DADA & Oscar: What we did not learn from wars?

Dada Feb. 19-May 14, 2006 National Gallery of Art

An international nihilistic movement among European artists and writers in Zurich, Berlin, Hannover, Cologne, New York and Paris that lasted from 1916 to 1922. Born of the widespread disillusionment engendered by World War I to attack conventional standards, such as brutal paintings of disfigured soldiers illustrate World War I's influence, showing stories of artists avoiding censors. See samples on http://www.artlex.com/ArtLex/d/dada.html



“Marcel Duchamp, L.H.O.O.Q., 1919, rectified readymade, pencil on a reproduction — a chromolithograph, 7 3/4 x 4 7/8 inches, private collection, Paris. As if the addition of mustache and beard weren't enough of a poke at this most famous of paintings, the letters Duchamp penciled — L.H.O.O.Q. — at the bottom of his altered image are meaningless in themselves, but when read aloud in French, make the sound of "Elle a chaud au cul," meaning, "She has a hot ass."”




The National Archives played free screenings of Oscar-nominated films at the William G. McGowan Theater



Among the Animated Short Film Nominees, I like "The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello" best.
http://www.oscar.com/nominees/bestanimatedshortfilmnominee5.html
"Haunted by a tragic mistake, an aerial navigator leaves his wife behind in their plague-ridden homeland and embarks on a voyage that he hopes will redeem him. “Set in a world of iron airships, this silhouette animation tells the story of Jasper Morello, a disgraced aerial navigator who flees his plague-ridden home hoping to redeem himself. His expedition leads him to an island which is home to a monster that may hold the cure for the Plague. The journey back is filled with dangers but, Jasper soon discovers that the greatest horror of all lies within man himself. For more information visit the film's official website at www.jaspermorello.com."

All Documentary Short Subject Nominees were about wars and genocite pressing for the same question: why we human beings could not resolve our conflicts via means other than wars and genocite?!

http://www.oscar.com/nominees/bestdocumentaryshortsubjectnominee2.html

* The Death of Kevin Carter: Casualty of the Bang Bang Club
After shooting an award-winning photograph that captured the full horror of starvation in the Sudan, South African photojournalist Kevin Carter found himself tormented by doubts about the ethical implications of his work.
* God Sleeps in Rwanda
The genocide that devastated Rwanda in 1994 also left in its wake a population that was suddenly seventy percent female. Five courageous women struggle to rebuild their lives in a society still reeling from its bloody recent history.
* The Mushroom Club
In this examination of the terrible personal toll that followed the bombing of Hiroshima sixty years ago, ten people whose lives were marked by the explosion are profiled.
* A Note of Triumph: The Golden Age of Norman Corwin
This exploration of the lasting impact of radio broadcasting legend Norman Corwin's work focuses on his landmark 1945 piece, "On a Note of Triumph," which aired on the evening of VE Day.