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DadaThe Revolt of Art 1915—1925 Dadaism is one of those movements in modern art which had an amazingly short life but a lasting influence. It flourished for not much more than the decade between 1915 and 1925, yet some of its legacy is still with us.
What came out of it that will be of enduring value? Well, certainly the use of montage in graphic design is still with us, as is production in what we now call 'mixed media'. The work of Raoul Hausmann, Georg Groz, John Heartfield, and Kurt Schwitters still seems fresh today - though Schwitters was actually refused membership of the 'official' Dada group, to which he responded by setting up his own one-man movement, called Merz. As a 'movement' (though it was never coherent) it spread quickly from its birthplace in Zurich to Berlin, Paris, and even New York. But its principal adherents were forever disagreeing with each other or even repudiating their own former beliefs. By the early 1920s Dada was ready to be swept up by the much stronger forces of surrealism. This monograph is beautifully illustrated and it ends with a collection of the key declarations and manifestos of the period for those who want a taste of what was thought to be radical protest in art at the time. There's also a very good bibliography. Pocket size in format and price, it's an excellent introduction to the subject. © Roy Johnson 2006 [more ART books] Marc Dachy, Dada: The Revolt of Art, London: Thames and Hudson, 2006, pp.127, ISBN 0500301190
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