LPPM MMV "Christmas Eve, 1919"

[Dave Monroe]

   "Siegel shook hands, muttering his own name and the
spell broke; he looked at the object under Lupescu's
arm and saw that it really was a pig foetus, caught
the faint scent of formaldehyde and scratched his
head. 'I brought some booze' he said. 'I'm sorry about
this, I'd thought Rachel said seven.' Lupescu smiled
vaguely and closed the door behind him. 'Don't worry
about it,' he said, 'I've got to put this thing
someplace.' He motioned Siegel to a seat and picked up
an old-fashioned glass from a table, a chair from
nearby, dragged the chair to the entrance of what
Siegel presumed was the kitchen, stood on the chair,
took a thumbtack from his pocket, stuck it through the
umbilical cord of the pig foetus and tacked it onto
the molding over the entrance, hammering with the
bottom of the glass. He jumped down off the chair and
above him the foetus swung dangerously. He looked up
at it. 'I hope it stays there,' he said, and then
turned to face Siegel. 'Fetching, isn't it?' Siegel
shrugged. 'Dada exhibit in Paris on Christmas eve,
1919,' Lupescu said, 'used one in place of mistletoe.
But ten to one this group won't even notice it. You
know Paul Brennan? He won't.'" (MMV, pp. 2-3)


"a pig foetus"

E.g., ...

http://www.whitman.edu/biology/vpd/

http://www.goshen.edu/bio/PigBook/pighome.html

http://www.biology.ucok.edu/animalbiology/pigweb/pig.html


"Dada exhibit in Paris on Christmas Eve, 1919"

The study of Parisian Dada is of limited interest to
the art historian, for the French capital was
predominantly the scene of an ideological or literary
battleground. Actually, Dada produced only two French
artists of major importance -- Duchamp and Picabia.

Out of the junction between on the one hand, Picabia
and Tzara, who had arrived in Paris from Zurich
respectively in 1919 and 1920, and on the other hand
the group (André Breton, Louis Aragon, Philippe
Soupault, Paul Éluard) formed around the little
periodical Littérature, was born the French branch of
the movement, the most notorious because it was to
serve somewhat as a sounding board to Zurich dadaism.
Its brilliant Parisian career, opened with a flourish
in January 1920, was to end in a slump four years
later. Meanwhile it had sponsored a great number of
manifestations, exhibitions, shows, public
provocations, a burst of manifestos, pamphlets,
magazines and books, sometimes extremely varied, but
always bearing Dada's iconclastic and irreverential
hallmark. However, the united face the dadaists showed
the public was already cracked. Only a few weeks after
its formation, the group split up into two factions: a
Zurich radical wing, led by Tzara; and a Parisian
tendency, represented by Breton and his friends who,
more open to the literary tradition, was to resurface
in 1924 under the new name of surrealism.

http://www.dadart.com/dadaism/dada/024-dada-paris.html

Although Dada did not reach Paris until 1920, figures
in the Parisian literary and artistic world had
followed Dada activities either through Tristan
Tzara's journal Dada or through direct communication
with Tzara. Stifled by the restrictions of the war,
they were drawn to Dada's revolutionary spirit and
nihilistic antics. Writers Louis Aragon, Breton, and
Ribemont-Dessaignes had in fact occasionally
contributed to Dada since 1918, and were eagerly
awaiting Tzara's arrival in Paris. The voice of Dada
would soon be celebrated in Paris.

By 1920 most of the initiators of Dada has arrived in
Paris for what was to be the finale of Dada group
activities. Arp and Tzara came from Zurich, Man Ray
and Picabia from New York, and Max Ernst arrived from
Cologne. They were enthusiastically received in Paris
by a circle of writers associated with Breton's and
Aragon's literary journal Littérature. A special Dada
issue of Littérature, with "Twenty-Three Manifestos of
the Dada Movement," soon appeared to celebrate their
arrival.[23] Stimulated by Tzara, this newly formed
Paris group soon began issuing Dada manifestos,
organizing demonstrations, staging performances, and
producing a number of journals.

At the height of Dada activity in Paris, Tzara
published two more issues of Dada. The first, issue
number 6 (February 1920), also known as Bulletin Dada,
appeared in large format and contained programs for
Dada events, in addition to a series of bewildering
poems and outrageous declarations, all presented in
the fragmentary typographical style that Tzara had
begun experimenting with in Zurich.

