Week 13: Review questions

Early part of class:

1)      How does Alfred Jarry’s Ubu Rex lead into the Dada movement?

Jarry’s play was written before the Dada movement was really started.  It is important as a precursor because it is a satire about the people in government.  Dada artists wanted to make a point with their works.  It was a reaction to the onset of modernism, WWI and industry.  Ubu Rex’s mockery of individuals in charge has Dada under tones to it.

Middle part of class:

2)      Why did Oupilo artists use constraints, formulas, or algorithms to create their works?

This question is important because it examines the principles of the Oulipo movement.  Oulipo artists were both mathematicians and writers, so they understood the importance of acknowledging that there are many things to be written.  By using constraints, formulas, or algorithms, Oulipo artists were constantly able to write.  Constraints also gave these artists new creative stimulation.

Most recent part of class:

3)      How does performance art fit into the fluxus movement and have ties to Dada?

Performance art is important because it was seen in Dada with the outlandish lifestyle of the baroness, but it also made a reemergence in the Fluxus movement.  Ray Johnson hitting a box with a belt is performance art, as well as Bogg’s bills and his bartering to exchange them for goods and services.  It is important to consider how performance art relates to relational aesthetics.