; of this there i s no doubt.I t i n

tentions,however,did not extend to those areaswheretheworkof ar tbecomes

the"workof a rt" i n the abstract, to the (necessarily)theoreticalareaswhere

art's fun cti on as an entity i nsocietybecomesthe subject.Therei s no necess

i t y to " c r i t i c i z e " thecubistsforthis apparent "failure";however,i t i sval

i d and desirable toindicate thedifferencebetweenthe extremity of theirpos

i t i o n regarding ar t as art, and the extremity of thepositionof the Berlingr

oup (to which onlyDuchamphad progressed by thesame time.)

In theirattitude toward the avant-garde and their denialof i t svalidi ty,

Berlin had verymuch"comeout against art":

"The appropriation byDadaof these three principles,bruitism, simultaneity and, i npainting,the newmedium,i s of course the 'accident' leading to the psychologicalfactorsto which the realDadaistmovementowedi t sexistence.As Ihavesaid,I findin theDadaismof Tzara andhis friends,whomadeabstract ar t the cornerstone of theirnew wisdom,no new idea deserving of very seriouspropaganda.Theyfailed toadvancealong the abstract road, which ultimatelyleads from the painted surface to the reality of apost-office form. No sooner had they l e f t the old sentimenta lstandpoint than they looked behindthem,though s t i l lspurred on by ambition....InGermanyDadaismbecame p o l i t i c

a l , i tdrewthe ultimateconsequencesfrom i t s position andrenouncedartentirely."32

The extremity of the positionmadei t necessary fo rthemtonegatethe via

b i l i t y of the continued existence of art i n the present context through the only

logicalmeansavailable: art i t s e l f . The renunciation of art has value only i n

i t s social sense. The man who privatelyrenouncesart i sseenvery simply as not

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22

couldnot stop therebecausesuch techniques, fora l l their "linguistic" radic

alism,werenevertheless categorizableasart.Thechallengetothe unquestion

able horizonwassubsumedi n the recognitionandacceptance of newart,more

art.

In this light i t i sinterestingto see howthe Berlin artistswho made co

llage specificallyHausmann,HeartfieldandHannahHoech,employedthemedium.

Although their compositions deriveto agreat extentfromthe vocabulariesof

cubismandfuturism,aswellasfromexpressionist art i t s e l fandcontemporary

Russianwork,there iscommon tothese Dadaistsasignificant differencefrom

the other schools. Unlike, fo rexample,the collagesofPicassoandBraque,

the Dadaistsdonot attemptto"formalize" the elements.One ofthemostimpor

tant reasons forthis i s theusetowhichtheseworkswereput.

Picasso'scollages are conceivedandorganizedaspartoftheprogramof

cubist painting,asalternative solutionstoi t smajorproblems,the modalities

of depictionandthe questionofsurface.Theseare formalproblemswholly with

in thescopeofthe definitionofpainting. Picasso'smostconcrete f l a tworks

maintainadherencetothecanonofhigh art. (See, fo rexample,Naturemorte.

violonetf r u i t s . 1913, NaturemorteauLacerba, 191A orNaturemortea, l a

39\

chaisecannee.1912. ) Inthe 1913workconcentration i stypically focussedon

the unityandresolutionofthe pictorial organization;this impulse i s respon

sible fo r the distribtuionofnewspapercuttings across the picture,bringing

the depicti on togetherandassert ing the surface i nexplicit contrastto the

depth i l l u s i o ngeneratedbythe depictionofplanes overlappingoneanother.

The techniqueofcombining standard drawingandpaintingpassageswith the col

lageelementsaidsaswell i nintegratingthesenewcomponentsinto thenormat

iveschemaofthe art object. Natural ly, then, cubist collages took their places

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23

on the ga llery wall alongside the paintings.

On the otherhand,Dadaistworkssuchas Heartfield's earlyDada-Photomon-

40

tageof 1920, orHausmann'sraucoussynthetisches Cino der malerei pamphlet of41

1918, werenot intended for the gallery wal l, but had amore" u t i l i t a r i a n " pur

pose.Their function was immediateand mechanical: the Berlinartistsweredel

ighted with the possibilities of creatingworkswhichseemed likeart, but which

had a contradictory relationship to a r t i s t i c canons.The Dadacollagesseemed

like a rt, but c ontrad ictori ly,werefoundi nnewspapers,handbills, and the cov

ers of fly-by-night magazines,or else,theydidn't seemlike art at a l l , i n

theirapparentartlessness, stylelessness and craftlessness, yet appearedi n wh

at was acknowledgedto be (somebreed of) artmovement.The Dadaists exploited

bothsides of the coin, impelled by the pressureof history and the desire "to

say somethingto the people",tobreakthe normativecod ifications of viewing

context. The result i s a style ofimpenetrableand inescapable concreteness,evenin the casesofworkswhichwerenot published, suchasHausmann'sABCDof

