Never conventional, never following the rules of any given norm, but in contrast, making ironic statements on society, turning “normal” items, traditions or circumstances into absurdity. This was what Dada artists like Marcel Duchamp, Francis Picabia, Man Ray, the Baroness Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven and other practitioners were aiming at. A well-remembered incident is the scandal that introduced the concept of Dadaism into American Art. Duchamp brought a urinal to the first exhibition of the Society of Independent artists on 10 April 1917. He did not change anything, but moved it from its original place, called it “Fountain” and signed it with the pseudonym “R. Mutt”. Only four days before the exhibition took place, president Woodrow Wilson had declared war on Germany. As Michael R. Taylor writes in his essay “New York Dada”, this event “may have played a role in Duchamp’s decision to enter his scandalous submission”. The New York Dada artists wanted to show their neglect of the cruel war in Europe and with their art challenged ideas about art which were commonly accepted. They produced “paintings, mixed-media assemblages, sculptures, found objects, readymades, photography, and performances” (Taylor, 277). With the photomontage, the film or a photography the author of a work could not be guessed by looking at the work of art (Taylor, 277), the importance of the work was rather the message behind it. The message to a society which had absurd traditions, absurd machineries whith which people killed each other and a society that had cultural prejudices, which again were absurd. Having this common interest the New York Dada artists soon came together in the appartment of Louise and Walter Arensberg in 33 West 67th Street which served for their meetings from 1915 to 1921. “It was while surrounded by this stunning array of paintings and sculpture that the group members hotly debated such topics as art, literature, sex, politics, and psychoanalysis, while others preferred to play chess, drink champagne, or dance the night away in their bare feet.” (Taylor, 278).
Table of Contents
Introduction
1 Who was Elsa
2 The postion of the woman in general and the postion of Elsa in the New York Dada group
3 Elsa behaviour differed from the images of a bourgoise society
4 Elsa’s art…
Conclusion
References
Objectives & Core Themes
This paper examines the life, artistic contributions, and marginalization of Baroness Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven within the male-dominated New York Dada movement. The research aims to explore how she challenged traditional gender roles and societal norms, integrating her lived reality with her provocative performance art despite facing extreme poverty and exclusion from historical narratives.
- The biographical background and radical artistic path of Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven.
- The systemic marginalization of female artists within the New York Dada circle.
- The intersection of performance art, self-adornment, and the critique of bourgeois society.
- The influence of childhood trauma and family history on her avant-garde creative output.
- Analysis of her poetry and readymade objects as manifestations of her "Dada identity."
Excerpt from the Book
1 Who was Elsa
Elsa Plötz was born in Swinemünde, Germany, on 12 July 1874. When she graduated from Girls High School in 1890 she went to Berlin to study arts. Back at Swinemünde the 18-year old girl Elsa experienced a situation in which her brutal father almost killed her. This was the starting point for her to become a radical rebel and to deny any form of patriarchal structure, in which the male power dominated. She went back to Berlin to live with her aunt and never returned to her family. At the age of 27 she married the architect August Endell, however, only a year and a half later she had an affair with Felix Paul Greve. In 1907 Elsa married Greve, they parted and she came to New York in 1913 as Elsa Greve. In November of the same year she married Leopold Baron von Freytag-Loringhoven, who soon went to Europe by ship as a German officer but on his way was captured by the French and became a prisoner. Having no income Elsa started her career as a nude model. In 1915 Elsa became a friend of Marcel Duchamp. She was 41 years old by then and soon entered the New York dada group, although in a way she never fully integrated, but was a marginal figure, who had her own creativity.
Summary of Chapters
Introduction: Provides the historical context of the Dada movement in New York and introduces the central figure, Baroness Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven, as a pivotal but overlooked artist.
1 Who was Elsa: Outlines the biographical trajectory of Elsa Plötz, from her difficult childhood in Germany to her arrival in New York and her eventual immersion into the Dada circle.
2 The postion of the woman in general and the postion of Elsa in the New York Dada group: Analyzes the gender dynamics of the movement, highlighting how male artists maintained dominance while sidelining female contributors.
3 Elsa behaviour differed from the images of a bourgoise society: Explores how Elsa’s extreme self-presentation, public performances, and defiance of economic norms clashed with the bourgeois expectations of her era.
4 Elsa’s art…: Discusses the variety of her artistic works, including body performances, sound poetry, and readymades, while tracing their roots back to her traumatic family history.
Conclusion: Synthesizes the findings and argues for the historical necessity of recognizing the Baroness as a foundational figure of New York Dada.
References: Lists the academic literature and primary sources consulted throughout the research.
Keywords
Baroness Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven, New York Dada, Avant-garde, Performance Art, Gender Roles, Marcel Duchamp, Readymades, Sound Poetry, Patriarchal Structure, Bohemian Lifestyle, Modernism, Marginalization, Auto-biographical art, Dada Identity, Kleptomania.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this research?
This paper focuses on the life and work of Baroness Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven, specifically analyzing her role as an innovative, yet often excluded, female artist within the early 20th-century New York Dada movement.
What are the central themes discussed in the paper?
Key themes include the impact of patriarchal structures on female artists, the integration of private life into artistic performance, the historical erasure of women in avant-garde movements, and the psychological influence of childhood trauma on creative expression.
What is the main research objective?
The main objective is to establish the significance of Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven's contribution to Dadaism and to explain why she was marginalized by her contemporaries and early art historians.
Which methodology is employed in this study?
The author employs a historical-biographical analysis, utilizing existing literature, essays, and the Baroness's own poetry to construct a clearer picture of her artistic intent and daily life.
What does the main body cover?
The main body covers her biographical background, her specific struggles within the male-dominated Dada group, her unconventional public behavior, and a detailed examination of her specific artistic media, such as poetry and found objects.
What keywords characterize the work?
The work is characterized by terms like New York Dada, Baroness Elsa, avant-garde, performance art, gender politics, and modernism.
How did Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven's background influence her art?
The paper argues that her traumatic childhood, characterized by her father's brutality, fostered a lifelong rejection of bourgeois authority, which she channeled directly into her disruptive art and persona.
What significance did her body performance have?
Her body performance functioned as a form of "living art" that challenged the commodity-driven culture of the time and asserted a female autonomy that directly confronted the gender norms of the Dada circle.
Why was the Baroness often viewed as "insane"?
Her refusal to separate her private life from her artistic persona, combined with her provocative dress and public behavior, made her a target for societal ridicule, leading many to label her as "crazy" to dismiss her radical message.
- Quote paper
- Anne Mette (Author), 2006, Baroness Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven: Her Life, Art and Postion in New York Dada , Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/133283
