Dada- Is it Art or Not?

The Dada movement was a European literary and artistic movement lasting from 1916 to 1923.  It began in Zurich, Switzerland as a reaction to World War I.  Dadaists believed that the war was irrational, and the reasons for it- nationalism and rationalism- were absurd.  Therefore, these protestors began a movement that mocked the direction their society was headed in.  

Fountain by Marcel Duchamp

They decided that Dadaism consisted of  "non-art." This art form did not really make sense, and has very little significance if we only pay attention to the art itself.  The rationale behind WHY the Dada movement occurred is what makes the movement significant.  Otherwise, the art was extremely odd and meaningless.  Artwork from this movement is mostly colorful, sarcastic, silly, odd, and sometimes scattered.  A well-known example is Fountain by Marcel Duchamp (shown to the right).  This is exactly what it looks like- a picture of a urinal signed by "R. Mutt."  This is just one of the many examples of ridiculous, bizarre Dada artwork.

Deciding on a title for this movement was not easy.  Richard Huelsenbeck ultimately came up with the term by randomly sticking a knife into a dictionary.  "Dada" is French for a hobbyhorse.  It also mimics the first words of a child, which was particularly attractive due to the foolish and childish nature of the movement.  

The Dada movement was just an odd and absurd reaction to to World War I.  It was influenced by Cubism, Futurism, Constructivism, and Expressionism, yet it was far more meaningless than any of those styles.  The absurdity of this movement is what makes the concept difficult to grasp- it is not art, but it is- Dadaism is simple, yet so baffling.

SOURCES:
http://www.theartstory.org/movement-dada.htm
http://arthistory.about.com/cs/arthistory10one/a/dada.htm
http://www.pbs.org/greatwar/
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/duch/hd_duch.htm
http://mama.indstate.edu/users/dada/huelsenbeck.html
http://phomul.canalblog.com/archives/stieglitz__alfred/index.html (picture)