Dada's Contribution to Contemporary Art
Dada and its impact on Contemporary Art
According to the Oxford Dictionary of art, Dada was “A movement in European art (with manifestations also in New York), c.1915–c.1922, characterized by a spirit of rebellious revolt against traditional values. It arose from a mood of cynicism engendered by the First World War, to which some artists reacted with, cynicism, sarcasm and nihilism.”
Gathering in Hugo Balls’ Cabaret Voltaire for spontaneous readings, performances and exhibitions, a group of early avant-gardes mainly of German and French origin, formed the organization known as Dada. (Justin Wolf’s Dada)
Numerous explanations were given for the group’s name, Dada, which in French means Hobby Horse. The most popular explanation, being from Richard Huelsenbeck, who said that he plunged a knife randomly into a German- French dictionary. Tristan Tzara also claimed to have invented the name Dada in his Dada Manifesto. (Justin Wolf’s Dada)
Opposed to the norms of bourgeois society, Dada used outrageous tactics to attack the established traditions of art, a barrage of demonstrations and manifestos, as well as exhibitions of bizarre art designed to shock and disgust both the authorities and the general public they blamed for the war. (Dada Anti-Art Movement)
This research paper supports my belief that Dada had a far reaching effect on art of the 21st century so much so that contemporary art as we know it could not have come into existence without Dada.
Dada Zurich was the catalyst for many other centres of the nihilistic movement. Tristan Tzara was the major force behind the Zurich Dada where he and Francis Picabia produced 8 issues of Dada magazines in both French and German between the years 1917 to 1921. (Dada Anti-Art Movement)
Upon the end of the war Switzerland's importance as a neutral refuge reduced, resulting in Richard Huelsenbeck, leaving for Berlin while Picabia went to Paris, and when Tzara
According to the Oxford Dictionary of art, Dada was “A movement in European art (with manifestations also in New York), c.1915–c.1922, characterized by a spirit of rebellious revolt against traditional values. It arose from a mood of cynicism engendered by the First World War, to which some artists reacted with, cynicism, sarcasm and nihilism.”
Gathering in Hugo Balls’ Cabaret Voltaire for spontaneous readings, performances and exhibitions, a group of early avant-gardes mainly of German and French origin, formed the organization known as Dada. (Justin Wolf’s Dada)
Numerous explanations were given for the group’s name, Dada, which in French means Hobby Horse. The most popular explanation, being from Richard Huelsenbeck, who said that he plunged a knife randomly into a German- French dictionary. Tristan Tzara also claimed to have invented the name Dada in his Dada Manifesto. (Justin Wolf’s Dada)
Opposed to the norms of bourgeois society, Dada used outrageous tactics to attack the established traditions of art, a barrage of demonstrations and manifestos, as well as exhibitions of bizarre art designed to shock and disgust both the authorities and the general public they blamed for the war. (Dada Anti-Art Movement)
This research paper supports my belief that Dada had a far reaching effect on art of the 21st century so much so that contemporary art as we know it could not have come into existence without Dada.
Dada Zurich was the catalyst for many other centres of the nihilistic movement. Tristan Tzara was the major force behind the Zurich Dada where he and Francis Picabia produced 8 issues of Dada magazines in both French and German between the years 1917 to 1921. (Dada Anti-Art Movement)
Upon the end of the war Switzerland's importance as a neutral refuge reduced, resulting in Richard Huelsenbeck, leaving for Berlin while Picabia went to Paris, and when Tzara
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