The Absorption Of Dada Essay, Research Paper

Dada and Surrealism are two similar forms of art, not in appearance, but in the subject matter, and the role of the viewer. The Quote ”Dada became absorbed into Surrealism which then became the Dadaism of the successful.” is a statement of truth.

Dada was developed in Switzerland, just after the Great War, now known as World War One. It was a cry against reason and logic. The people were misled by the government, science and art. If everything that was supposes to be good and logical was demolished by the insanity of war. There is nothing left but insanity itself. The Dadaist put this into their art. They took things out of context and said, deal with it. The Dadaists would try to shock people to get their attention. They said that if the art had a meaning, that it was the viewer who had to come to their own conclusion. It means something different for every person.

The Surrealist attempted to bring the subconscious to the conscious life. According to the Surrealist Manifesto, The artist should break from the demands from conventional society. The Surrealist’s also believed that the viewer had to bring his or her own meaning to the piece of art. They believed that you had to look past logic and let the subconscious flow out. They used ideas from Sigmund Freud, to let them express the subconscious.

The Quote “Dada became absorbed into Surrealism which then became the Dadaism of the successful.” can be explained like this. They both dabbled with the subconscious, but in different ways. The Dadaist’s were using the irrational, which is part of the subconscious. The Surrealist’s used different modes of thinking they used Freud’s ideas of free association, and dream analysis. All the elements of Dada were in Surrealism. To have a surrealist artwork, it has to include the elements of Dada. Dada faded into Surrealism. The more successful artists knew this, and took advantage of it. Dada and Surrealism have the same roots in the subconscious.