Assignment 1: Paintings

Raoul Hausman was born in Vienna but moved to Berlin when he was 14 years old. His father influenced his interest in art. Hausman became involved in the Dada movement when he met Johannes Baader. He got married in 1908, had a daughter and enrolled in Berlin’s private art school. He was influenced by Henwerth Walden and began painting in an expressionist style. His networking with many different artists helped to credit him as an influential figure in Germany. Later in his career, he began experimenting with photomontage. During this period, he had an affair with fellow Dada artist, Hannah Hoch. He traveled extensively throughout Europe experimenting with different art forms. The last years of his life were spent in isolation. He died February 1st , 1971 in Limoges, France.

This artwork is called Dada Siegt 1919. From looking at Raoul Haussman’s paintings, I have noticed that he focuses on the anatomical features of the human body. He emphasizes on the brain and in the far background there is an empty shell of a human body. This plays into the idea of nihilism. The fact that he chooses to focus his work on body parts is saying that we as humans are essentially just a bunch of organs.
Elasticism 1920.

Another thing that I noticed about Haussman’s work is that he takes things that are so important to us and he minimizes it. Machinery and science, all things that we rely on, are being mocked in this picture. They are being thrown together as if they are nothing. The man with the blank look on his face is essentially saying that these things have no value until we give them such.
This picture is called Self Portrait of the Dadasphoh 1920. Once again, Haussman chooses to emphasize on the internal organs. He likes to use clocks or timers as well. It’s as if he is making a mockery of time another thing that we take so seriously. By the man sitting in the chair, he is making a statement that we are so bound to this thing called time that it has control over us.