42

1923. In contrast to theworksby Picasso mentioned or, for a furtherexample,

/ \43

GiacomoBalla'sDimonstrazionepatriotica(1915), Hausmannvirtually slamshis

material ontothe sheet not without carefor the compositionas awhole (the

organization issuperb!) but without mediating the material, as the others

do. The banknotes, cut out letters,gynaecological diagramssand originalphoto

graphsare not integrated toforman harmonioussurface, nor are thei r individ

ualnatures subordinated to a generalized appearance of thework (as i n Balla's

collage), but rather are permitted to assert themselves,and toforma conglom

erate compositionfromth is assertion. Picasso's chaise canneei stamebycomp

arison, with the stunningforeignelementworkedi n nicelythroughthe extension

of the painted areas,and thereby admitted into the pre-existing set of regulat

ions by bendingtoconformto i t s outline.ABCD,Heartfield'sDada-Photomontage.

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inculcatedhonesty, perhaps i t merelyamusesthe Dadaist,perhaps i tmeansnothing at a l l . But in any case, ar t ( i n cludingculture, s p i r i t , athletic club), regarded from aseriouspoint of view, i s alarge-scaleswindle....Culturecan be designated solemnly and naivelyas thenationalsp

i r i tbecomeform, but i t canalsobe characterized as acompensatoryphenomenon,an obeisance to an invisible judge,as veronal for the conscience."4

Ina veryreal sense theBerlingroupi sresisting mystification and the

operationofmyths.WhentheBruitistpoemwas developed, two possibilitiescame

intobeing regardingi t s use. Firstly, theattitudeheld by thefuturists, who

reallyinvented themode,was thatBruitismwas the expression of the nature of

the immediately contemporary world, theindustrialized,mechanized, electrified

speeded-upsociety,and as such, wasboundto representthis societyi ni t s own

language. The futurists, by remainingwithintheorbit ofpaintingand sculpture,

"formalized" thislanguage as i t was presented i n the terms of those ar t forms,

and i n the contextestablishedby those forms. Huelsenbeck, i n the Collective

DadaManifesto, takes thisaspect ofBruitism intoDada:"The BRUITISTPGEMre

presentsthestreetcaras i ti s , the essence of thestreetcarwith theyawning

49

ofSchulze the conductor and the screeching of the brakes." No "distancing"

i s desired.Direct,unmanipulated aspects ofstreet-lifeare pressed intoar t,

oratleast pressed forward i n the context of art forc r i t i c a l consideration.

No attempt i s to bemadeto "aestheticize" theseBights or sounds, tomakethem

beautiful.Just as the Dadaistcollages rejected inclusioni n a high art aesth

eticdomain,theBruitistpoemresists inclusioni n thedomainofa r t i s t i c lan

guage.Therei s noMuse,no mystificationabout the source of the sounds.

On the otherhand,Bruitism,as i t developed i n France,' was inflected by

theentire spectrum of French poeticconcerns sinceRimbaud.Picasso'sDemois

elles d'Avignon (1906)i srepresentativeof this inclination: i n asingleunfor

gettableimagei tallies the contemporary aspects of cubism and the newmedium

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withthe suggestionof atruth existingi nmoreprimitive,non-European cultures.

It i s apparentthat this trend,which i n the1920sbegantof i l l Europeanmuse

umswiththeartifactsofpre-technological c i v i l i z a t i o n s fromAfrica,Asiaand

SouthandCentralAmerica, i sorganicallyconnectedtoRimbaud'sposition.Eur

opean literatureofthe post-WorldWar-Iperiod,deeply consciousofi t sown

alienation,madevariousattemptstoescapeasocietywhichhadapparentlycomm

i t t e dahorri ble suicide,yet whichrefusedtodie.Theseattemptsfollowedthe

outlinessetdownby mensuchasLautreamontorV i l l i e r sde1'Isle-Adam, which

consistedof at o t a l escape into theimagination,orelse thoseindicatedby

Rimbaud.

"...theperiod since theWar hasfurnished....many examples

ofwriterswhohavegonetheway ofRimbaud withoutusual ly,however,l i k e him,gettingtothepointofgivingup l i t e r a t urealtogether. A l l ourcult, whichWyndhamLewishasdenounced,ofmoreprimitiveplacesandpeoples i sreally the manifestationof animpulsesimilartoRimbaud's D.H. Lawrence'smornings i n MexicoandhisexplorationsofSantaFe andAustrali a ; BlaiseCendrars' negro anthology, the negromaskswhichbringsuchhigh pricesi nParis, Andre Gide'sl i f e l o n gpassion

forAfricawhich has finally ledhim tonavigate theCongo,SherwoodAnderson's exhilarationat the'darklaughter'ofthe ,-QAmericanSouth....all thishasfollowed i n thewakeofRimbaud."

