Abstract

Andre Breton points out that humor is rare in the history of Western art, with notable exceptions in the work of artists such as Goya, Hogarth, and the barely contained neurosis of Seurat. Yet these anomalies pale against the wave of absurd and forceful images in Dada and Surrealism. Rising from the tragic and unlikely context of the European World Wars, Breton writes that, “In visual art we must consider the triumph of humor in its manifest state a much more recent phenomenon.” Indeed since then humor has played a persistent but also evolving role. Today’s artists must perhaps specifically negotiate the legacy of irony. This paper considers a selection of work by Dieter Roth, Hilja Keading, Vito Acconci, John Divola, and Kara Walker. Through their diverse images, we explore a kind of humor found nestled at the unlikely intersection of material reality and abstract thought. How does this humor operate? What are its concerns and intentions? And can it offer a release from the spent nihilism of postmodern practice?