Johannes Theodor Baargeld

pseudonym of Alfred Emanuel Ferdinand Gruenwald.
Born in Stettin (Germany) on October 9th, 1892. Died in the solid mass of Mont Blanc (France) 17 or August 18th, 1927 during a ascension.
Writer and artist Hobby-horse.

Biography

The pseudonym is voluntarily ironic. Bargeld means " money liquide" in German.

In a privileged environment where his/her father is director of an important insurance company doubled of a collector of modern art, Baargeld studies the right and the economic scenes in Oxford then in Bonn. (1912-1914)
With the declaration of war, in August 1914, it engages in a regiment of cuirassiers as a reserve officer. In February 1917, it is affected in the airborne troops. The same year, he writes texts for a pacifist newspaper " Die Aktion".

In 1918, it is registered with the German independent socialist party (USPD), located at the extreme left of the socialist party. During the British occupation of the Rhineland, Baargeld supports the publication of a Marxist periodical " Der Ventilator". Dissimulated in the shape of one supplement to the daily press to escape the censure, it is distributed to the doors of the factories. This periodical becomes a body of expression for the movement Dada of Cologne. Seized by the authority British after six numbers, Baargeld publishes " D" bulletin; and, with the collaboration of max Ernst " Die Schammade" who wants to be a compilation of the activities Dada in Cologne, Paris and Zurich. It then is called " Zentrodada". In April 1920, it organizes in Cologne the first exposure Dada.

After its first contributions to the movement in the form of political and poetic texts, Baargeld is tested, as an autodidact, with joining, the photomontage and the drawing. “ the red King ”, “ the Cockroaches ” or “ the human Eye ” (realized in 1920) can be regarded as the first automatic drawings .

With its photograph-joinings, Baargeld plays of the identity and the dressing-up, for the greatest joy of the dadaïstes. Thus in “ Vulgar amalgam: cubic transvestite in front of what he believes being a junction ”, he associates the photograph of a " Venus with the fourrure" of pace androgyne to the academic portrait (head posed on a hand, index on the cheek) of the painter cubist Albert Gleizes surrounded by phallic geometrical figures. In this joining, the dadaïstes see there a revenge following their expulsion of the Section of gold by the cubists. Gleize itself includes/understands the attack extremely well: " One finds constantly their brains haunted by one is delirious sexual and a pang of hunger scatologique."
In “ Typical vertical amalgam as a representation of the Hobby-horse Baargeld ”, it sticks the photograph of its face on the bust of the Venus de Milo.

In a letter of February 17th, 1920 addressed to Tristan Tzara, max Ernst written: " There is only one true president here except me (in Cologne), it is Baargeld."

Since 1921, Baargeld is diverted movement Dada and disavows any participation in the activities.

Bibliographical source

“ Hobby-horse ”, catalogs exposure presented to the Pompidou center to Paris (Oct. 2005-jan. 2006), published under the direction of Laurent the Good, editions of the Center Pompidou, Paris, 2005.

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