Thispointi smadei n thelightofthefact that theParisianDadaistsen

dorsedPicasso'sprimitivismand, throughtheirconnectionswiththe Symbolist

movement,participated i n themystificationofthe processofBruitism.At the

beginningoftheZurichmovement,devices suchasNegromusicandmasks,bala-

51

laikamusic, chant-poetryandritual dancing are usedto makethe*effect.

Huelsenbeck reports thatatZurich, "Inliterature, primitivetendencies

werepursued.Theyread medieval prose,andTzara ground outNegroverses which

he palmed offasaccidentally-discovered remainsof aBantuorWinnetu culture,

52againtothe greatamazementofthe Swiss."

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ehed.

The attitude toward primitivismandBruitism heldbythe BerlinandParis

groupsi sanilluminatingexampleoftheir generalpositions.Bystringently

maintainingastateofconcentrationuponthe present, the Berlin Dadaists cou

ld arriveatthe f u l l culturalvalueofanti-rationalnoiseandsimultaneous

poetry.Thecharacterandsourceofthisworkhad to beseenin the contextof

theimmediateenvironment:these savage-soundingchantsandscreamswerenot the

productof aformalized,evenpastorally-removed native agrarian civilization,

productof apast ideal,butthe shrieksofmodernEuropeans,i n leathershoes

and overcoats. This strictnessofpurposeandclarityofcontextworksagainst

the possibilityofthe impactoftheworkleakingawayintoafascinationwith

remotesources,andthereby creatingasituationi nwhichanyrejectionof the

existingculture takes place i n thename of aculturewhichcould notbeimmed-

ately connected with i t .Concrete conflicts are obscured i n theendorsementof

highly abstractconflicts.Myth doesbattleagainstmyth.

The analysisoftheBerlinmovementwasfromthe beginningaimedat the

destructionofthe intellectualstructureofGermany,and,byextension, a l lof

bourgeois Europe.They wereconcerned i nasense whichi s quites t r i c t l y Marxi

an,to movethrough the eraofmythorideology,intoaverydifferentkindof

world. This intentionmadei t possible fo rthemtorelinquish the desiretocon

tinuetoproduceartabove a l l else.

The Marxian systemofthought i s characterizedasultimately rational;the

existenceofmythi sseenas aparticularfunctioningofconsciousness. I ti s

boundtoparticulareconomic,productive conditions,andi sopentothe c r i t i c

a l destructive effectsofother functions.

" A l l social l i f e i sessentially practical.A l l the mysteries

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whichlead theorytowardsmysticism find their rationalsolutioni nhumanpractice and i n thecomprehensionof thispractice."53

The powerofmythi sbasedon thepowerto controldefinitions:applied

meanings,the results of determinate acts by particularhumanbeings, are given

the character of absolutemeanings.Theybecomethe abstract horizonwhichi s

neverquestioned,underwhich a l l definitions and concepts are established and

maintained. Huelsenbeck1sobjection to the Zurich and Paris Dadaists includes

centrallythe objection that one cannotcombatmystification, particularlyi n

industrialized class society, through the production ofcounter-myths.An inte

gralpart of the Marxian programi s theexposure of the process of mystificati

on as an incomplete and unfree state of thought, i nwhich languagei s notused

to communicate,but to obscure thought, i nwhich communicationi s thecommunic

ation ofstrictly-controlled ideas and meanings,(see pp.69-72)

To be c r i t i c a l i s to beawareof process; the man of c r i t i c a l , sceptical

nature i s the one v/hounderstandsthe procedure of producingmeaning.

"In an article on expressionsim Kornfieldmakesthe distinctionbetweenthe ethical man and the psychological man.The ethicalman has the child-likepiety and faith which per-.mit him to kneel atsomealtar and recognizesomeGod, whohas thepowerto lead men from their misery tosomeparadise.The psychological.man has journeyed vainly through the i n f i n it e,has recognized the limitsof hisspiritu al po ssibil ities ,heknowsthat every 'system'i s a seduction with a l l the consequencesof seduction and every God an opportunity for f i n anciers.

The Dadaist,as the psychological man, has broughtbackhi sgazefromthe distance and considers i t important tohaveshoesthat f i t and a suitwithout holes ini t .The Dadadsti s an atheistby instinct. He i s no longer a metaphysician i nthesenseoffindingarulefor theconductof l i f e i n anytheoretical principles,for him there i s no longer a 'thoushalt'....Consequently, thegoodis....no 'better' than the

bad there i s only aimultaneity,i n values as i n everythingelse.This simultaneity applied to theeconomyoffactsi scommunism,acommunism,to be sure,whichhas abandoned the

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principle of 'makingthings better*, and above a l l seesi t sgoal i n the destruction of everything that hasgone bourgeois."

