Dada

Question 1

Background

Answer 1

Dada and surrealism dominated the time in-between the two wars. Both born in revolt against WWI and questioned the traditional values of democracy. Had a dramatic influence on other art movements. It quickly spread internationally

Question 2

What did dada start as

Answer 2

Mainly a literary manifestation

Question 3

Who started a centre for artists and what was it called

Answer 3

A german writer and poet, Hugo Ball started the Cabaret Voltaire in Zurich

Question 4

What happened at the Cabaret Voltaire

Answer 4

Artists and writers who shared an outlook of protest against society gathered there. It was a cross between a nightclub and an art society. Poems were read, painting were painted using intuition without control. Durning one meeting, 80 people spoke on different subjects at the same time. During an exhibition, hammers were handed out and people were asked to destroy artworks. Events at this placed proved crucial to the founding of dada

Question 5

Why was Cabaret founded

Answer 5

For political and artistic purposes

Question 6

Where did the name ‘dada’ come from

Answer 6

One theory says that it was derived from the french word ‘dada’ meaning hobbyhorse. Another theory is that it is the first word that a child says. Both relate to children and show their search for freedom and a new beginning.

Question 7

What was the influence on dada

Answer 7

The world war. Dada was a protest movement against WWI. It originated from the disillusionment and disgust of the senseless barbarity of the war.

Question 8

What did the Dadaists say was the cause of the Great War

Answer 8

Different governments for autocratic and materialistic gains

Question 9

What did the war show

Answer 9

What happens when the government was too greedy and too materialistic.

Question 10

What did Dada place importance on

Answer 10

Human emotions, the injustice and the irrational.

Question 11

Characteristics of Dada

Answer 11

It was a state of mind: the wanted to mock and shock
Negative movement that wanted to destroy all traditions in art .˙. They seldom used ordinary media
In its the quest to be free from all theories, standards and authority, it mocked everything.
It was the revolt against logic and reason. In their disregard for the conscious mind, they started to explore the subconscious in music, literature, fine art s

Question 12

What types of artworks are there in Dada

Answer 12

The laws of chance
The use of junk/ recycling
Photo montage
Ready-made

Question 13

Who used the laws of chance

Answer 13

Hans Arp

Question 14

Who used junk/ recycling

Answer 14

Kurt Schwitters

Question 15

Who used photo montages

Answer 15

John Heartfield and Hannah Höch

Question 16

Who used ready-made

Answer 16

Marcel Duchamp

Question 17

Who was Hans Arp

Answer 17

German-French sculptor, painter, poet and abstract artist. One f the first artists to use the laws of chance. He tore up a drawing he was dissatisfied with and threw the pieces on the floor. He found that the way the had fallen was expressive. By using chance, that artist works irrationally. It is a way an individual can express themselves in a world that is becoming more organised. The use of chance leads to spontaneity

Question 18

Who was Schwitters

Answer 18

German artist that worked in different media. He showed that art could be related with junk. He used colour, shape… and other formal elements in creating his artworks.

Question 19

Photo montage

Answer 19

A variation of collage in which photos are used instead of different materials. Individual photos combined to muse a new subject or visual image. It proved to be a powerful tool to Dadaists who were protesting about social and political issues.

Question 20

Who was Duchamp

Answer 20

French artist considered as one of the most important and influencing artists of the 20th century. Was a highly successful painter, but gave it up when he moved to America

Question 21

Anti-art and the ready-made : Marcel Duchamp

Answer 21

Mocks traditional art values by choosing manufactures objects and declaring it to be art. He said that the object should be a no choice .˙. Without aesthetic qualities and exists as art only because the artist said so.

Question 22

What is a ready-made

Answer 22

And ordinary manufacture object that becomes art because of the artists choice.

Question 23

How is a ready-made, anti-art

Answer 23

Because it is against the idea that art is labour intensive. It goes against uniqueness of the artwork and makes a mockery of the art museum system. It says that anything is art .˙. Nothing is art or that nothing has value.

Question 24

Influence and importance of Dada

Answer 24

Protest action are usually short-lived and dada ended because of its absurdity. Many Dadaists became surrenders and Dada’s use of chance and irrationality became one of the principles of surreal s, although Dada can be seen as absurd, it had a tremendous influence in modernism as Dada was not merely destructive, but also opened up new ways of creating art.