Plate II from "Fiat modes pereat ars" (Let There Be Fasion, Down with Art)

Plate II from "Fiat modes pereat ars" (Let There Be Fasion, Down with Art) 

『生まれよファッション 滅びよ芸術』II

Artist
ERNST, Max
エルンスト、マックス
Birth Year
1891
Death Year
1976
Date
1919 
Technique, Material, Format
lithograph 
Dimension
sheet: 45.5 x 33.0 cm 
Category
Print by Foreign Artist 
Inventory Number
83-PRF-002-02 

This is regarded as Leaf II in the portfolio. It shows a woman’s dress, a pants-wearing mannequin with two holes in its face, and a faceless mannequin standing upright, behind which what seems like a prosthetic leg is sticking out to the right. At the bottom right of the picture, a pair of dividers stands to measure the shadow of a triangle. The mathematical formula on the upper right is said to be the key to deciphering the image.

sin α・log (R&H)dada< √juno

Juno is the goddess of marriage. α (alpha) is the two angles of the isosceles triangle that connect her nipples and navel. R&H are the initials of two male artists who had a close relationship with each other and were fellow members of the Dada anti-art movement in Cologne (Germany) with Max Ernst. The couple is represented here as the two mannequins. But, even if you multiply their bond by the trigonometric function of Juno’s breasts, the result is less than the charm of the goddess.
(NAKAMURA Naoaki)

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