French artist and poet Francis Picabia was born on this day January 22, 1879 in Paris. As an artist, he delved into an array of palettes, from complementary rich earth tones to more colorful collations, and experimented with a range of styles including Impressionism, Pointillism, Dadaism, photo-based painting, and Cubism.
In 1949, Cubist and Dada painter Marcel Duchamp described Picabia’s works as a “kaleidoscopic series of art experiences.”
Here is Picabia’s 1920 poem, “Dada Cannibal Manifesto.”
Dada Cannibal Manifesto
Death, death, death.
Money’s the only thing that doesn’t die, it just
goes off on a journey. It is
God, it is what is respected, the serious
individual . . . DADA smells like nothing, it is nothing,
nothing, nothing.
It is like your hopes: nothing
like your paradises: nothing
like your idols: nothing
like your politicians: nothing
like your heroes: nothing
like your artists: nothing
like your religions: nothing.
Hiss, yell, smash my face in, and then, and
then? I will tell you again that
you are all suckers.
