The History of DADA

[BRASSO]

.

Most of the Dadaists did have some Communist sympathies . . . but hindsight is 20/20. Commmunism was still mostly theory at the time, it was impossible to know what shape it would ultimately take when put into practice.

.

As a point of historical context since you mentioned " Communist Sympathies " the young Vladimir Lenin in fact lived in Zurich at the time a few blocks from the Cabaret Voltaire, and was a frequent visitor to the chaos at the nightclub there. Fundamentally though, the Dadaists that congregated in Zurich were primarily Anarchists, not Communists, and several of these people gathered there had well known virulent anti- semitic tendencies that surfaced from time to time, even within their group itself and which caused almost daily friction within the Dadaists ranks there itself.

Edited July 23, 2012 by BRASSO

[supersop]

This has been fun catching up on the convo. Some of you have inspired me to get a library card for the first time in 20 years :)

With everything that's being discussed .. I'm still trying to figure out what BD is trying to say with their show. It expresses DADA without being DADA ... is that as deep as it goes? I really have to wonder.

[Cron]

This has been fun catching up on the convo. Some of you have inspired me to get a library card for the first time in 20 years :)

With everything that's being discussed .. I'm still trying to figure out what BD is trying to say with their show. It expresses DADA without being DADA ... is that as deep as it goes? I really have to wonder.

The expression of an idea need not embrace the ideals of said idea in expressing...

[tariq.shah]

STUPID HIPSTERS!!!! Terrible people, them and their fake glasses and fake sense of irony

Grrr Hipsters!! Let's beat them all up!

[wallace]

I'm not sure that the Blue Devil's show fits into what I've read about Dada.

"Dada had only one rule: Never follow any known rules."

BD is playing to the sheets. They do it well. Each portion of the corps performs with excellent technique. They're following established rules and norms.

Not so Dada...

There you go. Case closed. Following rules means it's not dada. It's a redux.

[danguernsey]

I'm no fan of Dadaism, but your assessment isn't completely fair. Some of the Dadaists were rich, certainly most of them were pretentious, but most of them weren't cowards. Several Dadaists went on to fight in the Spanish Civil War on the side of the Republicans, some fought in various resistance movements in WWI. Some tried to enlist but were turned away for various reasons. The movement, like all art movements at that time, was heavily German . . .

Not true--"all art movements at the time," we're not "heavily German." What is your source material? Dada was short lived (1916-1923) with many regional variations. French Dada was less political, focusing mostly on socio-cultural themes [more humorous treatment of art, sexuality (biomorphism), and marriage]. German Dada was more political/communistic in the defeated country of WWI--more "dark" (eg, Grosz). Surrealism (1924-c. 1940), a predominantly French movement, dominated the European avant-garde in the interwar period. In addition, you had Dutch De Stijl in Holland and Purism ("L'Esprit Nouveau) and Neoclassicism in France, to name a few

Additionally, many of the more serious, thoughtful responses to the war - often by men who served in the conflict - were very much influenced by Dada even if they weren't Dadaist themselves. My favorite of these is Otto Dix.

He was part of the movement in Germany called "Neue Sachlichkeit" (The New Objectivity) of c. 1925-1933 (post-Dada). Dix shared some elements with Berlin Dada in mentality (pessimistic mood/anti-war), but radically different in style from the Dadaists (eg, Grosz). His works reveal a hard-edge realism in his treatment of subject matter (war vets, seedy underworld of Berlin), lacking in Dada (with some exceptions). Dix is arguably my favorite artist of the 1920s.

[jeff_demello]

Hehe ... it seems like more people spend a lot of time analyzing the show, which is not a bad thing.

I just like to watch it, without thinking, and take it all in!

[N.E. Brigand]

The expression of an idea need not embrace the ideals of said idea in expressing...

Ah, the imitative fallacy! That's one that hasn't been cited here before, I think.

"Imitative Fallacy I.A. Richards' terms for the attempt to make a poem's form (and its effect) reflect its content. The term is not necessarily derogatory, for the use of the technique is often effective in typographically arranged verse (see CARMEN FIGURATUM and CONCRETE POETRY). But the fallacious aspect of the strategy can be pointed out by asking, 'Should a poem about confusion be confusing?'"

source: Dictionary of Poetic Terms (Jack Elliot Myers & Don C. Wukasch)

[Njfritz]

Another thing that bothers me about the show: Its about DaDaism, yet it rarely references DaDa art.

Then again, if it did it would probably be too inappropriate? Would the corps spelling out "L.H.O.O.Q." be too raunchy for drum corps? haha.

[hrnguy500]

I think they are sending a message. Something along the lines of "We know most of you don't like us and where we are going, BUT we don't care. We are who we are and we don't care what you think."

They are trying to push the envelope just like The Cadets and Star have done before them.

I do wonder if people would like this show just as much if they were not as talented as they are today, if they were not executing as highly as they are.