Hans Arp

1887-1966

Born in Straßburg. Sculptor, Painter, Poet.

Studied in Weimar and Paris, then moved to Switzerland where he co-founded the "Moderner Bund", and organiser of their first exhibition which included works of the founders as well as contemporary artists like Gauguin and Picasso.

Co-founder of the Zürich Dada movement. Later founder of the Köln Dada group together with Max Ernst.

Met Schwitters, Lissitzky and other Dadaists during a short stay in Berlin and did collaborations with both. In "Isms in Art", which he published with Lissitzky, he defined Dada:

"Dadaism has launched an attack on the fine arts. It has declared art to be a magic opening of the bowels, administered an enema to the Venus of Milo, and finally enabled 'Laocoon and Sons' to ease themselves after a thousand-year struggle with the rattlesnake. Dadaism has reduced positive and negative to utter nonsense. It has been destructive in order to achieve indifference."

Participated in the first exhibtion of surrealists with Ernst, Klee and Picasso among others.

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