To create new appearances . . .

Today is the birthday of Jean Hans Arp (September 16, 1886 – June 7, 1966), sculptor, painter, poet and abstract artist. He was one of the founding members of the Dada movement or Dadaism in Zürich, Switzerland (1916) and is considered a pioneer of abstract art. Jean Hans Arp was a prominent experimentor of automatic drawing and developed this technique to create his sculptures.

Cloud Shepherd
Jean Hans Arp
Bronze Sculpture (1953)
Ciudad Universitaria de Caracas
*Photo by Alejandro Bárcenas

"The important thing about Dada, it seems to me, is that the Dadaists despised what is commonly regarded as art, but put the whole universe on the lofty throne of art. We declared that everything that comes into being or is made by man is art. Art can be evil, boring, wild, sweet, dangerous, euphonious, ugly, or a feast to the eyes. The whole earth is art. To draw well is art . . . . The nightingale is a great artist. Michelangelo's Moses: Bravo! But at the sight of an inspired snow man, the Dadaist also cried bravo." - Jean Hans Arp

"Art is a fruit that grows in man, like a fruit on a plant, or a child in its mother's womb." - Jean Hans Arp

"I wanted to create new appearances, to extract new forms from man." - Jean Hans Arp

*Sculpture image source (1)