For a class, I was asked to teach a seminar on Formism, Cubism, and Dadaism… Lord help us.
The primary differences between the three –isms are in the artist intentions. The intentions of the Formists are primarily to shock the audience with a twisted view of reality expressing a pessimistic view of the world. This seems to apply to all three –isms, however, the drive of the Formist is not involved with social issues. Unlike Cubism, which is based very heavily in social reform and reshaping, or Dadaism, which is anti-government, Formism comments on the current state of humanity without any thought to the governing bodies or issues that create the mindset of the viewers. The viewer needs only be human to understand the Formist ideas. Cubism claims this same stance, that the emotions of the audience are enough to frame the art.
Recognizing that each character represents part (not the entirety) of humanity separates Cubism from Formism and Dadaism. The latter two do not make a stance on the representation of humanity, whether one character can show the entirety of anything. Cubism, theatrically speaking, breaks humanity and individuals down into facets and shows all emotions in one work. Dadaism has a tendency (although it is not a rule) to show many things being represented by one character, an absolute opposition to a Cubist idea. This representation of multiple things stems from Dada being a response to society. Cubism also often plays on the emotions of fear and solitude, where Dadaism acts on the idea of art being a movement of the masses. The artist’s intentions for humanity differ in each –ism. Cubists intend to dissect humanity, while Dadaists intend to unite humanity until the collapse of society (which of course will be caused by the reformed society corrupting to be just as the old society was). Formism simply complains about it, voicing an opinion of distaste.
The artist’s intent branches into another difference between the three –isms; the visual quality of the works. Formism is filled with tricks and illusions, brought to life by a very simple and awkward set, where everything has a purpose. The colors used are very monochromatic, and often are only black and white (stage directions make direct references to this). Cubism, a step above Formism, has sets and costumes that are very familiar to the audience, but restricts this to avoid anything vivid and distracting. The set is filled with average things, no matter how un-average the play is, which often function as simple “filler”. Dada is the extreme in this respect. The stage is very intricate, and the characters often do not interact with their surroundings. The colors are vivid, and the eccentric design is matched by the eccentric themes of the play.
Because of the abstract nature of these forms, they all require open minds to be understood. The question asked by so many, “What is the way out?” leads each –ism to be a different explanation of a situation. It is not that one –ism leads to the next, which leads to the next, they all came into existence individually. Some are more confusing than others. The most confusing is cubism, due to the way that the message is dissected into so many pieces. The way that the characters are presented, representing a section of every person’s personality. This way of representing people gives a very fractured and not easily followed storyline. Although both Formism and Dadaism are not easily understood, either. Formism’s exaggerated shapes and colors lead the viewer to a misunderstanding of reality, portraying basic concepts to the viewer using complex methods. Dadaism is confusing due to its constant turn rounds, building up the expectations of the viewer just before completely changing the course of action.
Of the examples used (The Mother, Desire Caught by the Tale, and Ubu Roi), two are about political change and one is about social change (on an individual level). The Mother, a Formist play delivers a message about individual social change, and how each person fits into society. The constant use of drugs and other substances to alter the minds of the characters leads to The Mother being a Formist play. Also, the colorless set, except for very few and small details used for plot purposes. Ubu Roi strives for political change, stating that even the best intentions will be lost through the rise of power. This follows the claim that a new revolution will lead to a replacement of the old with very similar ideals. This Dadaist philosophy is a core tenant that renders itself best to Dada theatre.
Desire Caught by the Tale is a Cubist play calling for revolution, just as Ubu Roi. The largest difference lies in the delivery of the lines. Picasso’s Cubism dissects the plot and characters to deliver a very complex set of lines using the sentence structure to build the story. Jarry uses the literal meaning of the lines instead. Cubism takes apart an idea to build on it, while Dadaism takes advantage of the literal meaning of every idea that comes up.
