The DADA Party

02 May 2019

297 x 420 mm

Mixed media on 160 g paper.

Watercolor pencils, liner, ink and acrylics.

Currently in a private collection in Bucharest.

Dada. Artistic movement started in Paris in the 1920s.

Dadaists would critique the capitalist and bourgeois ideas of that time in an attempt to invert society’s values through art.

Romanian artists have also been part of this group that was governed by surrealism, the irrational and the absurd.

 

Romanian poet, Tristan Tzara, is among the pioneers of Dada. He was a prominent and charming figure among the other dadaists but he was relatively marginalized for his nihilistic streak, which contrasted with the more jovial side of the group, lead by Hugo Ball, who insisted more on irony and satire while getting their artistic message across.

 

I can’t remember how I found this photo (probably scrolling on tumblr) but it instantly caught my eye. The snapshot seems to have been taken at that moment during a party in which everyone still believes that it could be the best party ever.

Who knows how it actually ended?

In my rendition of the actual photograph, there’s a new character. A giant white fluffy cat. It occurred to me that I have actually illustrated the moment that party is about to end, when you are waiting for that giant translucid cat to pick you up and take you home because you had too much to drink.

The central male figure, the guy wearing eyeliner, is Francis Picabia, French poet and painter, and next to him on the right is Romanian artist Marcel Janco. I don’t know who the rest of the people are… I would very much like to know who these women were; if you know, please let me know at info@sorinatomuletiu.ro.

This artwork was part of a temporary street art exhibition at Street Delivery Sibiu, a community-oriented festival.

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