This attitude,for a l l i t sideological peculiarities, annihilates"belie f";

there can be no belief i n art,just as there can benonei nmythor religion,

because,as we shall see, the action indicated by theverb"to believe" i s i n

validated by a new condition ofthought.This new condition ofthought brings

art intoexistence i n themomenti t destroys the mystification of ar t, themom-

ent art as mystificationends.Amythor an ideologydoesnot ceaseto exist

oncei t i s revealed as an historical product.Whatoccurs at thispoint i s a

dialectical event, inwhich the alienated product ofthoughti sbroughtback

into direct relationsip with the process whichcreated i t . The existence of the

product i sneverdenied, but i t sindependentstatus outside the rangeofhuman

ly-createdphenomenai s destroyed, and the product i sunderstoodend examined

in i t s new status asresumeof amentalprocedure.Intermsof a rt , the analogy

i s very clear:Duchampdid not k i l l ar t, hegavebirth to i t as a self-consc

iously historical activity, "at the service of themind."Duchampunderstood

the necessity for an explosion i n context; the alter na ti ve was to see art as a

process die. The notion of theindependentexistence of "Art" the residue of

bourgeois-idealism i s destroyed.Marxmakesa similar point in discussion of

religion:

"Since,however,forsocialist man thewholeofwhati scalled world hist ory i s nothing but the creation of man byhumanlabour, and theemergenceofNaturefor man, he therefore has the evident and irrefutable proof of his self-creation,of his own origins.Oncethe essenceof man and ofNature,man as a natural being and Natureas ahumanre ality,hasbecomeevident inpractical l i f e , i nsenseexperience, thesearch for an alien being, a being outside man and Hature(asearchwhichi s theavowalof the unreal ity of man and Nature)becomesimpossible i n practi ce.Atheism,as a denial ofthisunreality, i s no longer meaningful, for atheism i s a

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denialof God, andseekstoassertbythisdenialtheexistenceof man.Socialismnolonger requiressucharoundaboutmethod;i tbeginsfromthetheoreticalandpracticalsenseperceptionof man andNatureasrealexistences.Itisapositivehumanself-consciousness,no longer

aself-consciousness attained

throughthenegationofreligion,justas thereal lifeof manispositiveand nolonger attainedthroughthe negationof private property(communism)."55

Inthe samesensedoesartremainafter it sapparent "negation" inthe

workof Duchamp and theBerlinDadaists.Itis realizedas adeterminatemental

product.Therefore, i t iscontrolled,by themindand thecontextandneveratt

ainsanindependentexistence,nevergeneratesidols.Art realizesitselfas a

phenomenonofconsciousnessin history,evenattismostabstract,evenwheni t

is concernedonlywithmountains,deserts, glaciersandoceans."Art", forHuel

senbeckor Duchamp,reallydoesnotexist.Whatdoesexist isacertain kindof

art process.In avery similarwaydoessocietyexist,not as anabstract"Soc

iety"whichstandsapartfromthe individualswhocomposei t ,butinsteadas the

resolutionoftheirinteractions.

"The factis, therefore, thatdeterminateindividuals,who areproductively active inadefiniteway,enter intothesedeterminatesocialandpoliticalrelations.Empirical observationmust,ineachparticularcase,showempirically,andwithoutanymystificationorspeculation,theconnectionof thesocialandpoliticalstructurewith production.Thesocialstructureand theStatearecontinually evolvingout of thelife-processofdeterminateindiv

iduals,ofindividualsnot astheyappearintheirown orotherpeople'simagination,but astheyreallyare: i.e.astheyact,producetheirmaterial life,and areoccupied

withindeterminatemateriallimits,presuppositionsandconditions,whicharebeyondtheirwill."5

The rejectionofthemythmakingactivity (and thatofcounter-mythmaking)

bytheBerlinDadaists isameasureoftheirsophistication in handling theno

tionofcontext.In1935AndreBretonwas tocharacterize Surrealismas a "met-

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57

hod of creating a collectivemyth"; i t i sthisapproach whichgenerates the

conceptual tensions of Surrealism, and whichmadei t impossible fo r aworkable

allianceto be formedbetweenthatgroupand purely p o l i t i c a l activists. P o l i t

i c a l action,i n the Marxist sense, i s irrevocably aligned with the destruction

ofmystification,i n a world i nwhichthe collectivehasbeencompletely o b l i t

erated.

The existence of anti-mythical thought i s that of the c r i t i c a l nature of

consciousness. The now-destroyedmythi s not ignored, but insteadbecomesan

artifact, and, at thesametime, asymbolof the subversive nature of consciou

sness inhistory.In thesameway, the ar twhichDuchampand the Berlin Dadaists

destroyed did notceasetoexist. Infact, i t s existenceretains importance,

but i n a transformedmanner,i n that i t i s now placed i n a comparative context,

one i nwhichthe processeswhich producedi t can be c r i t i c a l l y revealed.Duch

amp'sFountain orBottleRackare anti-icons, shot through with the subversive

knowledgeofwhatgoesintomakingan icon.This i s the source of the scepticism

and the irony.

