Module 11 Videos

1.) I chose the video "Dada and Surrealism" because after reading about the Dada movement in the text I was greatly interested in learning more about it's history. I love art that has a political message and challenges the "norm". I also have always been a fan of Salvador's Dali's work so educating myself more on his art and other surreal artists is important to me. 

I chose the video "The Impact of Cubism" because besides Pablo Picasso, I felt like I didn't know about many other significant artists who were part of the Cubism movement. Cubism is an art movement I never really focused on and was interested in learning more of it's history after the reading. I have always been fairly critical of more "abstract" art movements so, I thought this video would be eye opening for myself and help me better understand Cubism. 

2.) The "Dada and Surrealism" video was full of information on artists from these movements and their creations. I learned that Dada artist Kurt Schwitters used elements of constructing and collecting in his pieces. He believed choice played a key role in his creative process, and the outcome of his pieces. Schwitters became closer to the natural world with the objects he chose to use in his works. He removed objects  from the world we associate them with and gave them new meanings in his creations. I learned that artist Hannah Herr was the only female artist in the Berlin Dada group. Her pieces represented carefully planned chaos that was a staple for this illusive artist movement. George Grosz drew crude, cartoon like characters in scenes of chaos to represent the horrors of the war that would disturb the viewer. I was interested in surrealist artists Joan Miro, and how he based his painting "Dutch Interior 1" off of a 17th century painting, but with a surrealist twist.

The video "The Impact of  Cubism", was rich with details and history on multiple artists who were part of the Cubism art movement. I learned that Marcel Duchamp's painting, "Sad Man on a Train"was said to be a self portrait of himself. In Duchamp's painting it looks like he has deconstructed the figure and mechanically put it together. Juan Gris's work, "The Breakfast Table", uses abstract shapes, intense colors and dark lines to piece together a quite common scene of breakfast to make it something more interesting. 

3.) In the text we learned the basics of the Dada art movement and that it was started by a group of artists waiting out the war in Zurich as a form of protest. The video delves more into the history behind the artists who participated in this movement such as George Grosz and Kurt Schwitters. We are able to understand how artists used their work as a form of protest from the objects the collaged to the people they depicted in their pieces.  In the text we learned about Pablo Picasso and George Braque being the ones to start the Cubism art movement. The video further goes into artists who were inspired by these two, such as Juan Gris, and became a part of the movement themselves. 

4.) I especially enjoyed the video on "Dada and Surrealism" because the Dada art movement is not something I knew much about before this class. I love studying art that speaks for its time and reflects the history at the time. The Dada art reminded me of political art we see today and how important it is to use art to speak out in dark times. The video "The Impact of Cubism" gave me a better appreciation for abstract art forms and the creative process behind them.