Hans Arp (1886-1966) was an abstract painter and sculpture of French and German descent. He was instrumental in the establishment of the Dadaism Movement between 1916 and 1920. Dadaism is often called the art of the happy accident but it dates to a time that was far from happy. This was an anti-war and anti-culture movement of the World War I era. The artists worked against art standards in a world gone mad choosing foolishness and play as their process and “whatever happened” as their product.

Hans Arp believed that art was a process of birth. We might think of the process of artmaking as spontaneous not cerebral; as surrender not analysis. It is the faith and confidence of childhood. It is a gift from God.

Arp created the abstract woodcut print above later in his career. It seems to hold Dadaism’s spontaneity in simple shapes and two colors. It also seems to present an optical illusion with depth reversing before our eyes. That may have been a happy accident!

Each piece in our long and continuing conversation on art seems to point to a wondrous, vital connection between art and our creator. God is the whisper that guides the hands of the artist that beckon us to look closely at the world around us. When we do, we are artists also and God is praised.

In gratitude, faith and hope,

Sandy Prouty
Minister of Children and Families
Montview Church