Visual Analysis

HAUSMANN SPIRIT OF THE AGE

A visual analysis of the Dadaist Raoul Hausmann

The core principles of the Dada movement developed as a reaction to the horrors of World War 1. The mindless violence and the horrifying disfigurements of the soldiers who fought led to a desertion of the logic and reason created through capitalist societies. A group of artists and creatives gathered in Zurich to form a new movement, an absurdist protest against a senseless war (Moir, 2016). They implemented a vast array of media, from collage and photomontage of Man Ray and Hannah Hoch, to poetry from Tristan Tzara, and even sound art from Kurt Scwitters.

This war was one of the first times technology played a major role in combat and many Dada artists saw this as the result of capitalism. The number plate “22” on his brow suggests he is one of many, an assembly line of lifeless cyborg soldiers designed to fight. By Fusing technology with the human body, Hausmann is rejecting the violence and destruction created in war.

This attack on authoritarianism runs throughout much of Hausmanns work. In The Hindenburg of Iron (1920), he depicts Field-marshal Paul von Hindenburg as a robotic villain. In his right hand, he holds a saber with “Blood!” printed over it, an allusion to the violence Hindenburg presided over, along with a rallying “victory” emanating from a loudspeaker near his knee. One particular sculpture that speaks to me is Mechanical Head: Spirit of the age (Hausmann,1920)(Figure 1). The sculpture makes use of the Readymade concept, pioneered by Marcel Duchamp, in which found objects are combined. This example features a sewing mannequin head with several mechanical implements attached. The eyes of the mannequin are blank and vacant, suggesting a deep dissatisfaction with its current state(Harris, Zucker, 2018). The items are not so much being “Worn”, but rather being a part of the head, perhaps signifying the fusion of technology and nature that emerged during WW1.

These phrases conjure up images of lines of soldiers marching off to war. But this depiction of Hindenburg is fundamentally broken. His arms link up to his buttocks and his torso is barely attached, as if it’s been cut off. Hausmann emphasises the dysfunction of technology and military, ultimately resulting in a disfigured being, reminiscent of the survivors of trench warfare. (Brio,2007).

Hausmann expresses his rejection of the “logic” of capitalism through his fusions of man and machine, resulting in maimed and broken depictions of society. My work may not be as politically charged, but I am greatly inspired by the cut up techniques of Hausmann. I enjoy creating absurd colleges that defy any logic or reason to form truly bizarre images. I especially feel inspired by Tristan Tzara (1920) and his cut-up poetry technique, as this solidifies the rejecting common and accepted rules in favour of nonsense.