World War I: Dada

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World War I: Dada

The immense destruction coupled with the annihilation of people caused by World War I drove some people including artists to question the progress and direction of humanity. As such, a Dada (Dadaism) movement was created in Zurich in the twentieth century as a reaction to not only the horrors, but also the follies of the War. According to Sassaman (2015), the aim of Dada was for artists to demonstrate their discontent with the rise of violence, increased capitalist society, war, and nationalism which were responsible for the outbreak of World War I. Diverse forms of art were used by Dada including poetry, sculpture, literary arts, demonstrations, visual, politics, and public gatherings to reject the established bourgeoisie values due to the artistic iconoclasm of the proponents of Dada (Bonnett, 1992). Dada deployed various subversive, primitive, satirical, and nonsensical artistic works to expose and reverse the moral decay by subjecting every piece of art to a total reconsideration. This paper will seek to prove how the atrocities of World War I led to the establishment of the Dada movement and how Dada used subversive artworks to challenge the traditional bourgeoisie values.

            Dadaism returned humanity to the primitive stage by promoting the abandonment of the decayed and inhumane fabric of society. In specific, according to Frey (1936), led by its frontrunner Hugo Ball, the authors revised how art could be interpreted. In achieving their aim, the artists launched a nightclub (Cabaret Voltaire) where members could be totally absorbed in artistic works (Sassaman, 2015). The artworks deployed by the Dada could not be contemplated as they were full of subversion of the traditional notions of artwork and authorship due to their use of found objects. The artists saw the rationality of the western society as not only worthless, but also an affront to the traditional moral fabric of society (Speck, 2009). The only way, according to Dada, in which humanity could escape from the chaos, was through imagination. Dadaism was pegged on the doctrine of “anti-art life” whereby the artists were against any sensibilities of the bourgeois (Oren, 1993). The purpose and agenda of Dada were not to craft any aesthetically pleasing objects, but rather to create artworks which generated some difficulty albeit important questions about the society, the role and position of art in the society, as well as the purpose of art (See Figure 1 below for the lack of aesthetic value of Dada artworks).

Figure 1: Marcel Duchamp’s Fountain Sculpture 1917. Source: https://www.theartstory.org/movement-dada-artworks.htm

The Dada movement was so subversive and nonsensical that the artists were barely in favor of their works. The proponents of Dada often cried that "Dada is anti-Dada”. According to Sassaman (2015), the founding leader of the movement as well as Cabaret opined that "This is our Candide against the times" (p.2). An important demonstration of the primitive and subversive nature of data was the fact that all the arts of Dada went against all forms of traditional art production. In specific, whereas the traditional art was meticulously planned and executed, Dada art was done with the aim of arousing the imagination of the people and thus preventing any further moral decay such as the one which was responsible for the annihilation of humanity during World War I. The authors introduced the “chance” as a way in which they could challenge the existing/traditional artistic norms (Bonnett, 1992). Additionally, their actions were meant to subvert capitalism and question the role of the artists not only in the artistic process but also in shaping a better and more human society governed by a good moral fabric. The Dada artists were known for their use of ready-made objects in their artworks. The use of such objects was undoubtedly against traditional artistic creativity and the very definition of art and artwork.

The subversive methods of Dadaism in their conveyance of art resulted in the artists responding to the moral decay in the society and forcing people to totally reconsider the path that they were taking. For instance, according to Bonnett (1992), Hans Arp’s Squares Arranged according to the Laws of Chance of 1917 provoked the people (both leaders and their followers) to have a more visceral reaction and thus create a further creative spur (See Figure 2 below). The series of collages of Arp based on chance- whereby squares were dropped in contrasting colored papers, was a demonstration of the anti-art principles of Dada in the quest to challenge the techniques used in traditional art production. The element of surrealism developed from the practice where Dada artists lacked artistic control and found a good path into the unconscious and subsequently underlined the intellectual control of creativity (Sassaman, 2015). The nonsensical nature of the Dada artworks is demonstrated by their departure from the mainstream art which was characterized by meticulous planning and execution. The ultimate aim was to provide an alternative to the symbolism of the traditional artistic systems and force people to totally reconsider their social progression which had been defined by war, violence, and nationalism.

Figure 2: Jean Arp’s Untitled (Squares Arranged According to the Laws of Chance)

1917. 1917. Source: https://www.moma.org/collection/works/37166

The primitive and nonsensical arts of the Dada movement served to liberate some artists and poets who; despite being ardent supporters of World War I, had denounced their support and their patriotic beliefs due to the horrors of the battle that they had witnessed. Sassaman (2015) states that Dada demonstrated that nationalism and war enthusiasm principle which had been used to govern people were the causes of the chaotic world as well as the graves and trenches which came with it. Various forms of artworks were printed and produced in periodicals to ensure that they reached as many people as possible (Yambor, 2017). The manifesto of Dada which was skillfully utilized enabled the movement to forge not only national and transnational networks but also multicentered networks of exchange (Hage, 2011). The poems and paintings by the Cubists as well as the Futurists sought to herald a new era which was full of peace and devoid of conflict and war. The methods used by Dada debunked any known traditional methods of rationality and the messages disseminated by the proponents of the group were largely nonsensical and devoid of meaning (Sassaman, 2015). Indeed, World War I was a source of both inspiration and disgust for the Dada as it prompted their activities of creating anti-traditional artworks.

In conclusion, the purpose and agenda of Dada were not to craft any aesthetically pleasing objects, but rather to create artistic works which generated some difficult albeit important questions about society, the role and position of art in the society as well as the purpose of art. Dada was so anti-art that it barely favored their works. The movement’s subversion of traditional art provoked people to totally reconsider their paths in life which were characterized by moral decay and social fabric. Dada also liberated some artists who, despite being in the forefront of supporting World War I, had come to denounce it due to the atrocities that it caused as well as the annihilation of people. The satirical, primitive, and nonsensical arts liberated such artists and implored people to rethink about the events which were happening in the society. World War I provided an inspiration for Dada which made them create artworks which could change the existing violence, increased capitalist society, war, and nationalism.