Overall Reflection of Dadaism

Dadaism Art
-Fountain, by Marcel Duchamp
-L.H.O.O.Q, by Marcel Duchamp
-Karawane, by Hugo Ball
-How to Make a Dadaist Poem, by Tristan Tzara
-The Plain, by Jean Hans Arp
-The Persistence of Memory, by Salvador Dali
-Anna Blume, Kurt Schwitters
-Cinema Calendar of the Abstract Heart – 09, by Tristan Tzara
-The Great Lament of My Obscurity Three, by Tristan Tzara
-The Air is Root, by Jeans Hans Arp
-Roue de Bicyle, Marcel Duchamp
-Dadaville, by Max Ernst







Dadaism varies in several types of art, from music, to poetry, to paintings, to sculptures, and etc. Dadaism was so new and different during it’s time period. With the combination of lack of sense and it’s strive to make a change in the art world, it often caused the pieces of art to be very controversial. For example, Fountain and L.H.O.O.Q both gained the society’s attention, but the feedback was a mix of negative and positive. Fountain, being a urinal, was thought to be inappropriate. L.H.O.O.Q. poked fun at the higher society when Duchamp drew a beard and mustache on a Mona Lisa postcard. But Duchamp chose these readymades as his artwork of choice because he wanted to see how society would react. It’s not so much as he was trying to send a message by what his art says, but of what kind of emotions the art can evoke from the audiences own opinion. Hugo Ball, tries to something similar to this, except with sounds instead of words. He uses these sounds to suggest feelings, in his sound poem, Karawane, rather than using words that say what emotions are supposed to be felt. Kurt Schwitters, does this opposite, and uses his words and expressions to express the his emotions for his lover, with his writing of Anna Blume. As for Tristan Tzara, he focused on how nature was related to Dadaism, in his poems Cinema Calendar of the Abstract Heart-09 and The Great Lament o My Obscurity Three. Tzara wanted to make a statement, but his statements were hard to figure out the meaning, while Duchamp often caused uproar with his art. Tzara’s two poems show how nature often doesn’t have a reason for why things occur, which is what the writer focused on a lot in his poems. In his other poem that I read, How to Make a Dadaist Poem, he actually explains to readers the meaning of Dadaism, by giving directions, rather than just coming out and saying it. Tzara rarely gave meaning to his poetry, and left it up to interpretation. Salvador Dali takes the same approach with his painting called, The Persistence of Memory. The painting gives way for anyone to make their own interpretation of it, yet gives off a hint with its title, and relating it to reality, time, dreams, and death. Jean Hans Arp’s poetry, however, could easily be interpreted. Her poem, The Plain, focuses on the actual concept of “nothing.” Her poems tone gives off a lackadaisical approach, although subtly hinting that she feels society needs to wake up, or they will get lost in the bourgeois society, as she says, “As I sat on the chair I pondered sadly, but not desperately, Why the core of the world exuded such black light.” Another way to speak out to society, was Max Ernst’s Dadaville, which was a canvas, with cities on it, made of cork. This different substance made for the cities, show how Ernst felt that the world needed a unique change of pace to its usual ways, Many famous Dadaists took different ways to make an impression on the world. By doing so, they caused a gradual new turn for art over time.