A stone grave marker in Dresden served as the initial professional output for Johannes Baader, who later transitioned from traditional construction to the radical performance art of the Dada movement. Born in Stuttgart in 1875, he eventually evolved from a trained architect into a self-proclaimed president of the universe and a central figure of political satire in Berlin.
Architectural Beginnings and Utopian Visions
After completing his training at the Stuttgart trade school between 1892 and 1895, Baader pursued technical college studies. His early career included work as a stonemason before he relocated to Berlin in 1905, where he encountered Raoul Hausmann. In 1906, he proposed a World Temple, a project incorporating Indian and Greek archetypes that remained strictly in the conceptual stage. He also prepared designs for a zoo project for Carl Hagenbeck during 1911.
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Following a 1917 medical certification of manic depression, Baader adopted an increasingly provocative public persona. He founded Christus GmbH, a legal company designed to grant members immunity from temporal authority and military service. In November 1918, his disruption of a service at Berlin Cathedral resulted in a brief arrest. By that year, he declared himself Oberdada and president of the universe, publishing quasi-religious texts such as Die acht Weltsätze.
Direct Action and Assemblage
Baader employed giant collages made from life-sized posters to execute direct action campaigns. During the 1919 Weimar Theater inaugural ceremony for the German republic, he distributed flyers from the balcony, nominating himself for the presidency. His work Das Grosse Plasto-Dio-Dada-Drama, presented at the 1920 Erste internationale Dada-Messe in Berlin, functioned as an assemblage-environment that combined personal history with national commentary.
Fast facts
- Born: 1875, Stuttgart
- Died: 1955, Adldorf
- Movement: Dada
- Citizenship: Germany
- Self-proclaimed title: Oberdada
Questions readers ask
What was the purpose of Christus GmbH?
It was a legal company established by Baader to offer members the status of 'Christ,' intended to exempt them from military service and temporal authority.
What is the significance of the Das Grosse Plasto-Dio-Dada-Drama?
Considered the first assemblage-environment in art history, it used a deconstructive technique known as démontage to critique German history.
Achievements
- Movement: Dada