Hans (Jean) Arp born 1886 Strasbourg, Alsace died 1966 Basel, Switzerland Hans Arp was born

in the cit o! Strasbourg in Alsace, a region between "rance and #er$an that !or centuries was contested territor % As the son o! a #er$an !ather and a "rench Alsatian $other, Arp recei&ed #er$an and "rench gi&en na$es% 'alled both Hans (eter )ilhel$ and Jean (ierre #uillau$e, he grew up spea*ing "rench, #er$an, and the Alsatian dialect% Between 19++ and 19+8, he studied art at the Strasbourg School o! Arts and 'ra!ts, the )ei$ar Acade$ o! Art, and the Acad,$ie Julian in (aris but was dissatis!ied with the acade$ic and tedious instruction% A!ter his !a$il $o&ed to )eggis, Switzerland, in 19+6, Arp spent se&eral ears there writing and drawing in isolation, interrupted onl b brie! trips to (aris% -n 191+ Arp began to establish contacts with artists he had $et in (aris and co!ounded the .oderner Bund, an e/hibition societ !or Swiss $odern artists% He also tra&eled widel , establishing connections with artists and writers in (aris, the e/pressionist Blaue 0eiter (Blue 0ider) group headed b 1asil 2andins* in .unich, and Herwarth )alden3s Stur$ (4he Stor$) #aller and $agazine in Berlin% As a result o! these contacts, se&eral o! his drawings were published in the Blaue Reiter Almanach in 1915, and he was e$plo ed b )alden to organize e/hibitions and write re&iews in Berlin% 4hese e/periences were !or$ati&e to Arp3s artistic de&elop$ent6 a$ong the 7urich dadaists, Arp was the $ost *nowledgeable about $odern art $o&e$ents% Arp was in 'ologne when #er$an declared war on "rance% He too* one o! the last trains to (aris to escape the dra!t and li&ed there !or about a ear in the artists3 and poets3 encla&e o! .ont$artre% A!ter he was arrested b the (aris police and in&estigated !or espionage, he was ad&ised to lea&e "rance i$$ediatel % 8n his entr into Switzerland, he was sent to the #er$an consulate in 7urich to be conscripted, a !ate he a&oided b !eigning $ental illness% A!ter arri&ing in Switzerland, Arp went to Arthur Segal3s house in Ascona, where he soon struc* up a close wor*ing relationship with 8tto and Ad a &an 0ees, a 9utch couple who were also ta*ing re!uge in Switzerland !ro$ the war% )ith 8tto &an 0ees, Arp designed and painted a $ural !or a children3s school in Ascona% "or Arp, these artistic collaborations, which he described as analogous to the wor*shops o! the .iddle Ages, were an i$portant wa o! counteracting the isolating e!!ects o! $odernit % His $ost i$portant collaborator was Sophie 4aeuber, who$ he $et in 191: and $arried in 1955% 4aeuber in!luenced Arp to begin wor*ing with uncon&entional $aterials and techni;ues6 in Arp3s words, the two o! the$ <e$broidered, wo&e, painted, and pasted static geo$etric pictures%< "or Arp, using new $aterials $eant re=ecting tradition, and wor*ing in techni;ues considered <applied< rather than !ine art opened up new artistic possibilities% He was also intent on eradicating the traces o! hu$an personalit !ro$ his wor*% -n their <duo>collages,< he and 4aeuber used a paper cutter instead o! scissors to

eli$inate the trace o! the artist3s hand% B o&erco$ing the constraints o! tradition and indi&idual sub=ecti&it , Arp hoped to <approach the pure radiance o! realit %< As he continued to de&elop his collage wor*s, he abandoned the strict geo$etrical regularit o! his earl wor* with 4aeuber and e/plored the operation o! chance and the generation o! abstract !or$s through obser&ations o! nature% S*etching with -ndia in* on the shores o! the la*e at Ascona, Arp $ade drawings o! roc*s, bro*en branches, roots, and grass% B si$pli! ing these !or$s and transposing the$ into three di$ensions, he created a series o! abstract relie!s co$posed o! irregularl shaped, brightl painted pieces o! wood% Arp called these relie!s <?arthl "or$s,< suggesting both their relation to organic li!e and their abstraction% B locating the source o! abstraction in nature, which !or hi$ was i$bued with spiritual $eaning, Arp sought to create an art that could act as a cultural restorati&e !or an age brutalized b the unchec*ed de&elop$ent o! rationalized technolog , represented !or hi$, as !or the other dadaists in 7urich, b the horri!ic e&ents o! )orld )ar -% )hen the war ended, Arp was able to reestablish the international contacts that had been so i$portant to hi$ prior to 191@% -n 'ologne he !or$ed a 9ada collaborati&e with Johannes Baargeld and .a/ ?rnst, contributing poetic te/ts to the collages o! ?rnst% Aater he beca$e aligned with 9ada in (aris, and his wor* beca$e $ore !igurati&e% 4he relie!s !ro$ this period parod e&er da ob=ects, which are $ade absurd b o&ert si$pli!ication o! their !or$s% )hen (aris !ell to the #er$ans in 19@+, Arp and 4aeuber were !orced to see* re!uge in the south o! "rance% 4aeuber3s accidental death in 19@B de&astated Arp, and he ne&er ;uite reco&ered% He wrote scores o! poe$s dedicated to her $e$or and insisted on the continued i$portance o! her wor*, which he had e/hibited alongside his own on $an occasions% -n 19@: Arp as*ed .arguerite Hagenbach, a $utual !riend o! his and 4aeuber3s, to beco$e his co$panion6 the were $arried in 19:9% ?&entuall Arp returned to sculpture, and in his later ears recei&ed nu$erous e/hibitions and prizes% -n 1966 he was honored b the installation o! his $e$orial pla;ue to 9ada(a white $arble relie! with a gilded na&el) on the !aCade o! the !or$er 'abaret 1oltaire in 7urich%