Raoul Hausmann

Austrian artist Raoul Hausmann (1886–1971) defied conventions throughout his life. As a Dadaist he was among those who invented collage and was a pioneer of photomontage. His credo—being "recklessly sincere" in both art and life—made him a pioneering multimedia artist and a sharp-tongued critic of society. Now, his visionary work can be experienced in its full breadth. With around 270 illustrations, this catalog accompanying the retrospective at the Berlinische Galerie traces Hausmann's artistic journey, from his early Expressionist works and the highlights of his Berlin Dada years to his photography exploring fashion, dance and literature, as well as his lesser-known exile period. In 14 essays, international experts from the fields of art and literary history, media studies and psychoanalysis delve into Hausmann's multifaceted oeuvre, offering a rich and timely perspective on his astonishingly relevant body of work.

Raoul Hausmann (1886–1971) is remembered primarily for the central role he played in Berlin Dada with his assemblages, photomontages and optophonetic poems. Raoul Hausmann: Photographs 1927–1936 presents a comprehensive study of Hausmann as a photographer during the interwar years.

Beginning in 1927, while living in Germany, Hausmann became an avid, restless photographer—picking up the camera particularly during his stays at the North Sea and Baltic coasts. Forced into exile in Ibiza by the rise of the Nazi Party, Hausmann's photos focused on the local populace and vernacular architecture in his temporary home until he was forced to emigrate again in 1936. It was in this intense ten-year period, surveyed in this volume, that Hausmann would develop an individualized photographic style, simultaneously documentary and lyrical, and reflect extensively on the medium.