Hugo Ball (1886 - 1927) was a German-born poet, philosopher, novelist, actor, journalist and social critic. His thought stood out for being a strong criticism of modernity, scientism and materialism that characterized the nineteenth century..
He is considered one of the founders of the European artistic movement called Dadaism, which emerged in the Swiss city of Zurich around 1916. His main works include the Inaugural manifesto of the first Dada evening (1916), the first phonetic poem Karawane (1920) and his research papers on Hermann Hesse.
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Hugo Ball was born in Primasens (Germany) on February 22, 1886. He was raised by his parents, Karl Ball and Josephina Arnold, in a middle-class Catholic family, at the height of the German Empire. His education had a strong self-taught tendency for health reasons.
In 1906 he attended the Universities of Munich and Heidelberg to study sociology, literature, law and philosophy. Some of its references were the philosophers Arthur Schopenhauer and Friedrich Nietzsche who, together with works by anarchists such as Michael Bakunin and Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, would be important in influencing the gestation of the Dada movement..
Between 1910 and 1914 Ball immersed himself in the performing arts and studied acting with Max Reinhardt, actor and theatrical producer in a variety of theater companies in Munich, Berlin and Plauen..
As he indicates in his diary, his aspiration was to create a theatrical concept that synthesizes all the arts inspired by the Gesamtkunstwerk (total work of art). Its purpose was to provoke a social transformation.
He participated in the magazines 'Revolución', 'El nuevo arte', 'La Jóvenes', 'La Acción' mainly with lyrical texts. However, with the outbreak of the First World War, numerous literary projects were suspended. In Berlin he became editor of the weekly 'Zeit im Bild', at which time he organized literary evenings together with fellow writer and poet Richard Huelsenbeck.
It was in 1915, together with his wife Emmy Hennings, when he moved to the neutral territory of Switzerland, because he was considered a traitor in his country. During this season he devoted himself to vaudeville theater, composing scores, playing the piano, writing scripts and designing costumes for the Maxims Variete Ensemble, a theater group led by Ernst Alexander Michel, also known as "Flamingo".
The year after moving to Zurich, he established the revolutionary literary café Cabaret Voltaire. It was a meeting place for European artists and immigrants, such as Tristan Tzara, Jean Arp, Marcel Janko, Hans Richter and Richard Huelsenbeck.
The Cabaret Voltaire soon positioned itself on the cultural scene, in the midst of a Europe subjected to war. Although it was only open for 5 months, this small experimental room served as a cradle for the Dada movement, which had important international ramifications in Paris, Berlin and New York..
As Dadaism evolved and acquired an “official character”, Ball developed a certain disenchantment towards the movement until he broke all ties with it..
He decides to move to the Swiss countryside with his wife and resume his Catholic roots, adopting a practically monastic life, inspired by the Christian saints of the Middle Ages..
He dedicated his last years to the investigation of Hermann Hesse, German poet, novelist and painter. Hugo Ball died at the age of 41, in the old municipality of Sant'Abbondio, Switzerland, affected by stomach cancer.
Dadaism's parameter was to have none, except the denial and destruction of all previous artistic manifestations. Influenced by Cubism, Expressionism, Futurism, or Constructivism, he had the sense of urgency to change the world, so characteristic of other avant-garde movements..
It was opposed to the bourgeois aesthetic and social values that predominated in Western culture, as well as the glorification of war, imperialism, patriotism and violence by the society of the time..
The origin of its name is often confusing, although there is a fairly widespread version. According to her, the word “dada” was the result of Hugo Ball's chance encounter on a page in the French dictionary. The term that means "wooden horse" and "nanny" was adopted..
The Cabaret Voltaire was a living example of the Dada Manifesto of which Ball was the author. A place for radical experimentation in which folk songs, spasmodic dances, poems recited simultaneously in several languages and chaotic events were offered, which sought to disconcert the audience..
To break with traditional artistic expression, they sought the absurd, the worthless, and used ironic-satirical, primitive, tribal resources. They also reused discarded materials and used to frequently work with collage and photomontage techniques..
Ball's famous rendition of Karawane, it synthesizes his artistic sense and represents the principles of Dada. He began to recite in the dark, off stage, the interjections and absurd words of this phonetic poem.
Upon reaching the stage light, he was decked out in a tall, chef-style hat and a suit made of blue, gold, and red cloth and cardboard, which wrapped arms, legs, and neck..
This scene, which appeared to be a parody of the elaborate design of some artistic trends, is said to have served as the inspiration for Bauhaus costumes a decade later..
Besides of Inaugural manifesto of the first Dada evening In 1916, Hugo Ball was the author of some ten published and posthumous works. Among the most prominent are:
The collection of seven poems Schizophrenic Sonnets - Schizophrene Sonette(1911)
The drama Michelangelo's nose - Die Nase Des Michelangelo(1911)
The first phonetic poem Caravan - Karawane (1916)
The semi-autobiographical novel Flamettio the dandyism of the poor - Flametti oder Vom Dandysmus der Armen. Roman (1918)
Criticism of German intelligence - Kritik der deutschen Intelligenz (1919)
The flight of time - Die Flucht aus der Zeit(1927)
Hermann Hesse: His Life and His Work - Hermann Hesse. Sein Leben und sein Werk (1927)
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