Pablo Picasso (1881-1973), Spanish
Many know Picasso as the famous Surrealist painter, but he also pioneered the use of collage as an accepted fine art medium. Collage – which comes from the French verb ‘coller, meaning ‘to glue or stick’ – found its beginnings during this time. His ‘cubist collages’ inspired many artists in the Dadaist, Surrealist, and Pop Art movements. Picasso is famous for his oil paintings, but he also worked with ceramics and sculpture, printmaking, and he even was a theatre designer.
His notable collage works include “Three Musicians” (1921), “Collage of Picasso (1912), and “Still Life with Chair Caining (1912).
Hannah Höch, (1889-1978), German
Höch was involved in Dadaism, a whimsical, “anti-art” mixed-media movement of the early 20th century. In contrast to earlier periods of art, these works had no logic or reason. Despite her association with Dadaism, other members of the group were reluctant to accept her due to their sexism – Höch’s work revolved around themes of androgyny, politics, gender roles, and feminism, She pioneered the practice of ‘photomontage’, which is collage made from photographs pulled from the press or other mass media. She was one of the few artists to stay in Germany during the war, and the Nazis labelled her work as “degenerate art”.
Notable works include “Cut with the kitchen knife dada through the last Weimar beer belly cultural epoch in Germany” (1919), “Da-Dandy” (1919), and “Das schöne Mädchen (The Beautiful Girl)” (1920).
Robert Rauschenberg (1925-2008), American
Rauschenberg’s work blurred the lines between sculpture and painting. His work can be described as ‘Assemblage Art’, ‘Neo-Dadaist’, and ‘Pre-Pop Art’. Besides painting and sculpting, his work utilised photographs, paper making, performance, printmaking, and found materials such as used radios, clocks, and electric fans. Later in his career, he had an interest in technology, and even founded Experiments in Art and Technology (E.A.T), a non-profit dedicated to helping engineers and artists collaborate.
Notable works include “Combines” (1954-64), “Yellow Body” (1968), and “Riding Bikes” (1998).
Follow along with more art related blogs and stories from Andrew Haag in his blog series: https://prsearchengine.com/andrew-haag-to-showcase-art-shows-in-ca/
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