Dada

Dada, or Dadaism, was a cultural movement that involved visual arts, literature (mainly poetry), theatre, and graphic design, and began in neutral Zürich, Switzerland during World War I.

History

Zürich

In 1916, Hugo Ball, Emmy Hennings, Tristan Tzara, Hans Arp, Richard Huelsenbeck, Sophie Täuber — all living in exile in Zürich — along with others discussed art and put on performances in the Cabaret Voltaire expressing their disgust with the war and the interests that inspired it. By some accounts Dada coalesced on October 6 at the cabaret.

Related Topics:
Hugo Ball - Emmy Hennings - Tristan Tzara - Hans Arp - Richard Huelsenbeck - Sophie Täuber - Cabaret Voltaire

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At the first public soiree at the cabaret on July 14, 1916, Ball recited the first Dada manifesto. Tzara, in 1918, wrote a Dada manifestohttp://wikisource.org/wiki/Dada_Manifesto considered one of the most important of the Dada writings. Other manifestos followed.

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Marcel Janco recalled,

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:We had lost confidence in our culture. Everything had to be demolished. We would begin again after the "tabula rasa". At the Cabaret Voltaire we began by shocking common sense, public opinion, education, institutions, museums, good taste, in short, the whole prevailing order.

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A single issue of Cabaret Voltaire was the first publication to come out of the movement.

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After the cabaret closed down, activities moved to a new gallery, and Ball left Europe. Tzara began a relentless campaign to spread Dada ideas. He bombarded French and Italian artists and writers with letters, and soon emerged as the Dada leader and master strategist.

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Zürich Dada, with Tzara at the helm, published the art and literature review, Dada,http://sdrc.lib.uiowa.edu/dada/dada/index.htm beginning in July 1917, with five editions from Zürich and the final two from Paris.

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When World War I ended in 1918, most of the Zürich Dadaists returned to their home countries, and some began Dada activities in other cities.

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Origin of the word Dada

The origin of the name Dada is unclear. Some believe that it is a nonsensical word. Some believe it originates from the Romanian artists Tristan Tzara and Marcel Janco's frequent use of the words da, da, meaning yes, yes in the Romanian language. Others believe that a group of artists assembled in Zürich in 1916, wanting a name for their new movement, chose it at random by stabbing a French-German dictionary, and picking the name that the point landed upon. Dada in French is a child's word for hobby-horse. In French the colloquialism, c'est mon dada, means it's my hobby.

Related Topics:
Romania - Tristan Tzara - Marcel Janco - Romanian language - Zürich - French - German - Hobby-horse

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According to the Dada ideal, the movement would not be called Dadaism, much less designated an art movement.

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Berlin

The groups in Germany were not as strongly anti-art, as other groups, instead their activity and art was more political and social with corrosive manifestos and propaganda, biting satire, large public demonstrations and overt political activities.

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In February 1918, Richard Huelsenbeck gave his first Dada speech in Berlin, and produced a Dada manifesto later in the year. Hannah Höch and George Grosz used Dada to express post-World War I communist sympathies. Grosz, together with John Heartfield, developed the technique of photomontage during this period. The artists published a series of short-lived political journals, and held an International Dada Fair in 1920.

Related Topics:
Richard Huelsenbeck - Berlin - Hannah Höch - George Grosz - Communist - Photomontage

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The Berlin group saw much in-fighting; Kurt Schwitters and others were excluded from the group. Schwitters moved to Hanover where he developed his individual type of Dada, which he dubbed Merz.

Related Topics:
Kurt Schwitters - Hanover - Merz

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The Berlin group published periodicals such as Club Dada, Der Dada, Everyman His Own Football (Jedermann sein eigner Fussball), and Dada Almanachhttp://sdrc.lib.uiowa.edu/dada/collection.htm.

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Cologne

In Cologne (Köln), Max Ernst, Johannes Theodor Baargeld and Arp in 1920 launched a controversial Dada exhibition, which focused on nonsense and anti-bourgeois sentiments.

Related Topics:
Cologne - Max Ernst - Johannes Theodor Baargeld - Arp

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New York

Like Zürich, New York was a refuge for writers and artists from World War I. Soon after arriving from France Marcel Duchamp and Francis Picabia met American artist Man Ray. By 1916 the three of them became the center of radical anti-art activities in the United States. American Beatrice Wood, who had been studying in France, soon joined them. Much of their activity centered in Alfred Stieglitz's gallery, 291, and the studio of Walter and Louise Arensberg.

Related Topics:
New York - World War I - Marcel Duchamp - Francis Picabia - Man Ray - Beatrice Wood - Alfred Stieglitz - Walter and Louise Arensberg

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The New Yorkers did not label themselves, Dada, nor did they issue manifestos or organize riotous events. However, they issued challenges to art and culture through publications such as The Blind Man, Rongwrong, and New York Dadahttp://sdrc.lib.uiowa.edu/dada/collection.htm in which they criticized the traditionalist basis for museum art.

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During this time Duchamp began exhibiting readymades (found objects) such as a bottle rack, and got involved with Society of Independent Artists. In 1917 he submitted his famous Fountain, a urinal signed R. Mutt, to the Society of Independent Artists show only to have the piece rejected.

Related Topics:
Readymade - Society of Independent Artists - Fountain

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Picabia's travels tied New York, Zürich and Paris groups together. For seven years he also published a Dada periodical, 391http://sdrc.lib.uiowa.edu/dada/391/index.htm, in Barcelona, Spain, New York City, Zürich, and Paris from 1917 through 1924.

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By 1921, most of the original players moved to Paris where Dada experienced its last incarnation. (Until later Neo-Dada movements.)

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Paris

The French avant-garde kept abreast of Dada activities in Zürich with regular communications from Tristan Tzara (sad in the country in romanian), who exchanged letters, poems, and magazines with Guillaume Apollinaire, André Breton, Max Jacob, and other French writers, critics and artists.

Related Topics:
Avant-garde - Tristan Tzara - Guillaume Apollinaire - André Breton - Max Jacob

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Dada in Paris got rolling in 1920 when many of the originators converged there. Inspired by Tzara, Paris Dada soon issued manifestos, organized demonstrations, staged performances and produced a number of journals (the final two editions of Dada, Le Cannibale, and Littérature featured Dada in several editions)http://sdrc.lib.uiowa.edu/dada/collection.htm.

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The first introduction of Dada artwork to the Parisian public was at the Salon des Indépendants in 1921. Jean Crotti exhibited works associated with Dada including a work entitled, Explicatif bearing the word Tabu.

Related Topics:
Salon des Indépendants - 1921 - Jean Crotti

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