Dadaism In The History Of The Dada Movement

In the early 20th century, there was a rise in a multitude of new artistic movements, which took place during the first World War. One of the movements called the Dada movement originated in Zürich, Switzerland and expressed both anti-art and anti-war sentiments. The amount of time it was prevalent was for a total of eight years from 1916 to 1924. Its aim was to evoke an emotion within the audience by expressing mockery in relation to art, materialism, and nationalism. Moreover, Dada art included works that were not aesthetically pleasing. In fact, these were disrespectful to the artists before this time. Prior to this moment in history, art was seen as something that had to be created to be aesthetically beautiful. Theoretically, this required a

This piece consisted of a simple urinal that was flipped upside down and had signed “R. MUTT 1917” on the left side of the base. Dadaism was successful by reducing the meaning of art to be as as simple as placing a distasteful object in an art gallery and deeming it worthy to be called artwork. This would also be granting it the same amount of appreciation as a timeless masterpiece would receive. The minimal amount of work was given an equal amount of value as would a meaningful piece of art. This changed many things in the art world because Dadaism was a statement that reflected the emotions of the public in regards to the war. Dadaists believed that nationalism was to blame for the occurrence of WW1. The urinal was an statement that ridiculed the Renaissance and nationalism. The artists wanted to give a voice to their idea that the war should end and opposition to leadership of the country. Prior to this art movement, the meaning of art was pleasing to look at because it consisted of accurate depictions of objects. This fountain symbolized a new beginning for unconventional art and conformity in the art