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http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=TVAoeipLL38C&pg=PA314&lpg=PA314&dq=johannes+baader+joseph+smith&source=bl&ots=CcBJImXOdF&sig=BhZ1i-ulyVdZfGAqmyG3GQOdzHo&hl=en&ei=NQIRTbLPEYe2hQfj8MG3Dg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBkQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=johannes%20baader%20joseph%20smith&f=false ” class=”bbcode_url”> http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=TVAoeipLL38C&pg=PA314&lpg=PA314&dq=johannes+baader+joseph+smith&source=bl&ots=CcBJImXOdF&sig=BhZ1i-ulyVdZfGAqmyG3GQOdzHo&hl=en&ei=NQIRTbLPEYe2hQfj8MG3Dg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBkQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=johannes%20baader%20joseph%20smith&f=false :ugeek: Fascinating! What an odd cross of art and religion. I never knew that guy was fascinated with Joseph Smith. I can definitely see the attraction and the artistic value of something that far out and absurd in his expression of dada aesthetic. You have to remember that Dada-ists worked in shock and affect, an assault against expectations. It is art that looks like insanity, and takes a lot of skill and focus to pull off and not devolve into pointless nihilism. It’s a lot like abstract expressionism — not everyone that splatters paint is a Jackson Pollock. I can totally see a Dadist claiming to be Jesus Christ though. That would be brilliant, if done well. I am pretty sure Baader thoroughly enjoyed his state-sanctioned diagnosis as insane, and put it to maximum use.
In my younger days, I was an explorer of some of that philosophy and art. I was originally an art and music major for my 1 year at BYU. I wrote one of my two main honors art history papers (a good 20+ page work) on the Dada movement, Nihilist philosophy and it’s influence on underground music (back in the 1980’s), including analysis of songs by Sonic Youth, Butthole Surfers and a couple Industrial Noise bands (Einstuerzende Neubauten, etc.). I got a good grade on it too
😆 I think it really surprised and amused the professors.I was also into a Discordian kick for a number of years. The Principia Discordia, truly and honestly, would be on my personal top 10 list of books that most influenced my views. If you get past the surface level of absurd-ism, it is a brilliant observation of human nature and society, a very playful work and philosophical movement.
edit: I don’t mean to imply that JS or liking JS is absurd or crazy, just that Johannes Baader probably appreciated it all in that light. JS was very uninhibited and made bold claims that were shocking to outsiders. Also the radical nature of early Mormonism turning the religious and civic establishment on its head would have been very appealing — sticking it to “the man.”
Joseph Smith crops up in the strangest places. I remember reading something about a Victorian occultist and High Anglican churchman (some combination) whose critics complained he was too fond of the BoM. He never became LDS, but still…
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