Dadaism and Artistic Protest of World War I

There is a slight change to our next event: the next talk will be held March 4 at 1:00 pm in Art Center room 102 and will feature a presentation by Interior Design student Christopher M. Cooper. 

Mr. Cooper is a Senior and McNair Scholar working with Dr. Kathleen Desmond at UCM.  He will give a presentation on Dadaism and the creation of works of art that served as forms of protest against the atrocities of World War I.  By rebelling against the artistic standards and traditions, Dadaists employed 'absurdist' principles to counteract the seemingly 'logical' nature war, and violence in general, had assumed in human cultures.  This rejection of societal norms redefined what constitutes art, giving new space to creativity and political commentary in the art world.

 Poster designed by Amy Price and used with her permission.

Programming Change

Please note that the first event of the spring originally scheduled for this Thursday (Feb. 12)  has been cancelled. 

The talk has been rescheduled for April 23, 2015, at 6:00 pm in Twomey Auditorium.  Dr. Jessica Cannon will present "Our Boys in French Blue: Missouri Flyboys in the Lafayette Escadrille."  The talk is based on her current research on two local Missouri men who joined the war effort in 1914 by enlisting with French units.  Like many early American volunteers, their service began in the ambulance corps and the Foreign Legion, but quickly took them towards the exciting new weapon of war: the airplane.  The talk will discuss the broader context and propaganda significance of aviation developments in World War I by exploring the experiences and post-war lives of these two men.