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Original Work: Dada & Pere Ubu

I have very little experience with art and art history. Before this class, I had heard of Dada and Surrealism, but I wouldn’t have been able to identify or describe characteristics of either of the styles. After one week of this class, I now know that Dada has its roots in the first World War, the first “war of the machines.” The avante-garde movement claims to be inherently political and radical. The movement was originated in third places—places outside of work and home lives—like Cafe Voltaire or Cafe Odeon. The word “dada” has a number of meanings; it means “yes, yes” in Russian or “rockinghorse” in French, and many times, it is a child’s first utterances. Many people thought that dadaists were against art, but they described their essential business as “provocation” according to The Shock of the New, a television series by Robert Hughes, produced by BBC. The dada movement argued against the common idea that truth and inspiration are spiritual and come from the inside. Dada uses form to challenge expressionism; some artists used collage to unnaturally put objects together. This idea of remediation is new at this time. Dada challenges the three common political responses to the war: the industrial, capitalistic response; the socialistic, communistic response; and the fascistic response. Dada was more abstract; movement leaders hoped that art could “act on politics as icons could act on religion.” The Dada movement wanted to show “the brutal reality of the environment, unfiltered.”

Alfred Jarry was an influence of the Dada movement. His work in the play Ubu Roi immensely challenged societal norms. In the play, almost everything goes the opposite of how it should, exposing the absurdities of the “real world.” His work, like Dada, meant to shock. The reactions to its first premier in 1896 were split. One group, the more rebellious, open-minded few celebrated the play for breaking barriers of cultural rules. The other, the more traditional play-goers, were appalled. The two groups clashed and riots broke out. Themes like bathing, killing, religion, the value of money, and right/wrong were among the most prominent in the play. I see Jarry’s main point as criticizing the value of money. In Act three, scene one, Ma Ubu tells Pa Ubu, “You should try to get the support of Buggerlas by acts of kindness.” To which Pa Ubu responds with “Give away more money? Ha! Not a chance.” Here Jarry parallels kindness and money in the mind of Ubu. Eventually, Ubu’s love of money will be his downfall. I could parallel Ubu with many things, but one thought that just wouldn’t go away was that King Ubu reminded me of Scott Walker. I think that Ubu Rex is a criticism of systems, specifically, government and religion. Side-note: as shown by his commands on the sailboat, Pa Ubu is definitely not a sailor; if I were on his sailboat, I would not follow his commands for fear of my life.

#Ubu Rex #Ubu Roi #Alfred Jarry #Dada