Simple key points as well as a deeper understanding of this art movement can be found in this document. The most influential artists of this movement as well as their works have been analysed and images of each artwork is shown (two artists and two works per artist). Information is taken from the I...
Dada 1916-1922:
Characteristics
● An art movement that questioned, rebelled against and rejected tradition.
● Utilised weird and wonderful objects.
● It was a state of mind full of mockery and shock.
● Modern art was also mocked.
● It was a protest against the good taste and moral values of the middle class.
● It was a quest to be free from all theories, standards and authority.
● It was a revolt against logic, and reason. They then started to explore the subconscious
which would lead to Surrealism.
Background:
● Dada was an artistic and literary movement.
● A reaction to World War I and the nationalism that many thought had led to the war.
● Originates from the disillusionment and disgust towards the senseless barbarity of the
war. They believed that the governments were greedy and too materialistic. They felt that
political anarchy was a way to counteract these ideals. Therefore it was a protest
movement.
● Influenced by - Cubism, Futurism, Constructivism, and Expressionism.
● Diverse, ranging from performance art to poetry, photography, sculpture, painting, and
collage.
● Hugo Ball established Cabaret Voltaire in Zürich; it became a centre for artists and
writers, sharing an outlook of protest against the society of their time. Events at the
Cabaret proved crucial to the founding of Dada.
● The name Dada possibly comes from the French word for hobbyhorse. It is also the first
word of a child. The name caught on because of its childlike sound. It showed their
search for freedom and a new beginning.
WW I:
● World War I began in 1914 lasted until 1918.
● Thanks to new military technologies and the horrors of trench warfare, World War I saw
unprecedented levels of carnage and destruction.
● By the time the war was over and the Allied Powers claimed victory, more than 16 million
people — soldiers and civilians alike — were dead.
Key points:
● Dada was not concerned with making pretty artworks.
● Anti-art and generated difficult questions
● The introduction of chance was a way for Dadaists to challenge artistic norms and to
question the role of the artist in the artistic process.
● Ready-mades
● Everyday objects that could be bought and presented as art.
● Little manipulation / change by the artist.
● Questions artistic creativity and the very definition of art and its purpose in society.
, Marcel Duchamp 1887 - 1968:
● A French artist who was highly successful as a painter with his variations of French
avant-garde styles.
● Signed with the pseudonym, R. Mutt 1917.
● By removing the urinal from its everyday environment and placing it in an art context,
Duchamp was questioning basic definitions of art as well as the role of the artist.
● With the title, Fountain, Duchamp made a tongue in cheek reference to both the purpose
of the urinal as well to famous fountains designed by Renaissance and Baroque artists.
The fountain was an industrially produced urinal to which the artist made three changes:
1. He placed it on a plinth
2. He has signed and dated it
3. He has entered it for an art competition
Duchamp entered it into The Society of Independent Artists and put it on show in 1917. The
committee objected on moral grounds. This provocative gesture is essentially Dada.
Fountain, 1917
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