Assignment/Activity Title

Dada Project
Skill
Media, Creative, and Group Dynamics
Media &Communications

Year 2016
Portfolio Competency

The Dada project was one of much controversy. Dada was a historical art
movement that took place throughout Europe, and later the United States in the early
1900s. The purpose of the Dada movement was to reveal flaws in art that portrayed a
perfect life. Dadaists made fun of this art by using extreme means, such as placing a
mustache on the Mona Lisa. Considering the Mona Lisa is one of the most famous works
of art of all time, the idea of placing a mustache on it is seemingly ridiculous. However,
the ridiculousness of the mustache exaggerates the idea that pretending that life is
perfect is hypocritical.
We were placed into small groups and told to create a multi-layer presentation that
sent a clear message about an important cause. This project was assigned to us the
week that the shocking 2016 presidential election results were released. Our group felt
very strongly about the results, so our project centered on the impact of Donald Trumps
beliefs and statements on the people of the United States. We portrayed the president
elect feeding the citizens of the United States cereal from boxes labeled Misogyny,
Sexism, and Racism. The citizens literally ate up every word spoken by Donald
Trump, symbolizing their extreme influence on the country.
There were numerous challenges that came along with the Dada project. Since we
needed more than one aspect of performance, we layered our script with audial quotes
of Donald Trump. One of our group members took on the role of editing the quotes. It
was important that the entire message behind Trumps words were clearly conveyed, but
also that there werent lengthy and unnecessary pauses in our script. After our first
performance we received comments on this, so our group member edited the clips in a
way that did not compromise them. The technical components of this project were tricky,
but the subject matter was challenging on a deeper level. The election of Donald Trump
is devastating to the majority of the people in my life and still a realization that I struggle
with. The Dada project forced me to accept that life is not perfect.

Student Signature (Print here:

Teacher Signature

) Date

Date