It mightbe arguedthat,similar to thesensei nwhichthere ismuchi n

Duchamp'sworkhostile to art as i t existed before him, there i ssomethingin

Marx's thought deeply antitheticalto poetry, to the so-called "artistic impul

se". I f there i s anything, i t i s the opposition toreification.The destruction

of reificationhowever,as we shall see,makespoetry possible; the artistic

impulsebecomessupremely self- and historically-conscious.Themyth,thepoem,58

the artworkareseenas natural productions, clearlyi n the realm of the pra

c t i c a l and the mate rial. It i sseentohaveahistory: thehistory of men.

"The phantomsof thehumanbrain are necessary sublimates ofmen'smateriallife-processes,whichcan be empirically established and whichareboundto material preconditions. Morality,

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religion,metaphysics and otherideologies, and theircorres

pondingforms of consciousness, no longer thereforeretaintheirappearanceofautonomousexistence.Theyhaveno history, no development;i t i s men, who, i n developing theirmateri a l production and theirmaterialintercourse,change,alongwith their realexistence,their thinking and the products ofof their thinking. Life i s not determined by consciousness,but consciousness by l i f e .Thosewho adoptthe f i r s tmethodbegin with consciousness regarded as the l i v i n g individual;those who adoptthesecond,whichcrresponds with real l i f e ,begin with the real l i v i n g individuals themselves, and considerconsciousness only as their consciousness.

Likewise,art consciousness i s only the consciousness of the man making

art, and this i sseenas the content of art.Thus,the importance ofDuchamp's

Headymades,as contextbecomescontent. The workof art has no existence except

as a conscious historicalact. Itdoesnot necessarily partake i n themythof

thebeautifulobject nor of that of themessagefromthebeyond.I tsrelation

shipwith i n f i n i t y i sironic, i t srelationship to i t s own importance skeptical.

LikeDuchamp,Huelsenbecki s theconsummateskeptic.

"Skepticism"i s a termusedtodenoteprocess-awareness, whichi s h i s t o r i

c a l , c r i t i c a l awareness.This skepticism i s very sensitive todefinitions, and

to framesof reference tosystems.The BerlinDadaists' c r i t i c a l focus on the

avant-garde i s a result of such thinking.

With this i nmind,le t us return to the discussion of the manifesto, with .

the object ofarrivingat a definition of i t i nrelationshipto theworkof ar t,

i . e . , to see i t s differencefromaworkof ar t.

As statedabove(p. 12 ,

the function of the manifesto i s to antagonize in

thedomainof definitions. Its primary and authenticrole i s contextual. This

impliesa situationof struggle and conflict, not developmentaccording to a

pre-organized pattern of formalrelationships that i s , the manifestoemerges

as a polemicaltool only in a dialectical situationof c o n f l i c t . ^

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Suchasituationi ssynthetic: that i s , i t i s the product of particular

historical acts definitions. Inthis struggle,everything i sdynamic,and de

pendsfori t s intensityuponthe determined opposition offully-delineatedcom

ponents. Intermsof the dialectic, themorefully-developed the conflicting

componentsare, themoredeepand acute the encounter w i l l be, and themoref u

l l y resolvedw i l l be the synthesis or resolution.^ 1 The arena of this conflict-

i n this case,betweenexistingart-definitions and emerging a r t - d e f i n i t i o n s

-bringsthe manifesto as aphenomenonof art, intoexistence. The effectiveness

of the manifesto i sabsolutely related to aparticular context, a particular

struggle.Beyondthese concerns, i t has no interest. The manifesto, like any

factorwithinastruggle,i slessinterested i n the f i e l d ofconflict as a f i e l d ,

than i t i s i nforgingthe necessary resolutionof thesituation. The battle

ground i sengagedat a l lonly tomovepast i t .The manifesto i stotally ameans,

just as i n the triadic dialectical reading, thethesisand antithesis can be

seen asmeansto synthesis.

As ameans,the manifesto i s fundamentallydifferentfrom aworkof ar t.

