Stupid was a short-lived grouping of
constructivist artists, formed in
Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...
in 1919.
[Anton Raederscheidt biography at www.raederscheidt.com](_blank)
/ref> The founding members were Willy Fick, Heinrich Hoerle
Heinrich Hoerle (1 September 1895 – 7 July 1936) was a German constructivist artist of the New Objectivity movement.
Hoerle was born in Cologne. He studied at the Cologne School of Arts and Crafts but was mostly self-taught as an artist. Afte ...
, Angelika Hoerle
Angelika Hoerle (Birth name, née Margaretha Angelika Fick; 20 November 1899 – 9 September 1923) was a German people, German Dada artist who was a founding member of the Cologne art group Stupid (art movement), Stupid and the cofounder of a D ...
, Anton Räderscheidt
Anton Räderscheidt (October 11, 1892 – March 8, 1970) was a German painter who was a leading figure of the New Objectivity.
Räderscheidt was born in Cologne. His father was a schoolmaster who also wrote poetry. From 1910 to 1914, Räderscheidt ...
, Marta Hegemann
Marta Hegemann (February 14, 1894 – January 28, 1970) was a German artist associated with the Dada movement and with the Cologne Progressives. She was a founding member of the Cologne art group Stupid.
Life
Hegemann was born in Düsseldorf an ...
, and Franz Wilhelm Seiwert
Franz Wilhelm Seiwert (March 9, 1894 – July 3, 1933) was a German painter and sculptor in a constructivist style. He was also politically active as a communist making significant contributions, both graphic and theoretical to ''Die Aktion' ...
.[Dempsey 2002, p. 295.]
The Stupid group aimed to address sociopolitical issues through an art of proletarian character.Dada
Dada () or Dadaism was an art movement of the European avant-garde in the early 20th century, with early centres in Zürich, Switzerland, at the Cabaret Voltaire (Zurich), Cabaret Voltaire (in 1916). New York Dada began c. 1915, and after 192 ...
scene, along with Max Ernst
Max Ernst (2 April 1891 – 1 April 1976) was a German (naturalised American in 1948 and French in 1958) painter, sculptor, printmaker, graphic artist, and poet. A prolific artist, Ernst was a primary pioneer of the Dada movement and Surrealism ...
. Ernst later described Stupid as "a secession from Cologne Dada. As far as Hoerle and especially Seiwert were concerned, Dada's activities were aesthetically too radical and socially not concrete enough". Seiwert described the group's esthetic: "We are attempting to be so clear that everyone will be able to understand us."
Räderscheidt's studio was their base of operations, but by 1920 he had abandoned the constructivist style.Cologne Progressives The Cologne Progressives was an art movement and were an informal group of artists based in the Cologne and Düsseldorf area of Germany. They came together following the First World War and participated in the radical workers' movement.
History
...
group.
Notes
References
*Crockett, Dennis (1999). ''German Post-Expressionism: the Art of the Great Disorder 1918-1924''. University Park, Pa.: Pennsylvania State University Press.
*Dempsey, Amy (2002). ''Art in the Modern Era: A Guide to Schools and Movements''. New York: Harry A. Abrams.
*Michalski, Sergiusz (1994). ''New Objectivity''. Cologne: Benedikt Taschen.
Anton Raederscheidt biography at www.raederscheidt.com
*Spies, Werner and John William Gabriel (1991). ''Max Ernst collages: the invention of the surrealist universe''. New York: Abrams.
{{art-movement-stub
Stupid
Stupidity is a lack of intelligence, understanding, reason, or wit. It may be innate, assumed or reactive. The word ''stupid'' comes from the Latin word ''stupere''. Stupid characters are often used for comedy in fictional stories. Walter B ...
Dada