In the Richter text, there were different forms of dada
presented as examples of dada art. All of the examples had a nonsense aspect to
them and some had context, while other did not. I choose the first part of the
“gadji beri bimba” poem that I felt represented dada in an encompassing way:
“gadji beri
bimba glandridi laula lonni cadori
gadjama
gramma berida bimbala glandri galassassa laulitalomini
gadji beri
bin blassa glassala laula lonni cadorsu sassala bim
Gadjama
tuffm i zimzalla binban gligia wowolimai bin beri ban
o
katalominal rhinocerossola hopsamen laulitalomini hoooo gadjama
rhinocerossola
hopsamen
bluku
terullala blaulala looooo…” (Tzara, 42)
At first glance this poem probably seems as though it makes
no sense and that it’s just a lot of words form different languages mixed
together to make up a summary of words. Although if you read this poem aloud
then you will notice that it encompasses just what dada stands for. When
hearing the poem read or reading it yourself, you start to notice that this
particular poem was written for phonetic purposes and nothing else. There were
no concept ideas put into this poem but it seems as though it basically just
ran off of free association. Free association is actually one of the themes for
dada and it actually runs with predetermined chance. Also, even though it seems
like the words or “sounds” of this poem were put together randomly, Tzara
writes, “I write this manifesto to show that people can perform contrary
actions together while taking one fresh gulp of air…” (Tzara, 76)
This means that this poem was meant to be contradictory,
whether with sound, phrasing, word choice, or meaning of the poem. So even
though there is chance luring in the back of the poem, there is a sense of
meaning within it because the poem has to have some contradictory elements in
it. The most obvious contrast in the poem would be the edited word choice and
the meaning. For example, the word “rhinocerossola” is referring to the animal
rhinoceros but the sound of the word produces a ending hiss and a hint of a
romantic language in the word. Dada is contradictory but also driven by
predetermined chance. Another good point made in the Dada manifestos is that “sensibility
is not constructed on the basis of a word…” (Tzara, 77) So the sensibility for this
poem was created out of the sound of the words. This applies to dada art
because Tzara is trying to explain that sense was not seen or defined the same
way when expressed through dada. Sometimes dada was just nonsense that was made
out a beauty or for it’s beauty.
These poems
fit the vision of dada outlined in Tzara, especially the all-encompassing
definition of “dada; knowledge of all the means rejected up until now… Dada;
abolition of logic… Dada; every object, all objects, sentiments, obscurities…
Dada; abolition of memory…” (Tzara, 81) I can physically see these things
within the poems that are exemplified in the Richter text.
Hi, I really like how you state dada is contradictory. The dada movement is really focused upon impossibility and irrationality. It is through irrationality that the movement itself seems to focus upon blurring the line between life and art itself. Art is a projection of life, yet often times we use art to only demonstrate the rationality of life. Yet life is nonsensical within itself, it is impossible to define. Dada demonstrates the nonsensical aspects of life. For instance, in Tzara’s Manifestos, Tzara states,“The BAZOOKA is only for my understanding. I write because it’s natural like I piss like I’m ill. Art needs an operation” (Tzara, 16). Tzara uses cultural references and nonsense language to create irrational trains of thought and nonsense. This is similar to surrealism in that surrealism aims to demonstrate the irrationality of life as well as the unconscious mind. Surrealism focuses upon eliminating the duality often seen between the conscious and unconscious mind. Often times we see them as separate yet intertwined. However, Surrealism hopes to blur the defined line between the conscious and unconscious mind. For instance, in Andre Breton’s Nadja, Breton uses contradictory images and paradoxes to demonstrate the duality of surrealism. For instance, “Who were we, confronting reality, that reality which I know now was lying at Nadja’s feet like a lapdog?....As for her, I know that in every sense of the word, she takes me for a god, she thinks of me as the sun.” (Breton, 111). Breton uses the imagery of the “lap-dog” and “god” to create images that are contradictory, both passive images with the loss of free will from either party. The blurring between such boundaries leads to the similar tenets that Dada follows, which is irrationality and nonsensical.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your analysis and pointing out how information from the manifesto manifests itself within his writings. It's interesting because while the dada movement was leaving a structure and living in chance, this poem followed the constructions of the movement. As you noted, the passage states, “I write this manifesto to show that people can perform contrary actions together while taking one fresh gulp of air…” (Tzara, 76). It's almost as though the structure of Dada is to live along a natural structure; so in the end, there can really be no structure. The conflict that was found within the manifesto is shown in this poem. He was trying to write naturally but we find a pattern of contradiction in the poem. Similarly, when the manifesto was being written, it was noted that while writing it was necessary, the mere fact it was being written was against its purpose.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your analysis of avant-garde components in Dadaistic literature. Surrealism and Dadaism are forming a parallel idea to one other. According to the dictionary definition of the surrealism, “it is twentieth century avant-garde movement in art and literature which sought to release the creative potential of the unconscious mind, for example by the irrational juxtaposition of images” (oxford dictionary). Motivated by the value of unconsciousness and desire of exploration for true self, which are not transformed by the rules of society, customs and social systems, surrealists utilize various tools to satisfy their artistic desires which surpass reality and conscious thoughts. One of the most common techniques used by surrealists is automatic writing or free association. Interestingly, free association was also frequently applied by Dadaistic literatures. In your analysis, you emphasize the use of free association in the poem of Tzara who is one of the most influential people in the Dada movement. And I totally agree with you that the free association is actually one of the most popular themes for Dadaism, which runs with the predetermined chances. This idea of free association is often appeared in the literature of the surrealists. Great examples of the use of free association are shown in the book called Nadja written by Andre Breton. One example of the free association is appeared when André who is the main character of this book, were having conversation with mysterious female protagonist, Nadja, whom André is having an affair with. In page 74, Nadja suddenly addresses him using tu and says, “A game: say something. Close your eyes and say something […]. Like this: Two, two what? Two women. What do they look like? Wearing black. Where are they? In a Park … And the, what are they doing? Try it, it’s so easy, why don't you want to play?” In this sentence, Nadja puts random thoughts relaying from the previous thought. She started with random number two and continues the idea of “two” by associating the word two with another word “women.” Nadja also keep asking random questions that are not related each other. Through this use of free association, Breton is trying to speak unconscious mine. Therefore, Nadja herself is a symbol of unconsciousness. Another example of free association is appeared in page 85. In the conversation with Andre, Nadja tells, “That hand, that hand on the Seine, why is that hand flaming over the water? It’s true that fire and water are the same thing. But what does that hand mean? How do you interpret it? Let me look at that hand.” In this statement, Nadja’s thinking is fluctuating between hand, water and flame, and none of them are logically related each other. As shown through these examples, Breton is not only shows his desire of seeking for unconsciousness but he also ignores logic. Those examples of free association and rejection of logic used by Breton in his boos shows that Dadaism could be the origin of the surrealistic movement.
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