(B) Dada - A very brief history

Dada – A very brief history

Dada was an intellectual movement that started in Zurich in 1916. The world was at war, and neutral Switzerland had become a refuge for artists opposed to the war. And, Zurich, with its colony of foreign free thinking intellectuals, was perfect for Dada.

In the summer of 1916, Hugo Ball read his Dada manifesto in the Cabaret Voltaire in Zurich. Simply put, Dada was against everything to do with the war and against everything bourgeoisie that had led to the start of the war.

And, Dada was exciting and always scurile. Dada included poetry, painting,writing, theatre and everything else imaginable, too. And, Dada hit the right note. Dada quickly spread from Zurich to the rest of the world.

There were Dada movements everywhere. And, the people involved were impressive. Amongst them, Francis Picabra, Marcel Duchamp, Man Ray, Kurt Schwitters, Hannah Höch, and very many other fine individualists, too.

But, Dada, in its original form, only lasted until 1922. Its reason for being had run out of steam. No war and nothing to object to.

And, nowadays, Dada still lives on as a living Dada museum. There are still many Dada groups throughout the world. And, they faithfully continue to put on, perform and recite original Dada. And, the Cabaret Voltaire has become a shrine to the sacred memory of Dada and Hugo Ball.

And, why not? Dada, after all, was a movement that burned with a passion of white hot feeling. Dada questioned, rejected and questioned again. Nothing was sacred, not even Dada itself.

Dada's demise was due to its attempts at self-regulation and the making of rules. And, that wasn't Dada! Dada was a child of its time that sadly never grew up! And that, in a way, was Dada as well. Nj – 2016

Vocabulary

demise – the end

founded – started

it turned out – as it happened

movements – active groups

refuge – place of safety

Questions

What was Dada against?

Why did Dada start in Switzerland?

Why was Zurich perfect for Dada?

Who founded the Cabaret Voltaire?

What did Dada include?

Why did Dada become international?

What are your feelings towards Dada?

 Nj – 2016