The Spread of Dadaism from Switzerland

The European avant-garde is derived from a French word meaning “advance guard.” The avant-garde comprised of works or people who were regarded as being unorthodox, radical or experimental to society, culture or art. The avant-garde pushed boundaries of what was deemed as being the status-quo. It also aimed at promoting radical, social reforms. During the European avant-garde, various artistic movements arose and one of them was Dadaism. This artistic movement was made up of artists who rejected the aestheticism, reason, and logic of the modern society that was more of capitalistic. The artists would express their emotions and feelings in an irrational, nonsensical and anti-bourgeois manner of their artworks. 

History of Dadaism 

Before World War I, Europe had begun losing its grip on reality. At the time, the universe created by Albert Einstein seemed like a science fiction movie. Karl Marx’s communism was turning the entire European world upside down while all Sigmund Freud’s theories put reason to the grip of the unconscious. Extreme radical ideas were afoot while the nihilists and anarchists inhabited the political fringe. At the time, new artists began rising in Europe and they started attacking the very concept of art itself. Marcel Duchamp began rejecting all types of artwork after had put his hands on from the cubism and impressionism era. At the time, Hugo Ball, a German writer had taken refuge in neutral Switzerland away from the war that had begun to cook up in most parts of Europe 1 . At the time, a considerable number of politicians had supported the war claiming that it was a noble cause for Germany had to defend its culture. According to Ball, he could not believe that all that civilized carnage was only because Europe wanted to restore back its culture. 

It is at this point that a new type of art founded on irrationality came up and it would later be named Dada. According to one German artist, Richard Huelsenbeck, who lived in Zurich at the time, the word was derived from a French-German dictionary altogether with Ball 2 . According to Ball, Dada meant “hobby horse” in French and it correspondingly meant the echoes of a young child who is trying to talk 3 . However, one artist referred to as Tzara later claimed he had coined the term and used it in his posters and even came up with a Dada journal 4 . Within a few months, Dada had spread all the way into Paris, New York, Tokyo, and even Berlin. No one ever thought that this movement would one day come to be influential in installation and pop art, performance art, conceptual art, foreshadowing abstract and modern art. 

Additionally, as World War I was taking over the world, Zurich, Switzerland had become a safe haven for countless intellectuals and artists. The Cabaret Voltaire in Niederdorf was the meeting point for that European avant-garde 5 . These people would rally against the ongoing World War I madness with delightfully childish actions, irony, humor and a big dose of nonsense. It is at this point that the Dada movement was born. On 5 th February 1916, the Kingdom of Montenegro had just been occupied by the Austrian Troops and the Germans were planning to attack Verdun, a French city. At that time, the Cabaret Voltaire was opened at Spiegelgassse I by Hugo Ball and his wife Emmy Henning 6 . Most of the artists who came in this place begun experimenting on various artistic styles and materials. They would outline the inhumanity resulting from the war with humor and nonsense. A considerable number of artists from Germany, Romania and France formed the Dadaism movement. Hugo Ball would later come to declare Dada as being a new type of art movement in July 1916. 

Therefore, the great war of 1914-1918 that saw millions of people die and others wounded formed a foundation for the development of Dada. As a result of World War I, a considerable number of the intellectuals lost confidence in the culture of rationality, its principles, and rhetoric that had prevailed since the Enlightenment period in Europe. The aim of Dada was to replace the men’s logical sense with an illogical nonsense 7 . The antics at the time were no different from the war itself, as they were absurd. The Dada artist at the time was provoked by the emerging technology and industrial age science that was being used to wage war on other people. The artists mocked the continued dehumanization of people using the war with chock –A-blocks, and pseudo-diagrams that had no meaning. The pointing hand was Dada’s symbolic emblem and is aimed at making a pointless gesture. Nonetheless, the aim of Dada was to help stop World War I and the bourgeois conceptions that had laid a foundation for the war. 

Dadaism Artistic Styles 

A considerable number of the Dadaism artistic works were made using paradoxes and overlaps aimed at demystifying artwork in the mainstream sense. Nonetheless, they remained mysterious enough to allow an audience to interpret the message being conveyed using diverse means. In order to represent form and movements, some Dada artists would portray scenes and people representationally while others used abstraction to try and highlight the subject matter of their works. However, the aim of the methods used in representing objects was to showcase their rebellious attitudes towards the current situations on the ground. However, for one to full have a comprehension of the Dada artworks, it required the viewer to use the anti-bourgeois message of the artwork and relate it to the subject. 

