''Rongwrong'' was a
New York Dada
New York Dada was a regionalized extension of Dada, an artistic and cultural movement between the years 1913 and 1923. Usually considered to have been instigated by Marcel Duchamp's '' Fountain'' exhibited at the first exhibition of the Society o ...
ist magazine of which one issue was published in May 1917. The magazine was co-created and edited by
Marcel Duchamp
Henri-Robert-Marcel Duchamp (, , ; 28 July 1887 – 2 October 1968) was a French painter, sculptor, chess player, and writer whose work is associated with Cubism, Dada, and conceptual art. Duchamp is commonly regarded, along with Pablo Picasso ...
,
Henri-Pierre Roché
Henri-Pierre Roché (28 May 1879 – 9 April 1959) was a French author who was involved with the artistic avant-garde in Paris and the Dada movement.
Late in life, Roché published two novels: his first was ''Jules et Jim'' (1953), a semi-autobiog ...
, and
Beatrice Wood
Beatrice Wood (March 3, 1893 – March 12, 1998) was an American artist and studio potter involved in the Avant Garde movement in the United States; she founded and edited ''The Blind Man'' and '' Rongwrong'' magazines in New York City with Fren ...
.
History
In May 1917,
Henri-Pierre Roché
Henri-Pierre Roché (28 May 1879 – 9 April 1959) was a French author who was involved with the artistic avant-garde in Paris and the Dada movement.
Late in life, Roché published two novels: his first was ''Jules et Jim'' (1953), a semi-autobiog ...
played and lost a chess game against
Francis Picabia
Francis Picabia (: born Francis-Marie Martinez de Picabia; 22January 1879 – 30November 1953) was a French avant-garde painter, poet and typographist. After experimenting with Impressionism and Pointillism, Picabia became associated with Cubism ...
over which the two had wagered the continuation of their respective New York-based Dadaist magazines (Roché's ''
The Blind Man'' and Picabia's
''391''). Forced to discontinue ''The Blind Man'' as a result of his losing the chess match, Roché launched ''Rongwrong'' alongside co-editors
Marcel Duchamp
Henri-Robert-Marcel Duchamp (, , ; 28 July 1887 – 2 October 1968) was a French painter, sculptor, chess player, and writer whose work is associated with Cubism, Dada, and conceptual art. Duchamp is commonly regarded, along with Pablo Picasso ...
and
Beatrice Wood
Beatrice Wood (March 3, 1893 – March 12, 1998) was an American artist and studio potter involved in the Avant Garde movement in the United States; she founded and edited ''The Blind Man'' and '' Rongwrong'' magazines in New York City with Fren ...
, and published just one issue of the magazine. Duchamp had wanted to name the magazine "Wrongwrong", but the title was misprinted as "Rongwrong", and in true Dada fashion they accepted the mistake as the official title of their magazine.
The one issue of ''Rongwrong'' included contributions by:
*
Francis Picabia
Francis Picabia (: born Francis-Marie Martinez de Picabia; 22January 1879 – 30November 1953) was a French avant-garde painter, poet and typographist. After experimenting with Impressionism and Pointillism, Picabia became associated with Cubism ...
(poem titled "Plafonds Creux")
* Marquis de la Torre (poem titled "Une Nuit Chinoise a New York")
*
Edith Clifford Williams (image of her tactile sculpture titled "Plâtre à toucher chez de Zayas")
*
Carl Van Vechten (comedic dialogue titled "Rondes de Printemps", taking place between two characters named Elle and Lui;
essay titled "Pour Amuser Rich")
*
John Covert (painting titled "Temptation of St. Anthony")
* Henry J. Vernot (poem titled "À Cette Heure-La...")
*
Bob Brown
Robert James Brown (born 27 December 1944) is a former Australian politician, medical doctor and environmentalist. He was a senator and the parliamentary leader of the Australian Greens. Brown was elected to the Australian Senate on the Tasma ...
(quote, "A man is judged by the money he keeps")
*
Allen Norton (quote, "Men may come and men may go//But women go on forever.")
* H.F. (pair of poems, one visual and one written, titled "Portrait de M. et R. ensemble")
*
Michio Itō
was a Japanese dancer who developed his own choreography style in Europe and America. He was the son of Kimiye Iijima and architect Tamekichi Ito who was educated at the University of Washington; he was one of nine children, and the brother of D ...
(program of nine dances accompanied by brief descriptions; illustration of his pictorial muse Miss Tulle Lindahl)
''Rongwrong'' also included the following works produced by the editors:
* A letter signed "Marcel Douxami" and dated May 5, 1917, in which the author (presumably Marcel Duchamp and friends, using a humorous pseudonym) insults Picabia and muses about mechanical metaphors and double meanings present in Duchamp's previous works, including
The Green Box and
The Large Glass.
[{{Cite book, last=Gervais, first=André, url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/16047150, title=La raie alitée d'effets: apropos of Marcel Duchamp, date=1984, publisher=Hurtubise HMH, isbn=2-89045-629-3, location=LaSalle, Québec, pages=, oclc=16047150]
* The chess game between Roché and Picabia that resulted in the discontinuation of ''The Blind Man.''
Footnotes
External links
Scan of ''Rongwrong''
Magazines established in 1917
Magazines disestablished in 1917
Defunct magazines published in the United States
Magazines published in New York City
Dada