---
title: Exploring the Dada Movement | Masterpieces of Art
description: Featured in our Masterpieces of Art series, Kandinsky's abstract art influenced other art forms such as the Dada movement. Today we look at Dadaism.
image: https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/hs-fs/file-3071776460-jpg/images/t03863_9.jpg
---
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# Visual & Decorative Arts Blog
# Exploring the Dada Movement | Masterpieces of Art
Posted by [Matt Knight](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/author/matt-knight)
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**Wassily Kandinsky** is considered to be the **'Father of the Abstract.'** From an early age he had a strong connection to colour and throughout his artistic career he was interested in the portrayal of colours and shape. It took a simple mix up, when his wife accidentally set his work in progress on its side, for him to find **artistic truth**. Kandinsky's art was an extension of his spiritual thoughts and the **abstract works** that he created inspired many artists and art movements.
Abstraction is the separation of the object and the art. It is a search for **the true essence of the subject**. Kandinsky's work with abstraction and his intellectual musings led to some extreme art forms. One such movement is the **Dada movement**, but perhaps it is best to call Dadaism a non-movement. Tristan Tzara, one of the central figures of Dadaism said: "***I**** am against systems, the most acceptable system is on principle to have none."*
Dadaism is an anti-art movement that came to the art scene in 1916 as a response to the **violence and trauma of the First World War**. With a nod to Kandinsky and his abstraction, the Dada movement began in Zurich, in neutral Switzerland. A cafe opened called the **Cabaret Voltaire** where free-thinking artists and intellectuals gathered with their Dada ideas. Richard Huelsenbeck noted that ***'abstract art signified absolute honesty for us.'*** Abstract art was considered an instinctual expression of inner consciousness.
### *'Dada applies itself to everything, and yet it is nothing.' - *Tristan Tzara
But Dada was not simply an artistic protest in Zurich. Anti-art was created in several other European cities as well as New York. Dadaists **challenged the idea of art** and turned away from its values. Dada artists wanted to oppose traditional art and so **they created anti-art**. They created pieces without the tools of the artist: without paintbrushes or even paint. They pieced together anti-art with scraps of paper, ticket stubs, and even rubbish found on the street. Much of their works were **violent and aggressive** as a response to the violence of the war.
Tristan Tzara wrote controversial manifestos declaring '***The acts of life have no beginning or end. Everything happens in a completely idiotic way. That is why everything is alike. Simplicity is called Dada.'***
### '*Nothing is more delightful than to confuse and upset people.*' -Tristan Tzara
By stitching together photographs printed in newspapers and found objects into photomontages and collages, Dadaism **challenged the boundaries between high and low art.** Artists created whimsical pieces with serious intent. One artist, or anti-artist, **Marcel Duchamp**, painted a moustache and beard on a copy of the Mona Lisa with the caption 'L.H.O.O.Q.' In French, the letters read as *'Elle a chaud au cul'* which is a vulgar phrase, and when read in English the letters form the word 'look.' It is precisely this kind of modification to a previous artwork that **serves to shock and offend viewers**.
Dadaism did not stop at visual art. It extended into **poetry and music.** Deconstructing and destroying language in poetic form created a **metaphor for the destruction caused by war** and commented on the deceit of language. Sound Poetry was a Dada construct, and took many forms. Some sound poems were written and spoken in **many different languages at once**, causing confusion and keeping listeners from meaning. Sound Poetry became a **stepping stone for performance poetry**, and often poetry was read at the Cabaret Voltaire.
In 1920 Dada was becoming somewhat acceptable in the art world. True to Dada form, the movement **dissolved** and many Dada artists became interested in **Surrealism**. Dada has played a major role in influencing today's popular culture, graphic design, advertising and even film.
**Find out more about the 'Father of Abstraction' who influenced this movement with his radical abstract paintings in our book *[Wassily Kandinsky: Masterpieces of Art ](http://www.flametreepublishing.com/Wassily-Kandinsky-Masterpieces-of-Art.html)*(ISBN: 9781783612154). You can find it on Amazon [here](http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wassily-Kandinsky-Masterpieces-Michael-Kerrigan/dp/1783612150/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1418747331&sr=8-1&keywords=Wassily+Kandinsky+Masterpieces+of+Art). **
[](http://www.flametreepublishing.com/Wassily-Kandinsky-Masterpieces-of-Art.html)
### Links
- To read more about Kandinsky check out our blogs [here](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/bid/77342/Kandinsky-Known-For-More-Than-Just-Doodles-Art-of-Fine-Gifts\),%20and%20here%20\(http://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/bid/77458/Kandinsky-s-Later-Years-Visions-and-Contrasts-Art-of-Fine-Gifts).
- Interested in Tzara's Dada manifestos? Read a translation from 'Dada Manifesto' and 'Lecture on Dada' [here](http://www.sas.upenn.edu/~jenglish/English104/tzara.html)!
- Listen to some Dada sound poetry by Raoul Hausmann [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aR7N7e04Yak)!
### [](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/293166/bdfab1f2-70ad-4e50-a5d1-0f823e1343d5)
### Images:
(From top to bottom) [*Picture of Spatial Growths - Picture with Two Small Dogs* by Kurt Schwitters](http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/schwitters-picture-of-spatial-growths-picture-with-two-small-dogs-t03863), [*Untitled*, 1920 by Max Ernst,](http://iam.benabraham.net/2012/08/untitled-1920-murdering-airplane/)[*L.H.O.O.Q.* by Marcel Duchamp](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L.H.O.O.Q.)
Topics: [Wassily Kandinsky](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/wassily-kandinsky), [Masterpieces of Art](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/masterpieces-of-art), [abstract art](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/abstract-art)
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