Wildlife Art

War brings about a multitude of reactions in different people, to the artists of the early twentieth century it came in the form of a sense of rebellion. The forceful creative disillusionment, in especially a group of artists, led to the start of an art movement, ‘Dadaism.’

The First World War, mainly between 1916 and 1920, witnessed the rise of ‘Dadaism.’ In 1916, a German, exiled poet, Hugo Ball, set up Cabaret Voltaire, a cafe, in Zurich, Switzerland, where artists, musicians, and writers frequented. The cafe became an abode for unhindered artistic expression and the exchange of ideas, amidst the prevailing feelings of anti-war, running through a large cross section of society. Against this backdrop, ‘Dadaism’ began as an artistic protest, countering the barbaric nature of war. ‘Dada’ is a French word meaning ‘hobbyhorse.’ ‘Dadaism’ was the name chosen, as a paper-knife was found inserted in a dictionary, pointing to the word ‘Dada.’ ‘Dadaism’ thereon became a signatory of the attitudes and beliefs leading to war.

Owing to their revolutionary disposition, ‘Dadaists’ did not conform to the traditional values of art. They aimed to destroy the philosophy and the prevailing materialism & consumerism in the society, which they held morally responsible for rooting the events catalyzing the World War I. Therefore, ‘Dadaist’ works reflected chaos, randomness, and destruction to illustrate the confusion prevailing during this period, thereby attempting to shock, & aware people about this malaise. These artists used materials, such as trash from streets and ready-made items, to signify the unemployment of artisans owing to the war and to the up surging importance of machines over human resource. ‘Dadaism’ was abstract, spontaneous, and creatively absurd to quite an extent.

Marcel Duchamp, a founder of ‘Dadaism’ used humor in this serious artistry. His “Bicycle Wheel (1913),” had a bicycle placed upside down on a kitchen stool, while in “L.H.O.O.Q.,” he painted Mona Lisa with a mustache, to shock the art world. Max Ernst, another ‘Dadaist,’ employed revulsion to dig on the moral consciousness of public. His “Battle of the Fish (1917),” depicts the nerves of a fish as the vibrations of da, da. Other notable ‘Dadaists’ were Francis Picabia, Man Ray, and Beatrice Wood.

‘Dadaism’ was not restricted only to the field of visual arts, but also extended to literature, theatre, and graphic design. The ‘Dadaist’ musicians evolved ethnic chants coupled with a large drum as their style of music. The performers, with black faces, conveyed a structure less and the order less style of ‘Dadaism.’ The movement slowly declined by the late 1920s, with most of its torchbearers transitioning to ‘Surrealism,’ ‘Socialist Realism,’ and the other forms of ‘Modernism.’

By: Annette Labedzki