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| Fountain by Marcel Duchamp (1917). Sculpted in New York. |
My Reaction
I am a big fan of sculpture art in general so I do think this is a cool and goofy art piece made by Marcel Duchamp. I like the simplicity of it as-well as the interesting backstory of the "R. Mutt" signature. Strange to me how this became such an iconic piece of post WW1 art.
The Art Elements of this Style:
1. Colors
What I really notice about the colors of the sculpture is well obviously its all white. Therefore, it is extremely simplistic which is the way a urinal should be realistically. However, I think that it would definitely struck anyones eyes if he had happened to sculpture a odd colored urinal instead of just plane white as the only solid color.
2. Shapes
The lines used in this art work mainly stand out as curvy to me as they all come together within the sculpture to produce the 3D object what it is. Which also coo-relates to the use of the art element of shape in the work. The piece is clearly a 3D all in one shaped artifact. That alone makes it stand out tremendously as a sculpture. Also I can't recall the last time I saw a urinal that looked like this, which might just have meaning to it in itself.
3. Texture
Now, this is the art element that I really noticed the most at first glance within the art work. To me it looks like Marcel very carefully smooth the sculpture, as there isn't any distinctively noticeable graininess to it at all. Which really shows the talent of Marcel as an artist and sculpture which is something that I can definitely appreciate about this work.
How does this work relate to the influence of art in WW1?
Marcel Duchamp began to reject many fellow artist's works as World War 1 began its upbringing. He believed that several other artist's works were only there to please the eye of observers and that he wanted to make art more about the mind. A philosophy of his that can be made out to be a result of the influence of the first world war. This piece of art just like many other of his works goes against the traditional values of art. A movement of thinking when it comes to artwork that emerged through the influence of World War 1.
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| The Pillars of Society by George Grosz (1926). Painted in Berlin, Germany. |
My Reaction This a great example of Dada style art, which had a great part in art around the time of World War 1. I think that there are several unique portrayals of elements of art within this piece. Knowing that George Grosz was indeed a German painter definitely gives me an understanding towards the work upon inspection with the depiction of the Nazi Party member in the foreground, which we can tell by the swastika and monocle he is wearing. It is definitely very interesting to me how George managed to fit so much into this canvas, which I could definitely see how viewers of the portrait would be confused by the meaning. There is a lot of symbolism at play.
The Art Elements of this Work:
1. Colors
The colors of this artwork are very gloomy to me, it is the perfect combination of warm and cool colors that contrast together to make a great canvas. There is some interesting detail that is brought to the painting with the use of the element of color. Such as the rosy red cheeks of the Nazi Party member in the foreground. It seems that George Grosz used his colors very wisely to highlight details that he really wanted observers of his work to notice. Which in my opinion is very cool and unique for him to do as an artist.
2. Lines
The style of lines within this canvas is cool in the sense that it looks to me as if he used multiple different styles when it came to drawing out his lines. Majority of the lines used seem to be super strict with straightness to where it gives them a very sharp appearance. Then when you look at the lines used on the smaller details within the painting you can see them start to give a rounder, almost cartoon-like feature. The use of lines overall, really remind me of looking at a comic just by the cartoon-like similarities.
3. Shapes
In this work shapes are used in many ways to make a great canvas. You can see them being used in the sense of symbolism, for example the swastika on the man in the foregrounds blue tie. I think its very interesting how symbolic the element of shape was for Dada style artist such as George Grosz. You can also see some oddness when it comes to the shapes of the faces of the people depicted such as the ones which look has if they have no complete face. A characteristic I notice in a lot of dada artist work as-well.
How does this work relate to the influence of art in WW1?
This work relates to the influence of art in WW1 heavily, and most interestingly from a German point of view. With the Nazi Party just beginning to become a thing around the time of World War 1, there is a definite impact of influence from that shown here in George Grosz work. Which can easily be spotted by observers just from looking at the characteristic of the man depicted in the foreground. Who is seen with a swastika on his blue tie and a monocle. Which were iconic for members of the Nazi Party. It is a very interest subject to just admire the use of symbolism that was influenced by the events of WW1 within this artwork.
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| Murdering Airplane by Max Ernst (1920). Collaged in Brühl, Germany |
My Reaction
At first glance, this is a very strange collage by Max Ernst which is also another great example of Dada artwork. However, I do really find the simplicity of colors included entertaining. The overall randomness that goes with the canvas is mesmerizing in the way that it really just makes you look at it and think of the meaning behind such a piece.
The Art Elements of this Work:
1. Colors
The use of the element of color within this collage just truly comes off as super simplistic and almost basic to me. I do like how he made such dull colors contrast with even more dull colors. Such as the yellow of the arms attached to the airplane and the solid black and white background. Which definitely got my attention first when seeing the artwork.
2. Contrast
In colleges such as this, contrast comes off very strange to me. In the sense that in a photo collage you could have so many different strange images with all different types of contrast to them. However, here I would have to say that the contrast is the most apparent when it comes in the form of the overall colors used in the collage.
3. Shapes
The use of shapes for in a collage for me is very important I would say this because just your individual attached images can all be accounted as for the shapes that make up the final product. Looking at the individual images that Max Ernst used in his collage here really just shows how true that is.
How does this work relate to the influence of art in WW1?
First off, Max Ernst was a warrior in World War 1, who has said that this piece is completely inspired by World War 1. Which just really shows how much artwork can be used as a great story telling tool for artist such as Max Ernst to reflect on their own life personally with. This price was made for Max Ernst to remind his observers of the horrors of World War 1. Which makes this an extremely great example for how World War 1 had a great impact on the artist and their artwork during the time.
“Marcel Duchamp Artworks & Famous Art.” The Art Story, 2021, www.theartstory.org/artist/duchamp-marcel/artworks/#pnt_4.
Rosenthal, Nan. “Marcel Duchamp (1887–1968).” The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Oct. 2004, www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/duch/hd_duch.htm.
Laroche, Josepha. “Dada.” International Encyclopedia of the First World War, 8 Oct. 2014, encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/article/dada#:~:text=Dada%20intended%20to%20make%20war,anger%20generated%20by%20its%20horrors.
Ibrahim, Afzal. “Murdering Airplane.” The Artist, 1 May 2020, www.theartist.me/artwork/murdering-airplane/.
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