Dada Notes

Dada Movement

Introduction

  • Dada is an art movement that challenges preconceived notions of art in irreverent ways.
  • Reaction against the horrors of World War I (WWI).
  • Challenges the purpose of art in a world experiencing brutality and destruction.
  • Dada's goal was to reveal and ridicule society's hypocrisies.
  • Seeks to change the perception of art and break the rules.

Objectives

  • Understand how historical context influenced Dada.
  • Analyze the importance of the Dada movement in modern art.
  • Consider how Dada redefined what art is.

Key Terms

  • Dada
  • Marcel Duchamp
  • Ready-made
  • Photomontage

Historical Context

  • Dada emerged as a strong response to war, particularly WWI.
  • WWI's unprecedented levels of violence and destruction influenced the movement.
  • Disgust with war's brutality, political corruption, and profiteering fueled Dada.
  • Dada became the "anti-art."
  • Germany lost 850,000850,000 men, France lost 700,000700,000 men, and Great Britain lost 400,000400,000 men on the Western Front in 1916 alone.

Origin

  • Originated from the Cabaret Voltaire in Zurich, Switzerland, founded by Hugo Ball.
  • Hugo Ball's performance of the sound poem "Caravanae" is considered the beginning of Dada.
  • Ball's attire and recitation were intentionally ridiculous to convey underlying messages.
  • Critique of language and journalism during the war.
  • Introducing the childish, the beauty, the innocence of childish play.

Marcel Duchamp

  • Moved to the United States to escape WWI.
  • Believed art should appeal to the intellect rather than the senses.
  • Pioneered "ready-mades," ordinary objects presented as art.
Fountain
  • A men's urinal signed "R. Mutt" and dated 1917.
  • Radical gesture questioning the definition of art.
  • Challenged traditional notions of craftsmanship and artistic skill.
  • Submitted anonymously to the American Society of Independent Artists and was rejected.
  • Duchamp's Quote: "Whether Mr. Mutt with his own hands made the fountain or not has no importance. He chose it."
  • Art is the choice of the artist.
  • Anything can be art if the artist chooses to make it art.
  • Duchamp took an ordinary article of life, placed it so that its useful significance disappeared under a new title and a new point of view.
  • He created a new thought for that object

Dada in Berlin: Photomontage

Hannah Hoch
  • Hannah Hoch's photomontage, "Dada Dance."
  • Commentary on society's influence on women and beauty standards.
  • Critique of trends and fads.
  • Juxtaposition of a woman figure an African figure as the epitome of what was natural.
  • The quotation down at the bottom says: "The excess of hell falls into the coffers of pasture clot for innocent children of criminals"
  • Dada often included purposeful obscurity in their artwork.

Objective Review

  • Historical context influenced Dada.
  • Analyzed the importance of the Dada movement in modern art.
  • Considered how Dada redefined what is art.

Final Thoughts

  • The Dada movement was about changing the perception of art and going against contemporary culture.
  • Movement played an integral role in the progression of modern art by breaking the rules about conventions traditions.
  • Reaffirming the notion that art is created at the will of the artist and not at the perception of the masses.