dadaism

(noun)

A cultural movement that began in neutral Zürich, Switzerland, during World War I and peaked from 1916 to 1920, which involved visual arts, literature (poetry, art manifestos, art theory), theatre, and graphic design, which concentrated its anti-war politic through a rejection of the prevailing standards in art through anti-art cultural works.

Related Terms

Examples of dadaism in the following topics:

  • Chance, Improvisation, and Spontaneity

    • Dadaism, Surrealism, and the Fluxus movement all relied on the elements of chance, improvisation, and spontaneity as tools for making art works.
    • Dadaism was an art movement popular in Europe in the early 20th century.
    • The Surrealist movement, which developed out of Dadaism primarily as a political movement, featured an element of surprise, unexpected juxtaposition and the tapping of the unconscious mind.
    • The Fluxus movement of the 1960s was highly influenced by Dadaism.
    • Describe how Dadaism, Surrealism, and the Fluxus movement relied on chance, improvisation, and spontaneity

  • Using Art

    • Additionally, art can be used to bring about political change, exemplified by movements like Dadaism and Surrealism.
    • Hoch's Cut with the Dada Kitchen Knife through the Last Weimar Beer-Belly Cultural Epoch in Germany, is an example of art resulting from the Dadaism movement.

  • Sculpture

    • Modernist sculpture movements include Cubism, Geometric abstraction, De Stijl, Suprematism, Constructivism, Dadaism, Surrealism, Futurism, Formalism Abstract expressionism, Pop-Art, Minimalism, Land art, and Installation art.

  • Modern Sculpture

  • Categorizing Art

    • Anti-art is a label for art that intentionally challenges the established parameters and values of art; it is term associated with Dadaism and attributed to Marcel Duchamp just before World War I, when he was making art from found objects.

  • Dada and Surrealism

    • Dadaism was intensely anti-war, anti-bourgeois and held strong political affinities with the radical left.