Dada Mona by Patricia Hofmeester

About "Dada Mona"

by Patricia Hofmeester

About the artwork

L.H.O.O.Q. or La Joconda , Dada Art by Marcel Duchamps. L.H.O.O.Q. is one of the most iconic Dada artworks in which Marcel Duchamp makes fun of the established art world. Even though little Dada art can be seen in museums anymore, Marcel Duchamp and Dadaism irreversibly influenced modern art.Dadaism was an art movement that originated in 1916 at the Café Voltaire in Zurich where theatre, visual art, poetry and graphic design came together. It was an anti-movement that used humour and anarchy to oppose established rational art. Dadaism was not actually a modern art movement (as previously defined) because it was not concerned with the form of art like most modernisms. Dadaism opposed art, made anti-art itself, and thus asked the question, "What is art?". Everything could suddenly be art with the Dadaists. This actually made Dada a forerunner of contemporary art. Movements such as performance art and pop art are hugely indebted to Dada.Marcel Duchamp was not a traditional Dada artist. He was not involved with the group in Zurich and when he made his first works that we now call 'Dada works' in 1913, the Dada group in Zurich had yet to begin. His works are related to the Dada movement, though, and when the Dada movement emerged, he would also come into contact with several Dada artists. He even tried to get a similar movement off the ground in New York. Marcel Duchamp became famous with 'readymades', manufactured objects that were art because he had chosen them or slightly modified them. He thus turned everyday objects into art; this was revolutionary in the art world. His most famous work is "Fountain" and it should really be part of the Canon of Modern Art. L.H.O.O.Q. is pronounced in French "Elle a chaud au cul", which is a French expression for "She is excited".