Synopses & Reviews
The revolutionary Dada movement, though short-lived, produced a vast amount of creative work in both art and literature during the years that followed World War I. Rejecting all social and artistic conventions, Dadaists went to the extremes of provocative behavior, creating and#8220;anti-artand#8221; pieces that ridiculed and questioned the very nature of creative endeavor. To understand their movementand#8217;s heady mix of anarchy and nihilismand#8212;combined with a lethal dash of humorand#8212;itand#8217;s essential to engage with the artistsand#8217; most important writings and manifestos. And that is is precisely where this reader comes in.and#160;
Bringing together key Dada texts, many of them translated into English for the first time, this volume immerses readers in some of the most famous (and infamous) periodicals of the time, from Hugo Balland#8217;s Cabaret Voltaire and Francis Picabiaand#8217;s 391 to Marcel Duchampand#8217;s The Blind Man and Kurt Schwittersand#8217;s Merz. Published in Europe and the United States between 1916 and 1932, these journals constituted the movementand#8217;s lifeblood, communicating the desires and aspirations of the artists involved. In addition to providing the first representative selection of these texts, The Dada Reader also includes excerpts from many lesser-known American and Eastern European journals.and#160;
Compiled with both students and general readers in mind, this volume is necessary reading for anyone interested in one of the most dynamic and influential movements of the twentieth century.
About the Author
Dawn Ades is director of the Centre for Studies of Surrealism and its Legacies and professor of art history and theory at the University of Essex.
Table of Contents
IntroductionPart 1. Cabaret Voltaire, Dada, and Der Zeltweg
Part 2. Club Dada
Part 3. 391
Part 4. The Blind Man andand#160; New York Dada
Part 5. Littand#233;rature
Part 6. Die Schammade
Part 7. Cannibale, Z1, Projecteur and Le Coeur and#224; barbe
Part 8. Bleu
Part 9. Mand#233;cano
Part 10. Dada-Tank, Dada Jazz and Dada-Jok
Part 11. Merz
Part 12. G
Notes
Acknowledgments
Index