Theworkof art indeed carriesa c r i t i c a l function,which necessitates thati t ,

too, antagonize i n the realm ofmeaning,but simultaneously i talsoincludes

otherfuncti ons at otherlevels,whoserole appearsmoreneutralbecauseof the

higher level ofabstraction.Theworkof ar t as aworkof art canreconcile opp-

osites, which, on theimmediatecontextuallevel, cannot be reconciled; this

occursbecausetheworktakes theabovementioned " f i e l d ofconflict" as i t s

subject-matter.Thustheworki s simultaneously transparent andopaque,i s look

ed at, as a product, and looked through, as an indicatorofmethod.As Robert

Morrissuggests, onedoesnot look at a new formal-methodologicala r t i s t i c dev-

62eolment, but through i t ,using i t to see the world. Therefore, Iwould sugg-

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on, and focus attentionupontheworkas a representative, in amannerof spea

king, of the category "workof ar t", a construct of definitions, aresult of

65

the "metaphoric" natureofmentala c t i v i t y . At this point,whatart i s i s the

66

"artcondition"; the artprocessi sseenas a limited systemi n a particular

context. "Worksof art are ana lyt ic propositions.That i s , i fviewedwithin th

e i r contextas ar t the y provide no informationwhat-so-everaboutany matter

of fact.Aworkof art i s a tautology i n that i t i s the presentation of the ar

tist's int ent ion , that i s , he i s saying that that particularworkof art i s

art,whichmeans,is a definition of art.Thus,that i t i s art i s true a priori

(whichi swhatJuddmeans whenhe states that ' i fsomeonec a l l s i t art, i t ' s

67

a r t ' ) . " We mustrealize,however,that sucha readingdepends upon,as i s ad

mitted by the invocation of an a p r i o r i , the existence of an h i s t o r i c a l l y est

ablished and agreed-uponcontext. The artworki nthis abstract state (exempli

fied by the BottleRackor aworkbyKosuth)exists as the result of nothing

morethan the recognition of the presenceof context, which i t s e l f i s necessar

i l y seen as theresumeof the metaphorical, analogical and materialprocess of

thoughtand meaning-application. Therefore, within the art-context (now aspec

i f i c a l l y , tech nica lly delimitedzoneof a c t i v i t y ) , theworkof artneedsdo no

68

morethansimply exist ( i tdoesnot evenhaveto be present ), that i s , f u l f i l

a l l definitional requirements,causeno l i n g u i s t i c contradictions.Duchamppro

vedMarx'sstatementthat ar t i s nece ssarily a socialphenomenon.In an i n t e l l

ectually organized society (and society i s by definition an intellectual organ

ization), a l l thatneedstoexist i s a context, a definition, aground of prec

edent and discourse.With this, the p o s s i b i l i t i e sfor the definition are l i m i t

less, but only throughthemovementof context i t s e l f , whichi s a specific pro

cedure (see pp . 8 f -8Z) .

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However,i t i s imperative torecognize thatthecontext i t s e l f i sadeter

minate historical product,an not anunquestionableap r i o r i . Whenever limits

aredrawnaroundasituationor anactivity,themostimportant areabecomes

theedge,theinterfeacewherethatwhichi s withinthelimit interfaces with

or confronts thatwhichi s not.Inoppositionto thepositio n heldbyKosuth,I

would arguethattheexistenceofarti nthis contextual statedependsultimat

ely uponthec r i t i c a l recognition ateverymoment ofthe historical nature

ofthecontext i t s e l f . In thedialectical arena,nothingcanexistindependent

l y .That whichi sAi s simply,by thefactofi t s being, somethingnot only ot

her thanB, butopposedto B,antagonisticto B,c r i t i c a lof B.Eachbounded

defined being isnotonly passively i t s e l f ,buti t is activelyhotthatwhich

i t is not.^

Therefore, Duchamp, i n thecreationof thef i r s t unassistedReadymades,

attacked ostensiblyanestablished context (i n part,the"morphological");but

as we ll , with thismove hesetup acontinuouscritiqueof thenotionofcont

ext i t s e l f .Heestablisheda new a r t i s t i c methodology,similartothatofBerl

i nDada,whichrelatedto theconscious art-context ina new way: bytreat ing

i t assub.iect-matter. In the same wayi nwhichmythattainsa"newidentitywhen

i t s mystifying,magicalpowersareunderstoodandtherebydestroyed, context,

whichi nthedefinitionofKosuthhassimilarpowers,i stransformed.Likethe

myth,andindeedas asubvertedmyth,i ttakeson thecharacterof aself-con

scious process result,asdoestheart-objectorsitu ation created within i t .

As Kosuthsuggests,eacha rtwork,bypresenting i t s e l fas the"definition"(or

a definition)has thepotentialtochangethedefinitionofart.However,such

changesdo nottakeplace sol ely withinthepre-established context; simultan

eously withthefollowingofpossibilities withinthecontextand theredefining

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of configurations within the definition,eachsuchchange-acti nfact reverber

atesuponthe context i t s e l f as an entirety, as a notion, as aconcept.

