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Has Dada ever spoken to you
About
Italy
About accordions
About women’s pants
About the fatherland
About sardines…
In 1916 a meeting of artists, writers, émigrés
and opposition figures took place at the Cabaret
Voltaire in Zurich. This was the start of Dada, a
movement that aimed to create provocative anti-art
and which rejected logic, morality and convention.
Their major forms of artistic expression were
collage, photomontage, assemblages and
performances of random poems and sound poems
recited by performers dressed in recycled
materials, banging drums and hurling insults at
the audience. The resulting cacophony was a
reminder of trench warfare, which performers such
as Max Ernst had endured for years. In 1917
Duchamp exhibited a signed urinal which he called
‘Fountain’ – in so doing he dismissed the idea of
the artist as creator. It became the most
controversial ‘art work’ of the 20th century
In February 2010 the St Edward’s U6 art
historians put on their own Dada performance. For
one glorious lesson all learning was brought to a
halt and anarchy reigned in the work block.
mmm nmm grr lar duh beeeee
fum
fummmm lum lummmm burrrr
zaaaar lar
neee tow errr
shlumm nmmm queey bo
fuey
see wo lar nar bam nam tee
gram lam
snmm grump wee
blung browd sneep trunk
fataka
snumf tweel sneed stont
(Sound Poem by Lucy Bibbings)
The sun chimed along the river and the
penetrating dog
jumped in the window, ideas contact
the world as
parents ride smoothies and
animals create, illusions
swivel chapels and cabarets
modern collages to Zurich.
Water poems diary in the
sunshine as channels exhibit is
ugliness worlds
flower mats, they cup war, dressage and
smiles, while
united grandeur spread houses along
lampshade
troubled teeth. Faces exist.
(Random Poem
by Flo Christie)
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