Charlottes sketchbook

06/03/11
Dada meetings

The Dada movement was born in Switzerland as a reaction to WWI and anger at modern society. Artists, intellectuals and writers joined together to create 'non-art'. The artists were serious about their work but it was sarcastic, silly and frankly ridiculous yet amusing and enjoyable to those who went to the meetings and performances. It was an escape from the devastation going on outside as war raged and the Battle of the Somme saw hundreds of thousands of men killed.

"We held Dadaist meetings, charged a few marks admission and did nothing but tell people the truth, that is, abuse them. The news spread quickly and soon our meetings were sold out, crammed with people wanting to be scandalized or just after fun. Between insults we performed 'art,' but the performances were as a rule interrupted."

--George Grosz, The Autobiography of George Grosz [1955]

An example of a Dada performance; Hugo Ball performs his 'sound experiments' wearing a cardboard suit

"avoidance of reality by absorption of the mind"

Reactionary, Performative, Expressive, Distracting, Indulging, Fantastical, Ridiculous