One of the most vital styles of Dada artwork was the irrelevance 8 . The sole aim of this was to show that the artists did not have any form of respect towards the artistic canon, government authorities or bourgeois convention. However, each Dada group had its own style in trying to highlight the irrelevance of their works. Another style used in developing artworks was the use of ready-mades and assemblages 9 . The ready-mades comprised of already existing objects that were combined with another, such as the Bicycle Wheel developed by Duchamp leading to the creation of an assemblage 10 . The strategy is formulated such artworks was based on an accident or chance to ensure that it challenged the bourgeois perspectives in relation to artistic creativity or art. Chance was another key feature that was used in Dadaism 11 . The aim of using chance was to ensure that artwork was released from the rational control of creativity. Wit and humor similarly another style used in developing Dada art 12 . The aim of using irony and humor was to show that nothing in real life had any form of intrinsic value. Through humor and irony, the artist had an ability to embrace the craziness they witnessed from the universe and this would ensure that they would not get caught up in the bourgeois rational control of making real art. 

Sophie-Taeuber-Arp 

Taeuber-Arp was born on 19 th January 1889 and died on 13 th January 1943 13 . She was a Swiss dancer, architect, interior and furniture designer, textile designer, artist, sculptor, and painter. Taeuber-Arp is the 20 th century’s most important artist of geometric abstraction and concentres art. She met Jean Arp at an art exhibition in Zurich. Jean had left Germany for Zurich after fearing that he would be drafted as a soldier in the World War I 14 . Jean and Taeuber worked together on numerous projects until they later got married 15 . During that time, she played a vital role in the Dadaism movement that was growing in Zurich. She would take part in Dada-inspired performance, such as a puppeteer, choreographer, and dances 16 . Additionally, she would knit costumes that were used in the Dada events such as the radicalized puppets. Taeuber-Arp has a number of sculptors under her name based on the Dadaism such as the Dada Heads , Untitled Dada Bowl (1916), Elementary Forms (1917), Duo-Collage (1918) and Konig Deramo (1918). However, what makes Taeuber-Arp so famous is the Swiss 50 franc note that features a Dadaism art movement work. 

The Spread of Dadaism from Switzerland 

The end of World War I in 1918 made it possible for the artist who had sought refuge in Switzerland to go back to their homes. Huelsenbeck formed Club Dada in Berlin soon after he returned from Zurich in 1971 17 . The club remained operational for a period of seven years. The Dadaists from Berlin would campaign against various ways, such as the Weimar Republic war and most of their artworks had satirized images of the wartime imagery featuring various government officials. Marx Ernst formed another Dada group in Cologne 18 . Most of their exhibits included nonsensical and bourgeois artwork. Another artist from Germany who joined the Dada movement include Hans Arp, Kurt Schwitters, and Johannes Theodore Baargeld 19 . 

In Paris, notable artist such as Andre Breton, Paul Eluard, Luis Aragon and Picabia joined the Dada movement 20 . In 1920, a Dada festival was formed in Paris after Tzara left for Paris from Zurich and Arp from Cologne 21 . At the time, a considerable number of Dada artists had convened in Paris for performances, exhibitions, and publishing of manifestos and journals such as Le Cannible and Dada 22 . Nonetheless, Picabia and Breton withdrew from the movement after citing that it represented what it was trying to fight against. 

In New York, artists such as Francis Picabia and Marce Duchamp helped in growing the Dada movement. One of Duchamp’s most important notable Dada art pieces includes; The Bride Stripped Bare by her Bachelors, Even and The Large Glass 23 . The artist teamed up and wrote the New York Dada that challenged the current conventional museum art. However, Picabia is the one who spread Dada in New York and this saw him publishing the Dada Periodical 391 24 . 

The Decline and End of Dadaism in Switzerland 

In 1917, the Dada artists formed a journalism magazine, which they used in highlighting their various pieces of artworks. The aim of this was to spread the anti-war sentiments and campaigns. The Galerie Dada was founded by Tzara at Bahnhofstrasse soon after Hugo Ball left Zurich 25 . It was to ensure that the Dada movements could still have its influence on society. Tzara gained full control of the movements and he continued to spread the anti-war messages and Dada ideas by inviting the Italian and French artists. 

Soon after the war came to an end in 1918, most of the artists who had sought refuge in Switzerland began returning back to their homelands. They brought with them the Dada ideas. However, back in Switzerland, the Dada movement was beginning to decline and this was marked by the Dada 4-5 event organized by Tzara in April 1919 26 . According to Tzara, his aim was to ensure that the movement undermined the conventional art styles by involving the audience in the production of art 27 . The riot had more than one thousand people and it began with an explanation of why Dada was the new art style. It was followed by discordant music. Nonetheless, things took a U-turn when the rioters begin destroying some of the props. After the event, Tzara left Switzerland for Paris and through his interaction with Andre Breton, a new style of art was formed, Surrealism 28 . 

