Dada

Dada was an art movement of the European avant-garde in the early 20th century, with early centers in Zurich, Switzerland, at the Cabaret Voltaire (circa 1916). The movement primarily involved visual arts, literature—poetry, art manifestos, art theory, theatre, and graphic design—and concentrated its anti-war politics through a rejection of the prevailing standards in art through anti-art cultural works.

Origins and Development

Dada emerged amid the brutality of World War I, a reaction to the horrors and folly of the war. The movement was a protest against the bourgeois nationalist and colonialist interests, which many Dadaists believed were the root cause of the war. The movement was also a reaction against the cultural and intellectual conformity—in art and more broadly in society—that many Dadaists believed had contributed to the war.

Key Figures

Prominent figures associated with Dada include Hugo Ball, Emmy Hennings, Hans Arp, Raoul Hausmann, Hannah Höch, Francis Picabia, Marcel Duchamp, Man Ray, Tristan Tzara, and Kurt Schwitters. These artists and writers were known for their use of collage, photomontage, assemblage, and the ready-made.

Techniques and Styles

Dadaists employed a variety of techniques to create their works, including:

• Collage: The assemblage of different forms, creating a new whole.
• Photomontage: A type of collage in which photographs are combined to create a new image.
• Assemblage: Art made by assembling disparate elements, often everyday objects.
• Ready-made: Ordinary manufactured objects that the artist selected and modified.

Influence and Legacy

Dada had a profound influence on later 20th-century art movements, including Surrealism, Pop Art, and Fluxus. The movement's emphasis on spontaneity, absurdity, and the rejection of traditional aesthetics paved the way for these later movements. Dada's legacy can be seen in the works of artists such as Salvador Dalí, Andy Warhol, and Yoko Ono.

Major Works

Some of the most famous works associated with Dada include:

• Marcel Duchamp's Fountain (1917)
• Hannah Höch's Cut with the Dada Kitchen Knife through the Last Weimar Beer-Belly Cultural Epoch in Germany (1919)
• Raoul Hausmann's Mechanical Head (The Spirit of Our Age) (1919-1920)

Decline and Transformation

By the early 1920s, Dada began to decline as many of its key figures moved on to other projects or joined other movements, such as Surrealism. However, the spirit of Dada continued to influence artists and thinkers throughout the 20th century and into the 21st century.

See Also

• Surrealism
• Avant-garde
• Modernism
• Postmodernism
• Fluxus
• Pop Art