The Relationship Between Modern Art and Dadaism

The most typical characteristic of the modern arts has been breaking with more traditional forms, embracing innovation, abstraction, and new forms of expression. Dadaism was perhaps one of the most influential movements within the modern art movement; it erupted in the early 20th century as a reaction to the atrocities of World War I. In its purest form, it negated the very essence of artistic norms and threw down into question where art and society could be drawn. Only through understanding the relationship between modern art and Dadaism does one come to appreciate just how radical these ideas were in forming contemporary art forms.

Dadaism or Anti-Art Movement was an anti-war movement which emerged around 1916 in Zurich, Switzerland. These artists and intellectuals believed rationality and logic should not have led to a war. The Dadaists excluded reason, order, and convention, instead embracing chaos, absurdity, and spontaneity. This exclusion of tradition and authority had a direct impact on modern art and lead artists to divorce themselves from the classical forms and embrace various mediums and techniques somewhat unorthodox.

In essence, Dadaism was a questioning of what art can be.  Shocked the public, these challenged preconceptions about beauty, craftsmanship, and value in art. Dada paved the way for later movements such as Surrealism and Abstract Expressionism when it opened up possibilities for the unconscious mind, for chance, and abstract forms.

As a matter of fact, modern art encompasses Cubism, Futurism, Expressionism, and even others that emerged as trends away from the traditional aesthetic. At any rate, while modern art expressed the speed at which the industrial world was transforming through abstract thinking and novel points of view, Dadaism denies the very notion of sense and purpose in art. Conversely, conceptual art is a subset where the idea behind the work is more vital than the physical entity.

In conclusion, Dadaism helped define modern art in its radical break with tradition, opening a space for experimentation and expression. Dadaism was not just questioning the very notion of what art is, but liberated many from those preconceived notions of what art was by breaking free from constraints. The Relationship Between Modern Art and Dadaism