Isabella Workman

Graphic Design

GDES10001

Year 1

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Discuss the ways in which art or design movements responded to the changing
technological, social and political climate in Europe, c.1907 - c.1930. Discuss how
influential your selected movement/s has/have been.

The Dada movement transpired as a result of the atrocities caused by World War 1; the artists wanted to
create work that was “anti-art and had a strong negative and destructive element”, to reflect the chaos
and disruption caused by the War (Meggs, 2016, p787). The Dada Manifesto, written by Tristian Tzara in
1918, gives us a thorough insight into how the foundations of Dada are based on being unclear and
nonsensical. It states that Dadaist work consists of “continuous contradiction” (Cramer and Grant, 2020)
which is possibly reflective of the pre-war, traditional mindset of society which was thrown into disarray by
the haphazard nature of war and the restrictions subsequently imposed. I will explore how key artists such
as Marcel Duchamp and Raoul Hausmann were inspired by the earlier movements of Futurism
(1909–1914) and Cubism (1908–1919) before Dadaism itself was formed, and how influential the Dada
movement has been on 21st century design. I will discuss how Dada responded to technological
advances, oppressive post-war lifestyle and politics of the era by pushing the boundaries of logic and
conformity.

The Dada movement originated in Zurich, Switzerland in 1916 and lasted until 1926. Hugo Ball, a German
pacifist, started the movement by forming Cabaret Voltaire; a group of artists and designers that craved
complete artistic freedom, exhibiting performance art such as dance, music and poetry (Eskilson, 2007).
Early Dadaists expanded upon the Futurist idea of the “publication of manifestos, typographic
experimentation, and publicity stunts” (Meggs, 2016), demonstrated by Ball reciting a sound poem
Karawane (Fig. 1), beginning “jolifanto bambla o falli bambla” (Cramer and Grant, 2020). These
performances were seen to be confusing and chaotic, with “simultaneous contrasts of speech and noise”
(Eskilson, 2007). This array of incoherent speech is reflected in the word Dada which “exemplifies the
group’s iconoclastic spirit, because the word is essentially meaningless” (Eskilson, 2007). His cardboard
costume was restricting, so much so that Ball couldn’t move without help (Cramer and Grant, 2020).
These physical restrictions juxtapose with the freedom of speech and overall idea of liberation associated
with Dada. Eskilson argued that (2010, p132) “Dada artists sought to pursue social and artistic change
through anarchic aesthetic projects”. The visual and audible disarray inflicted upon the Cabaret Voltaire
audiences reflected the chaotic state of the world after the Great War.

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Fig. 1 – Photograph of Hugo ball reciting the Sound poem Karawane (1917)

The French artist Marcel Duchamp also yearned for complete artistic freedom. Before the war, Duchamp
was asked to withdraw his Cubist inspired work entitled Nude Descending a Staircase, No.2 (Fig. 2) prior
to it being exhibited as it was deemed inappropriate (Tate).

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Fig. 2 – Marcel Duchamp, Nude Descending a Staircase, No.2 (1912)

Duchamp was compliant, however, this became a turning point in his career as his work became less
conformist and more surreal. He began exploring a new style of work he called ‘readymades’ (Howarth,
2000), one of his most notorious examples being Fountain (Fig. 3). Wanting to explore how far he could
push what would be accepted within society as art, Duchamp entered the piece for exhibition at the Grand
Central Palace displaying the name ‘R. Mutt 1917’ on the side of the urinal (Howarth, 2000), thereby
ensuring his fellow Society of Independent Artists directors were not influenced by his entry. The
monochromatic piece is clean and white, with the crude black dripping paint tarnishing the purity and

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cleanliness of the porcelain. This could be a direct political response to how the first world war, often
perceived to be an unnecessary waste of life, tarnished everything in Europe.

Fig. 3 – Marcel Duchamp, Fountain (1917, replica 1964)

Dadaists similarly defied convention in graphic design. Like Duchamp, the Romanian poet Tristin Tzara
used Dada journals to reject tradition reflecting the needs of a society tired of living under oppressive post
war restrictions. The first two issues demonstrated classic typographic and layout design, but Dada 3 (Fig.
4) displayed Dadaist traits; using overlapping typography with mixtures of serif and sans-serif types and
variations in scale. Meggs (2016, p795) states how Dadaists “helped to strip typographic design of its
traditional precepts”. This typographic exploration influenced modern graphic design with layering and
layout experimentation inspiring designers such as David Carson. Eskilson argued that the Dada 3 design
attempted to shock its viewers due to it “[signifying] the revolutionary character of Dada thought”
(Eskilson, 2010, p134).

