Critical Thinking
Francis Picabia, L'Oeil cacodylate, The Cacodylic Eye, 1921
Created by Francis Picabia, a member of the Dada movement, this poster entitled "L'Oeil Cacodaylate" has a gray base on which a cacophony of calygraphed sentences can be observed. At the top of the poster the title of the piece is clearly written in bold red typography. The rest of the writing however is a mix of phrases, names, expressions and random words written with different types of pens. These words are accompanied by a painting of a brown eye, a portrait of Francis Picabia, and a few other pictures, more hardly distinguishible.
The concept behind the Dada artwork according to Tristan Tzara's Dadaist Manifesto is "Every page should explode, either because of its deep seriousness, or because of its vortex, vertigo, newness, timelessness, crushing humor, enthusiasm of its principles, or the way it is printed" (Novin 2016).
This piece by Francis Picabia was made during the hayday of Dadaist thinking, which had graphic design and typography at the core of its thinking (Novin 2016). Like many Dada works of art it was meant to cause scandal, by linking visual art and poetic inspirations (poems often formed from obscene language and images) (Novin 2016).
The Dada artworks were meant for audiences in the know, for people who adhered to the Dada philosophy. And if not, it was meant to provoke and offend, to break the mould of what was considered appropriate, and to "violate the cannons of classical aesthetics" (Novin 2016).
References
Novin, Guity. «Chapter 45; Dadaism; The meeting point of all contradictions.» A History of Graphic Design. 2016. http://guity-novin.blogspot.com/2011/08/chapter-44-dadaism-meeting-point-of-all.html (accès le April 3, 2021).