Dada

(noun)

A cultural movement that began in Zürich, Switzerland during World War I and peaked from 1916 to 1920. The movement primarily involved visual arts, literature (mainly poetry), theatre, and graphic design, and was characterized by nihilism, deliberate irrationality, disillusionment, cynicism, chance, randomness, and the rejection of the prevailing standards in art.

Related Terms

Examples of Dada in the following topics:

  • Art Movements of the 1920s

    • Art Deco was a dominant design style of the 1920s artistic era that also was influenced by the Dada, Expressionist and Surrealist movements.
    • In art, the movements known as Expressionism, Dada and Surrealism all played major roles in reconfiguring the focus and perception not only of visual arts, but also literature, drama and design.
    • Dada began in Zurich during World War I and became an international phenomenon, although it was initially an informal movement intended to protest the outbreak of World War I and the bourgeois, nationalist and colonialist interest that Dadaists believed were root causes of the conflict.
    • Dada artists met and formed groups of like-minded peers in Paris, Berlin, Cologne, and New York City who engaged in activities such as public gatherings, demonstrations and publication of art and literary journals.
    • Arising from Dada activities during World War I and centered in Paris, Surrealism was a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s.

  • Conclusion: Cultural Change in the Interwar Period

    • In art, the movements known as Expressionism, Dada and Surrealism all played major roles in reconfiguring focus and perception.
    • An example of the Dada school of art, Republican Automatons was a 1920 watercolor painting by George Grosz.