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Fig. 4 – Tristan Tzara, Dada 3 (1917)

Rauol Haussman’s Spirit of Age: Mechanical Head (Fig. 5) created in 1920 links strongly to the changing
social and technological climate in Europe. Made shortly after the war, the monotone, lifeless facial
expression of this wooden head could be anyone; a soldier or a civilian. The lack of individuality is
reiterated by a number in a serif type attached to the front of the head. It highlights the absurdity of the
millions of lives lost, arguably for no reason, and may have been an attack on the government implying it
had no value for life and saw citizens as “pawns” (Harris and Zucker, 2018). The sad tone is reinforced by
the mellow colour palette, which could represent the sad and impoverished situation of many Europeans

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as a result of the War. Attached to the head, a wallet signifies how “modern capitalism [was] a driving
force in violence of war and corruption of german society” (Harris and Zucker, 2018). Furthermore, the
mechanical attachments may be indicative of the war-related technological advances in transportation
and machinery. Arguably ahead of its time, this piece combines technology and humanity, not seen
predominantly until the end of the 20th century. The unkempt installation inspired future movements such
as Assemblage Art and artists such as Robert Rauschenberg, who channeled this freedom and
experimental use of materials within his own work.

Fig. 5 – Raoul Hausmann, Spirit of the Age: Mechanical Head (1919)

Marcel Duchamp embraced new technology by experimenting with materials and techniques to create
“psycho-physiological effects: [and] destabilize vision” (Décimo, 2007, p44). Rotary Glass Plates (Fig. 6)
and Rotary Demisphere (Fig. 7) were both ground-breaking pieces made five years apart. Similar in
theory and execution, they used motion to explore illusion and create “visual effects in the eye of the
viewer” (Pohlad, 2021). The concept of a moving focal point later influenced “Op Art” in the 1960s and
1970s” and more recent graphic designers such as John Maeda.

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Fig. 6 – Marcel Duchamp, Rotary Glass Plates (Precision Optics) (1920)

Fig. 7 – Marcel Duchamp, Rotary Demisphere (Precision Optics) (1925)

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The German artist Hannah Höch was the only female in the Dada movement. Alongside artists like Rauol
Haussman, Höch was a Berlin Dadaist; the group known for focusing on politics in response to post-war
Germany. Her piece Cut with the Kitchen Knife Dada through the Last Weimar Beer-Belly Cultural Epoch
in Germany (Fig. 8) was made with collage, photomontage and watercolour, and was “wholly embraced
by Berlin Dada as a form of political and social critique” (Barber, 2020). It was made as an attack on the
government post-war whilst simultaneously commenting on gender roles through celebrating women and
patronising men. The composition includes imagery of prominent political figures in Germany and
embraced the current technological climate by depicting imagery of machinery. The overlapping, unkempt
layout of the collage reflects the chaotic political state of Germany which was at the time enduring
rebellions and uprisings against the government, such as the Spartacist rebellion. The dull colour palette
produces a sombre tone with a sporadic burst of blue in the background which could signify hope. The
multiple references to Dada through the cut out text included amongst the imagery, raises awareness for
the movement. Cramer and Grant suggest this piece was a statement on misogyny as well as politics,
saying how the extensive title was used to represent how a kitchen knife, was used to “cut through the
(implied masculine) bloated and self-indulgent political class” after the war in Germany (Cramer and
Grant, 2020). She gained the status of being a “New Woman”, which further strengthened her thoughts on
gender roles (Barber, 2020). The piece can be split up into four sections; the upper right corner is known
as the “anti-Dada”, below is the “world of Dadaists”, in the lower left corner is “join Dada” and above is
“Dada is not an art trend” (Barber, 2020). In the lower left quadrant she uses collage to manipulate how
the men look, mocking them by putting them on babies bodies and insulting their masculinity. As a “New
Woman” commenting on politics and gender roles, this influential piece gave a voice to the unheard
women in society at the time. Depicting men as being inferior to women, the piece celebrated women and
belittled leading political men. Dadaists like Höch claimed to have created photomontage, a technique
that artists like Peter Kennard used years later.

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Fig. 8 – Hannah Höch, Cut with the Kitchen Knife Dada through the Last Weimar Beer-Belly Cultural
Epoch in Germany (1919-20)

Dadaism’s response to an oppressed post-war society was “a defining phenomenon in the evolution of
modernism” (Sandqvist, 2006, p10). It challenged convention through its newfound artistic approaches
such as photomontage, typographical exploration, and illusive pieces. It’s abstract absurdity was an
inspirational springboard for future movements such as Op Art and Assemblage Art. Having “pushed its
negative activities to the limit” and “lacking a unified leadership”, Dada went on to inspire Surrealism after

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it ended, with artists such as Tzara joining this subsequent movement (Meggs, 2016, p795). Surrealism
drew inspiration from elements of Dada but had a different focal point; where Dadaism was more political,
it focused on the “true function of thought” (Meggs, 2016, p802). Chadwick states that Dada was “one of
the main contributors to contemporary art practices since its revival as Neo-Dada in the 1960s”
(Chadwick, 2017).

