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Rosanna Sains
Write About Art 4
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The Dada and Surrealist Movements began to transform the world of art during World War One, and they continue to influence modern art. One of the first iconic Dadaist artworks was created in 1919 by Marcel Duchamp, who painted facial hair on a copy of the renowned Mona Lisa. It was a movement that contradicted all beliefs of what was ‘acceptable’ art and what it meant to be ‘civilised’. It attacked many social and political issues of the time; but the Dadaist’s main aim was to puzzle, to disgust, and to shock the audience with twisted juxtaposition and with the clever use of text.1
Joanne Raheb-Mol describes the way artists can have an impact on society in her statement, ‘Artists can use the power of the visual image to challenge and even change popular opinions about important and universal issues. Art can be a very influential way to give strong, direct comments and criticisms on things that have happened in society and culture’. Two contemporary artists, Julie Rrap and Patricia Piccinini both draw inspiration from the Dadaist philosophy of challenging popular opinion and examining social issues. Rrap draws her inspiration from artists such as Edvard Munch, Gustave Moreau, René Magritte and Edgar Degas, who often present women in their art.
Julie Rrap, one of Australia’s leading artists, commonly focuses on the depiction of the human body, and in particular, the female body and how it is represented in today’s society, using media such as photography, video, sculpture and installation.2 Rrap often uses her own body shamelessly in her creations, exposing all and any of her body parts, weaving shadow play, masquerade, mirror and mime into her art.
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Julie Rrap, Overstepping, 2001. Digital print, 120 x 120cm. Edition of 15. Courtesy of the artist and Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery Sydney.

Julie Rrap, Overstepping, 2001. Digital print, 120 x 120cm. Edition of 15. Courtesy of the artist and Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery Sydney.

Patricia Piccinini, The Comforter, 2010. Silicone, fibreglass, steel, fox fur, human hair, clothing, 60 x 80 x 80cm. Courtesy of the artist, and Tolarno Galleries, Melbourne, Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney and Haunch of Venison, London.

Patricia Piccinini, The Comforter, 2010. Silicone, fibreglass, steel, fox fur, human hair, clothing, 60 x 80 x 80cm. Courtesy of the artist, and Tolarno Galleries, Melbourne, Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney and Haunch of Venison, London.