Embracing irrationality and intuition over reason and logic, Dada was an artistic and literary movement that emerged from the chaos of World War I. It began as a series of performances held at Cabaret Voltaire in Zurich in 1916, organized by a group of artists and writers who were avoiding the ravages of the war. After the armistice, members returned to their home countries where Dada extended to visual art and poetry, particularly in Paris, Berlin, Cologne, Hanover, and eventually making its way to New York. A true “anti-art,” Dada challenged traditional notions of artistic technique and linguistic coherence, aiming to create an anarchic freedom that occasionally verged on nihilism.
This exhibition showcases the Library’s collections of Dada expressed in visual and literary form, including works by Tristan Tzara, Marcel Duchamp, Man Ray, Hugo Ball, Tomoyoshi Murayama, Serge Charchoune, and more. Through enduring works such as these, the Dada ideal continues to influence generations of artists, even though most localized Dada groups had dissolved by 1923, with the participants following individual creative paths, radical politics, or, in some cases, nothing at all.
Location: McGraw Rotunda, Third Floor
