Dadaism

DADA!

Dada, or Dadaism was an Art movement of the Avant-Garde in europe during the early 20th Century. The movement began in Zurich, Switzerland around 1916. Dada is said to have been born out of negative reactions to the horrors and tragedies of the first World War. This movement was created by visual artists, poets and intellectuals associated with the Cabaret Voltaire.

Dadaists were most recognised for breaking the boundaries, rejecting reason and logic aswell as celebrating nonsense in its entirety. Many believe that the word 'Dada' comes from Tristan Tzara and Marcel Janco's frequent use of the words "Da, da!", which is Romanian for "Yes, Yes!". Others believe the name is coined from an early meeting of the Dadaists when a paperknife accidentally stuck in a German dictionary on the word "Dada", meaning "Hobbyhorse".

The movement heavily consisted of visual arts, poetry, literature, art theories, war politics and culture. These were all discussed in a variety of ways at the Cabaret Voltaire.

"When Lions roar, gazelles go still. The Hyenas sniff, but the arts fulfil!"- Kurt Schwitters

Critics believe the reason Dadaism was so incredibly popular, is the very reason it collapsed. The pressure and expectations placed upon the Artists involved grew too great. Above all that, numerous Dadaist Magazines and publications were banned. Exhibitions were closed (the work even confiscated).

Here are some of the most significant figures in the Dada movement:

Hugo Ball     Emmy Hennings     Hans Arp

Raoul Hausmann     Hannah Hoch     Tristan Tzara

Georg Grosz     John Heartfield     Hans Richter

Marcel Duchamp     Kurt Schwitter     Beatrice Wood

Dadaism was considered to be very informal. The entire movement was a protest against the Bourgeois Nationalists and Colonial interests, which Dadaists considered to be the cause of a War outbreak. Georg Grosz once quoted that his Art was intended as a protest "Against this world of mutual destruction". Hans Richter also stated that Dadaism wasn't art, it was Anti-Art.

Dadaism Techniques

There are considered to be many different techniques to Dadaism, such as:

Collages - An almost "imitation" of the cubist movement.

Photomontage - The Dadaists or "Monteurs" (Mechanics) used scissors and glue rather than paint and brushes. (Max Ernst famously used images of the first world war to protray destruction).

Assemblage - 3 Dimensional variations of collages (assembly of every day objects).

Ready-mades - The conversions of every day items (Marcel Duchamp was extremely famous for this method).

I feel an amount of respect towards the Dadaists. These were artists living in some horrific times, yet still wanted to have a positive effect on the world they lived in. They found a way to express their emotions and feelings to the war through their art.