Dadaism

Dada was an artistic and literary movement that had began in 1916 during World War 1 in Zurich, Switzerland. It was a reaction against World War 1, nationalism, rationalism, materialism which many thought to have brought war to Europe. Dada was influenced by many ideas and innovations such as Cubism, Futurism, Constructivism and Expressionism. Dada was quite universal with the arts ranging from performance art, poetry, photography, sculpture, paintings and collages. Dada was a powerful influence on artists in many cities which included Berlin, New York, Paris, Hanover and Cologne.  Dada's characteristics presented an interesting paradox in that they demystified artworks but still remained cryptic in some way to allow the viewer/reader to interpret the work in many ways. Dadaists portrayed people and scenes in order to create form and movement. Dada was intended to provoke an emotional reaction from the viewer. Abstraction and Expressionism were the main influences on Dadaism. Dada had self-destructed itself when people started to accept the movement.  

Art Story, 2013. [online] Available at: <http://www.theartstory.org/movement-dada.htm>

[Accessed 28th April 2013]

Art History, 2013. About.com. [online] Available at: <http://arthistory.about.com/cs/arthistory10one/a/dada.htm>

[Accessed 28th April 2013]