What is Dadaism and how can dada inspire your artwork and designs?

What is Dadaism?

Dadaism (Dada) was a revolutionary art style and movement founded in Zurich during the First World War. It was a product of its time: a reaction to the “butchery” of the conflict, and a biting critique of contemporary capitalism. Nonsensical, provocative and brimming with anti-bourgeois satire, the Dada art movement turns artistic and logical sensibilities on their head – sometimes literally – in works that spanned sculpture, collage, photography, as well as literature and performance art.

While Dadaism is primarily remembered as a visual art, it toyed with the confines and convention of traditional form to the extent that it considered itself an “anti-art”.

The origins of the Dada art movement.

Dadaism was first founded in Zürich in 1916 when Hugo Ball, a satirical nightclub owner, became famous for hosting cabaret shows. Dada came as a direct opposition to the First World War from artists, intellectuals and creatives who had fled to Zurich, Switzerland.

The idea behind Dadaism was not to take the world too seriously – and came at just the right time. That playful nature runs down to the word ‘Dada’ itself – a colloquial French term for a hobby horse, further riffing on the artistic movement’s sense of the absurd.

The Dada movement worked as a direct contrast to the seriousness of World War I. In many ways, Dadaism was a protest towards the conflict, pointing out the absurdity of war, through its own equally bizarre artwork. Dadaism was a powerful tool that swept across European countries like Germany and Switzerland, with the cabaret serving as a meeting spot for avant-garde creatives.

Fountain

Created by Marcel Duchamp in 1917, Fountain was a sculpture depicting an unusually shaped toilet bowl, whose composition suggested it was a water fountain to be drunk from. This bizarre idea plays on contrasts, is steeped in humour and is everything Dada strives to be.

L.H.O.O.Q.

Designed by Marcel Duchamp in 1919, L.H.O.O.Q. depicts the Mona Lisa with a pencilled-on moustache and beard. Breaking down the conventions of art, L.H.O.O.Q. is shocking in its mistreatment of one of the most famous pieces in the world. For the Dadaists, this was no doubt a mission accomplished.

Indestructible Object

Man Ray’s 1923 work, Indestructible Object, is an unusual sculpture that takes on the form of a metronome, albeit with a few additional features. This concept has taken many forms, as students were encouraged to destroy the original work, making it an interactive example of Dadaism.