"...thepropositions of art are not factual,butl inguisti c

i n characterthat i s ,theydo no describe the behaviour ofphysical, orevenmentalobjects; theyexpress definitionsof ar t, or the formal consequencesofdefinitions of art.Accordingly, we can say that artoperateson a logic.For weshall see that the characteristicmarkof a purely logicalenquiry i s that i t i sconcerned with the formal consequencesof our definitions (of art ) and not with questions ofempiri c a l fact."? 0

While this suggestion i s acceptable as far as i tgoes,Iwouldsuggest

that i tdoesnot go farenough.Whilethe specificcontentof "logic"as a pro

cessi s not under question, the process as & process. i n a certain senseas a

"game"of thought,needsto becomprehendedin the lightof man i nhistory. To

insistuponthisi s not to relegate apparentuniversals to the status of condi

tioned reflex; farfrom i t .Rather,toinsistsuchi s to point out the inescap

able connection of thought with "empiricalfact".Again,thisdoesnotdeny the

existence ofthought-processwhich are not apparently concernedwith particular

issues of empiricalfact.However,i tmakese x p l i c i t l y conscious that the proc

ess in question actively separates i t s e l f fromquestions of an empirical nature,

and that this separationmustbe seenas consciousand deliberate and therefore

part of the procedure i t s e l f . Thati s , the differentiationbetweenanalytic and

7

synthetic propositions is i t s e l f a synthetic proposition. Context i t s e l f i s

no a p r i o r i condition, but i smuchaproductofdeterminatehistoricalacts as

are theworksand definitions whichoperatewithin i t .Like any language,how

ever, context acts as the "unquestioned horizon" inwhichparticular actsseem

naturally immersed.And we haveunderstood (MarshallMcLuhan)that i t i s the

mostimmediate and pervasive environment whichi smostd i f f i c u l t to objectivize

and perceive c r i t i c a l l y .

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issuingfrom thatavant-garde position.Tzara'sactivities i nZurichaswellas

i n Parisaresufficient evidenceofthis; they are aimedatsolidifying theav

ant-gardeout ofwhichanycriticism, carried out in thename ofart, wouldbe

achieved.Thenatureoftheirownpositionassuchwas not anobjectofc r i t i c

ism, i twasratherthe standardofmeasurement.Consequently criticismofother

movementsorbrancheswascarriedout withimhtheframeworkof anunquestioned

context^ i nasense Tzara's notionsoftherelationshipofadvanced artto so

ciety createamystificationofthe avant-garde i t s e l f . In nomannerdothePa

risian DadaistsortheirZurichpredecessors renounce art; theirmotivation i s

continuallytoaffirmi t i n themostabsolute sense. Thisattitude,andi t sFr

ench poetic a f f i n i t i e s , i s revealedbyTzara i n hi sfamousDadaManifesto1918;

"Art i saprivate affair, theartist produces i t f or himself;ani n t e l l i g i b l eworki s the productof a journalist,and becauseatthismomenti tstrikesmyfancytocombinethismonstrositywith o i l paints:apaper tubesimulatingthe metalthati sautomaticallypressedandpoured hatred

cowardice v i l l a i n ^ .Theartistthe poet rejoiceat thevenomofthemassescondensed intoasection chiefofthi sindustry,hei shappyto beinsulted:i t i saproofofhi simmutability.When awriterorartist i spraisedby thenewspapers, i t i s proofofthe i n t e l l i g i b i l i t yofhiswork:wretched liningsof acoat f orpublicuse; tatterscovering brutality, piss contributingtothewarmthof ananimal broodingv i l e instincts."?4

Art existsfo r Tzara inwhatwehaveseen Huelsenbeck characterizeas a

"traditional view",aview whichhad to bedestroyed i n ordertoforma newcon-

75

ceptionof"artasmoralandsocialphenomenon." NotethatTzara i s not asser

ting specifically thatart's language i s opposedtothesocial reality fo r con

crete reasons,andthatthese reasons arebeyondthecontrolofartists justas

theyarebeyondthecontrolofthe bourgeoisandthemasses.To do sowouldbe

to recognizethat theartist i snosuper-humancreature,alooffrom themateri-

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a l and intellectual d i f f i c u l t i e sof those socialgroups, but instead that,i n

beingactive i n aninherently social enterprise,he i s asmuchavictim of cul

tureas they are. To accept thiswouldmeanultimatelyto envisage a different

situation,and therefore a verydifferent definition of ar t and the artist.

ThusTzare's manifestoes aredocumentsof ano-revolt,one i n which no so

lution i soffered,and no discussioni s generatedbeyondthatof the absolute

affirmationof the "artist" (which obviouslymeansthe a r t i s tas he exists) ab

solutely against the bourgeois and the working class.

