The curator Dr. Katharina Günther Take you to the exhibition on a public Sunday tour “Open your minds at last!“ Dada as political art between the world wars
Anti-bourgeois, anarchist and pacifist Dada practiced social criticism with a sharp eye and biting satire, questioned prevailing values as well as political and social conditions and dynamics, especially those that had led to the catastrophe of the First World War. Founded in 1916 during the war, although the end of the movement is located in the early 1920s, artists such as George Grosz, Hannah Höch and John Heartfield However, later they also fought against the emerging National Socialism with the means of art. The National Socialists regard Dada as “degenerate.”
The art of Dadaists is colorful, loud — and by no means uniform. They used a wide variety of styles and produced Literature, poetry, stage plays, paintings, graphics, collages and photographs. But politics is a central common denominator that runs like a common thread through the movement's work and is expressed in various and unexpected ways. Celebrate our 110th birthday “Open your minds at last!“ the Dada art movement and shows the topicality of its political commitment.
“Dada is exciting, innovative art, but also an appeal. The pacifist Dadaists were already doubting the meaning of the First World War. Unemployment and poverty shaped the new Weimar Republic; the bourgeoisie was slow in thinking and acting. Power structures from the Empire had been preserved and a few filled their pockets. Dada complained and urged the audience to look, reflect and understand.” — Dr. Katharina Günther
The art historian and curator of Center for Persecuted Arts, Dr. Katharina Günther, studied in Cologne and Antwerp and received his doctorate at the University of Cologne. Academic and curatorial posts have taken her to the Klassik Stiftung Weimar, the Francis Bacon MB Art Foundation in Monaco, The Estate of Francis Bacon in London, the Hugh Lane Gallery in Dublin and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Siegen, among others. Her work combines international research and curatorial experience at renowned institutions.
It is not necessary to book in advance for public tours. The tours start at 15:00 in the museum foyer near the ticket office. The guided tour is already included in the museum entrance fee.