Conclusion 

Over the years, there has been the development of various art movements. Most of these movements were based on the various factors as seen from the case of Dadaism. World War I and bourgeois society led by the capitalist is what formed a foundation for its development. The Dadaism movement was formed in Zurich, Switzerland by Hugo Ball. The aim of the movement was to create an awareness of their displeasure with the war. They would express their emotions and feelings in an irrational, nonsensical and anti-bourgeois manner in their artworks. A substantial number of their works relied on various styles such as irrelevance, humor, irony, wit, chance, ready-mades and assemblages. Dadaism expanded into other major cities such as Paris, Berlin, Cologne, and New York. However, in Zurich, the movement died after Tzara left for Paris. In the other major cities, Dadaism was able to grow and the Dadaists would express their emotions and feelings against any inhumane involvements by the governments such as the Weimar War. However, Dadaism also came to an end in these cities. In Zurich, Taeuber-Arp was one of the most notable Dadaist artists and her works can still be seen in the Swiss 50 franc note. Despite this, Dadaism was able to lay down a foundation for the growth and development of contemporary artistic styles. 

Bibliography 

Berghaus, Gunter, and Mariana Aguirre. Special issues: Women artists and Futurism . Berlin: De Gruyter, 2015. 

Codrsecu, Andrei. The Post human Dada guide: Tzara & Lenin play chess . Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press, 2009. 

Elger, Dietmar, and Ultra Grosenick. Dadaism . Koln: Taschen, 2004. 

Hopkins, David. A comparison to Dada and Surrealism . Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons Inc., 2016. 

Jones, Jonathan. “Sophie Tauber-Arp: it’s About Time the Radical Dada Star Got a Google Doodle.” The Guardian . January 16, 2016. Accessed November 13 , 2018. https://www.the guardian.com/artanddesign/jonatahnjonesblog/2016/jan/19/sophie-taeuber-arp-google-doodle-dada-art 

Meecham, Pam, and Julie Sheldon. Modern art: A critical introduction . Routledge, 2013. 

Renders, Hans. Binne De Haan, and Jonne Harmsma, Eds. The biographical turn: Lives in history . Taylor& Francis, 2016. 

The Art Story. “Movements, Styles, and Techniques: Dada.” 2018. Accessed November 13 , 2018. www.m.theartstory.org/movement-dada.html. 

Williams, Rhiannon. Who was Sophie Taeuber-Arp? One of the most influential female artists you’ve probably never heard of. The Telegraph . January 19, 2016. Accessed November 13 , 2018. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/google/google-doodle/12106374/Who-was-Sophie-Taeuber-Arp-One-of-the-most-important-female-artists-youve-never-heard-of.html 

Wintle, Justin. Makers of modern culture . Vol.1. Psychology Press, 2002. 

1 Hans Renders, Binne De Haan, and Jonne Harmsma, (eds), The biographical turn: Lives in history , [Taylor& Francis, 2016], pg 100 

2 Andrei Codrsecu, The Post-human Dada guide: Tzara & Lenin play chess , [Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press, 2009], pg.143 

3 Codrsecu, pg.143 

4 Codrescu, pg.142 

5 Pam Meecham and Julie Sheldon, Modern art: A critical introduction , [Routledge, 2013], pg 40 

6 Renders et al., pg. 100 

7 Dietmar Elger and Ultra Grosenick, Dadaism , [Koln: Taschen, 2004], Pg 4. 

8 The Art Story, “Movements, Styles, and Techniques: Dada,” 2018, Accessed November 13 , 2018, www.m.theartstory.org/movement-dada.html. 

9 The Art Story. 

10 The Art Story. 

11 The Art Story 

12 The Art Story. 

13 Rhiannon Williams, “Who was Sophie Taeuber-Arp? One of the most Influential Female Artists You’ve Probably Never Heard Of,” The Telegraph , January 19, 2016, Accessed November 13 , 2018. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/google/google-doodle/12106374/Who-was-Sophie-Taeuber-Arp-One-of-the-most-important-female-artists-youve-never-heard-of.html 

14 Renders et al.,pg. 100 

15 Williams 

16 Jonathan Jones, “Sophie Tauber-Arp: it’s About Time the Radical Dada Star Got a Google Doodle,” The Guardian, January 16, 2016, Accessed November 13 , 2018. https://www.the guardian.com/artanddesign/jonatahnjonesblog/2016/jan/19/sophie-taeuber-arp-google-doodle-dada-art 

17 Elger and Ultra, Pg 13 

18 Elger and Ultra, pg 68 

19 Elger and Ultra, Pg 28, 60 & 68 

20 The Art Story. 

21 David Hopkins, A comparison to Dada and Surrealism , [Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons Inc., 2016], pg.205 

22 Hopkins, Pg 205 

23 The Art Story 

24 Elger and Ultra, Pg 80-94 

25 Elger and Ultra, pg 13 

26 Gunter Berghaus and Mariana Aguirre, Special issues: Women artists and Futurism , [Berlin: De Gruyter, 2015], Pp. 2. 

27 Gunter Berghaus and Mariana Aguirre, Pp. 2. 

28 Justin Wintle, Makers of modern culture . Vol.1, [Psychology Press, 2002], Pp. 92-93.