"I writea manifesto and Iwantnothing, yet I saycertain things,and i nprinciple I am against manifestoes, as I am alsoagainstprinciples (half-pintstomeasurethe moral value of every phrase too tooconvenient;approximation was invented by the impressionists).I write thismanifesto toshowthat people can performcontradictoryactionstogether whiletakingone freshgulpof a i r ; I am againstreaction;f or continuous contradiction, fo raffirmationtoo, I am neitherfor noragainstand I do notexplainbecauseI hatecommonsense."? 6

Huelsenbeck sees Tzara's positionsimply as theresult of alackof con

sciousnessordevelopment.In Tzara'swritingthere i s no consciousmoveaway

from an authenticc r i t i c a l position; rather, thewholeof hi sactivity was org

anizedwithout the total conceptual grasp of the situation.Tzara'sZurich car

eer operated, i tseems,on a cellular, instinctive level, i n which formulated

c r i t i c a l and s e l f - c r i t i c a l concepts di d not arise. As Huelsenbeck says, "Trist

an Tzara hadbeenone of the f i r s tto grasp the suggestivepowerof theword

Dada. Fromhere on heworked indefatiguablyas the prophet of aword,which on-

77

l y laterwas to be f i l l e d with-a concept." Inthis context, Tzara's"DADANE

SIGNIFIERIEN" (1918)takes on aparticular historicalmeaningf or us.

This d i f f i c u l t yi s apparent throughout the manifestoeswrittenby Tzara.

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Modigliani,Kandinsky,Mari netti and Cendrarsas well as theCabaretgroupthem

selves.Huelsenbeck'sdisillusionment with Zurich and the CabaretVoltaireseems

tostemfrom their overridingbelief i n art and poetry: he sees this as a naiv

ety, a lack of skepticism i n thesense usedabove.Huelsenbeckknewthat to be

lieve i n art thisway was toaccepta reified context. In an interview of May,

1950, Tzarastates:

"II s'agissait de fournir l apreuveque l a poesie etait uneforce vivante soustousles aspects,memeantipoetiques, 1'ecrituren'en etantqu'unvehicule occasionnel,nullementindispensable, et l'expression de cette spontaneite que fauted'un q u a l i f i c a t i fapproprie,nousappelions dadaistes."^

In a situationwhereart i s i n question i n i t s contextual sense, "belief"

i s of l i t t l e importance,forbelief insistsuponthe unconditional character of

i t s object. The "conservative" characteristics of thisargumentare, Ihope,

evident. Somethingi s conceived as absolute, unconditionally necessary, etc.,

i n a particularframe of reference. It i s , historically, not separable from

thatframe:to i n s i s t that i texist unconditionally i s to do one of two things:

either to insist implicitly that the context, irrespective of i t s nature, be

retained without question, or else to be ignorant of the function of context i n

the processofthought.Eit her way, what emergesi n practice is at least the

possibility of an excusetoreatin,moreor less consciously, the'existingsta

teof affairs. Tzara's belief i n poetry i s then, naturallyenough,a belief in

a certain poetry,whichimplies a particularcontextual f i e l d .

Tzara's thinking i n 1919 was strongly influenced, asmentionedjbyFrench

poetic ideas,fromthe sense of absolute revoltengenderedbyRimbaud,to the

notion of "difficulty" and aestheticism,whichi s part of the programof the

Symbolist movementand relatedactivites (cf. Mallarme). This influenceshapes

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his manifestoesdownto thedetails. Afterthe DadaManifesto1918,whichwas

his secondwork(themorepoetically structured Manifestoof M.Antipyrenewas

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presentedatWaagHall, Zurich,July14, 1916 ), thewritings takeon a more

overtly "poetic" structureandsyntax.

XI

Dadai sadogacompasstheabdominalclayneithernew noraJapanesenudeagasmeterofsentiments rolled into pellets

Dadai sbrutalandputsout nopropagandaDadai saquantityof l i f e undergoing atransparent transformation both effortlessand giratory

XII

ladiesandgentlemenbuycomei n and buy and do notreadyouw i l lsee the man whoholdsi nhishandsthekeysofniagaratheman wholimpsi nablimp withthehemispherein asuitcaseandhis noseshutup i n aJapaneselanternand youw i l lsee you w i l lseeyouw i l lsee thestomachdancei n themassachusetts saloontheman whodrivesi n an a i land thet i r e goes f l a t the s i l kstockingsofmissatlantisthetrunk that navigatestheglobe6timestoreachtheaddressee monsieurandhi s fianceeand hissister-in-lawyouw i l l findtheaddress of thecarpenterthefrog-watch thenerveshaped l i k e apaper-cutteryouw i l llearnthe address of theminorpin fo rthefemininesex and theaddress

ofthe man whofurnishesthekingofgreece with f i l t h y photographsandaddress ofaction francaise.

XIII

Dadai savirginmicrobeDadai s againstthehigh costof l i v i n gDadaajoint stockcompanyf ortheexploitationofideasDada has 391different attitudesandcolorsdependingon the sex

ofthechairmanI t transforms i t s e l f affirms simultaneously saystheopposite

i t doesn'tmatterscreams goes fishing.Dadai sthechameleonofrapid,interestedchangeDadai s againstthefuture.Dadai sdead.Dadai si d i o t i c . Hurrahf orDada. Dadai snot aliteraryschbol roa