The many event announcements in this issue reflect the
emphasis the Paris group placed on public performance.
Contributors to the sixth issue of Dada indicate the
range of artists who now aligned themselves with the
Dadaists: Breton, Duchamp, Éluard, and Picabia are all
featured in this issue. The last number of Dada
(Dadaphone) came out in March 1920. This issue
features photographs of the Paris Dada members and
includes advertisements for other Dada journals and
announcements for Dada events, such as exhibitions and
a Dadaist ball.

When Picabia joined the Dadaists in Paris in 1919, he
too brought his journal with him....

http://www.artic.edu/reynolds/essays/hofmann2.php

And see as well, e.g., ...

http://www.peak.org/~dadaist/English/Graphics/dadaparis.html

Oh, Keith ...


"above him the foetus swung dangerously"

A la The Sword of Damocles ...

DAMOCLES, one of the courtiers of the elder Dionysius
of Syracuse. When he spoke in extravagant terms of the
happiness of his sovereign, Dionysius is said to have
invited him to a sumptuous banquet, at which he found
himself seated under a naked sword suspended by a
single hair (Cicero, Tusc. V. 21; Horace, Odes, iii.
I, 17; Persius iji. 40).

http://29.1911encyclopedia.org/D/DA/DAMOCLES.htm

And see as well, e.g., ...

http://www.livius.org/sh-si/sicily/sicily_t11.html

http://ancienthistory.about.com/library/bl/bl_damocles.htm


Paul Brennan

“Paul Brennan” – It seems that in this story filled
with typically obtuse Pynchonesque names, we have here
an utterly bland one. For this reason, it stands out
more. Would I be correct in thinking this would be a
very US-WASPey kind of name?

http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=0303&msg=77296

PAUL   m
Usage: English, French, German, Romanian, Biblical
Pronounced: PAWL, POL (French)
>From the Roman family name Paulus, which meant "small"
or "humble" in Latin. Saint Paul was an important
leader of the early Christian church, his story told
in Acts in the New Testament. He was originally named
Saul, but changed his name after converting to
Christianity. Most of the epistles in the New
Testament were authored by him....

http://www.behindthename.com/nm/p.html

>From St. Paul himself we know that he was born at
Tarsus in Cilicia (Acts, xxi, 39), of a father who was
a Roman citizen (Acts, xxii, 26-28; cf. xvi, 37), of a
family in which piety was hereditary (II Tim., i, 3)
and which was much attached to Pharisaic traditions
and observances (Phil., iii, 5-6). [...] As he
belonged to the tribe of Benjamin he was given at the
time of his circumcision the name of Saul, which must
have been common in that tribe in memory of the first
king of the Jews (Phil., iii, 5). As a Roman citizen
he also bore the Latin name of Paul. It was quite
usual for the Jews of that time to have two names, one
Hebrew, the other Latin or Greek, between which there
was often a certain assonance ....

We read in the Acts of the Apostles three accounts of
the conversion of St. Paul (ix, 1-19; xxii, 3-21;
xxvi, 9-23) presenting some slight differences, which
it is not difficult to harmonize and which do not
affect the basis of the narrative, which is perfectly
identical in substance....

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11567b.htm


The meaning of the name BRENNAN in its original Irish
form, as a personal name, still remains an enigma.
Spelling variations include: Brennan, McBrennan,
Brannon, Brannan, Brannen, Brannin, O'Braonain and
MacBranain and many more. 

The current thinking of the name Brennan or Braonan is
generally interpreted as meaning 'Sorrow', or 'Little
Drop', although some might wonder whether a King of
the Vikings was more likely to name his son after
Braon, the Celtic God of War. Another meaning of the
word is "The sons of little Raven", "One who delights
in battle."

http://www.janbren.freeserve.co.uk/Brennan%20Surname.htm

Definition: One of Ireland's most frequent surnames
BRENNAN derives from one of three Irish personal
names: س Braonلin, from braon, probably
meaning "sorrow," and Mac Branلin and س
Branلin, both from bran, meaning "raven." 

Surname Origin: Irish 

Alternate Surname Spellings: BRENNEN, MCBRENNAN,
MACBRENNAN, BRANNON, BRANNAN, BRANNEN, BRANNIN,
O'BRAONAIN 

http://genealogy.about.com/library/surnames/b/bl_name-BRENNAN.htm

And see as well ...

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~irishancestors/Surnames/Surnames%20in%20Ireland/AdamsButler/Brennan.html

Thanks again, John.  Okay, it's going to be slowgoing
over the weekend, but ... and pardon the mistaken
pagination in the last few posts, my fault, not David
& Otto's PDF ...


		
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