Question

What was Dada art a reaction to? a. Spanish-American War b. World War I c. World War II d. the start of Communism

Answer 1

Dada art was founded during World War I in Zurich, Switzerland. It was a negative reaction to the horrors that war had brought.

Explanation:

Dada is a form of artists' anarchy that came out as a result from disgust and hatred for the social, political and cultural values of that time. It welcomed elements of art, theater, poetry, music, dance and politics with open arms.

Dada was more of a protest movement with an anti-establishment manifesto than the actual art movement.

Their aesthetic was marked by mockery of all the materialistic goods and nationalist attitude.

The movement left its' traces on many cities as well: Paris, New York, Berlin... etc. all of which have resulted in their own kind of groups. The products of this movement are usually satirical and non-sensical in a way. The people from the movement had considered that nationalism has led to a war. Dada was the first art movement ever that put focus on making things ugly, compared to the other movements, where the focus was on crafting aesthetically pleasing pieces.

Their goal was both to help stop the war and to release frustration with the nationalist and middle-class conventions. Dada artists ultimately revolutionized the art-making that would continue to leave marks on the future.

Answer 2

The correct answer is b. World War I

The horror of World War I, which estimates killed more than 37 million people, and skepticism on the modern society in rising, was one of the reasons for the Dadaists to launch their manifest. In 1916, the poet Hugo Ball opened the Cabaret Voltaire, a place that gathered the members of that art movement. Six years later the artistic movement was dissolved, but their ideas influenced the Surrealist, the Constructivist and even the Contemporary Art.

Step-by-step explanation:

In 1917, the most prominent Dadaist artwork was presented in New York City. It was Marcel Duchamp’s The Fountain, which consisted of a signed urinal, causing an outrageous reaction of the audience. With it, Duchamp challenged the art institutions, presenting his first ready-made – an object that isn’t product of artistic construction, but an appropriation of something made by industry and relocated to artistical environments.

The reason for that was to discuss the role of art, but also how it was regulated by institutions and the market. Could the artistic aurea be placed on an ordinary object? And this question is still something that Art History is still discussing. Therefore, the Dadaists questioned other institutions in western society, like tradition, capitalism, nationalism, religion, etc…

Those were the ingredients that culminated in World War I, and according to them, we were living in chaotic and in crisis society. The traditional art media were attacked as they were a symbol of that society, so they basically worked on objects that weren’t related to painting, sculpture and even architecture. The ready-mades and photomontage were widely used by those artists.

Beyond Duchamp and Ball, John Heartfield, Wieland Herzfeld, George Grosz, and Kurt Schwitters were part of the group. Besides they were living in different countries, they were constantly in touch and boardless, something that is so usual in contemporaneity.