MetaDada: High Art for the POPulace

MetaDada: High Art for the POPulace showcases 11 professional San Antonio-based artists whose methods combine Dada and Pop Art. Each artist employs the gallery wall as a means of display through murals and installation, for his/her two-dimensional artwork.

The Dada art movement started in the artistic communities of Zurich, Switzerland as a reaction to World War I. It quickly spread to Berlin, Paris, and New York City where Dadaist methods were used to confront traditional art institutions. Dada questioned what art was and its possibilities – potentially anything could be “Art.” Methods of creation like cut-and-paste, collage, and reappropriation; evolved over decades, and led to the creation of Pop Art.

Gaining prominence in the 1960’s, Pop Art used mechanisms of mass media, advertising, popular culture, and product labeling. Repurposing comic-book panels, juxtaposing famous cartoon characters with horror film tropes, or appropriating fast-food advertising mascots, are examples of Pop Artists’ strategies when creating artwork.

Featured Artists:

David Almaguer, Ana Hernández-Burwell, Ashley Mireles, Jen Frost Smith, Jason Ibarra, James Medrano, Michael Menchaca, Kelly O’Connor, Rainey, David “Shek” Vega, and Scotch Willington