Beginning in neutral Zurich, Switzerland, in response to the horrors of the First World War, Dadaism developed as an "anti-art" movement.
Influenced by various movements such as Cubism, Futurism, Constructivism and Expressionism, Dadaism encompassed the visual arts, literature, poetry, theatre, music and graphic design. In addition to being anti-war, he was anti-bourgeois and had political affinities with the far left. The art produced individually by the Dadaists rejected artistic conventions and was extravagant, colourful and absurd. Determined to provoke impact, indignation and offense, all Dadaists sought to show irreverence and disrespect. It all started when various artists and writers gathered at Cabaret Voltaire, a nightclub owned by writer Hugo Ball (1886-1927) in Zurich. The name of the movement was chosen by the poet Tristan Tzara (1896-1963). He deliberately sought an absurd word in a dictionary. "Dada" meant "battle horse" in French, "yes, yes" in Russian and Romanian, and absolutely nothing in most other languages. These aggressive and sarcastic attitudes quickly spread to many other cities, such as Berlin, Hanover, Paris, New York and Cologne, where new groups emerged. Dadaism was the first conceptual art movement in which artists intentionally posed difficult questions about society, the role of artists and the purpose of art.
There was no predominant technique among the Dadaists; everything was allowed, and often so-called ready-mades were used, while some artists made collages with waste and others presented performances. The scandal they provoked was deliberate, but the impact could not last indefinitely, and the movement quickly lost its strength, replaced by surrealism.

MAIN ARTISTS: HANS ARP • MARCEL DUCHAMP • HANNAH HÖCH • FRANCIS PICABIA • MAN RAY • KURT SCHWITTERS