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ACADEMIC SOURCES

1. Art Term: Photomontage [online]. Available at:

https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/p/photomontage [Accessed 26th February 2021]
2. Barber, K., 2020. Hannah Höch, Cut with the Kitchen Knife Dada Through the Last Weimar Beer
Belly Cultural Epoch of Germany [online]. Available at:
https://smarthistory.org/hannah-hoch-cut-kitchen-knife-dada-weimar-beer-belly-germany/
3. Chadwick, S., 2017. Introduction to Dada [online]. Available at:
https://smarthistory.org/introduction-to-dada/ [Accessed 26th February 2021]
4. Clark, R., 2013. Marcel Duchamp’s Rotoreliefs. Guggenheim Blogs [online blog], June 5th.
Available at: https://www.guggenheim.org/blogs/findings/marcel-duchamps-rotoreliefs [Accessed
1st March 2021]
5. Corvino, S., 2020. Lecture 05 Part B. [Lecture to Graphic Design, Nottingham Trent University]. 2
November
6. Cramer, C. and Grant, K., 2020. Dada Manifesto [online]. Available at:
https://smarthistory.org/dada-manifesto/ [Accessed 26th February 2021]
7. Cramer, C. and Grant, K., 2020. Dada Performance [online]. Available at:
https://smarthistory.org/dada-performance/ [Accessed 26th February 2021]
8. Cramer, C. and Grant, K., 2020. Dada Readymades [online]. Available at:
https://smarthistory.org/dada-readymades/ [Accessed 22nd February 2021]
9. Cramer, C. and Grant, K., 2020. Dada Collage [online]. Available at:
https://smarthistory.org/dada-collage/ [Accessed 22nd February 2021]
10. Démico, M., 2007. Marcel Duchamp and Eroticism [eBook]. Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars
Publishing 2021. Available via:
https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=JKghEAAAQBAJ&newbks=0&printsec=frontcover#v=onepa
ge&q&f=false [Accessed 7th March 2021]
11. Eskilson, S., 2007. Graphic Design: a new history [eBook]. Second edition. New Haven: Yale
University Press. Available via: Internet Archive [Accessed 2nd March 2021]
12. Folland, T., 2020. Erasing Ar: Rauschenberg’s Erased de Kooning Drawing [online]. Available at:
https://smarthistory.org/erasing-art-rauschenbergs-erased-de-kooning-drawing/ [Accessed 1st
March 2021]
13. Harris, B. and Zucker, Z., 2018. Raoul Hausmann, Spirit of the Age: Mechanical Head [online].
Available at: https://smarthistory.org/hausmann-head/ [Accessed 22nd February 2021]
14. Haworth, S., 2000. Marcel Duchamp: Fountain [online]. Available at:
https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/duchamp-fountain-t07573 [Accessed 26th February 2021]

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 15. Meggs, P. B. and Purvis, A. W., 2016. Megg’s History of Graphic Design [eBook]. Sixth Edition.
New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons. Available via: Vle Reader
16. Pohlad, M., 2021. Marcel Duchamp and the Viewer [online]. Available at:
https://smarthistory.org/duchamp-viewer/ [Accessed 1st March 2021]
17. Sandqvist, T 2006. Dada East:The Romanians of Cabaret Voltaire [eBook]. Cambridge: MIT
Press. Available via: ProQuest Ebook Central. [Accessed 3 March 2021]
18. World War I and Dada [online]. Available at:
https://www.moma.org/learn/moma_learning/themes/dada/ [Accessed 26th February 2021]

FIGURES

1. Ball, H., 1917. Karawane. [Photograph]. Smarthistory. Available at

https://smarthistory.org/dada-performance [Accessed 26th February 2021]
2. Duchamp, M., 1912. Nude Descending a Staircase, No.2 [oil on canvas]. Philadelphia Museum of
Art. Available at: https://smarthistory.org/duchamp-descending/ [Accessed 26th February 2021]
3. Duchamp, M.,1917 replica 1964. Fountain. [Porcelain]. Tate. Available at:
https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/duchamp-fountain-t07573 [Accessed 26th February 2021]
4. Tzara, T., 1917. Dada 3. [Original brochure with a woodcut by Marcel Janco]. Kunsthaus Zürich,
Library. Available at:
https://digital.kunsthaus.ch/dadaismus/en/dada-on-paper#!artwork/dada-3-tristan-tzara [Accessed
4th March 2021]
5. Hausmann, R., 1919. Spirit of the Age: Mechanical Head [Sculpture]. Centre Pompidou, Musée
National d’Art Moderne, Paris. Available at: https://smarthistory.org/hausmann-head/ [Accessed
22nd February 2021]
6. Duchamp, M., 1920. Rotary Glass Plates (Precision Optics) formerly titled as, Revolving Glass
Machine. [Painted glass, iron, electric motor, and mixed media (largest blade damaged in 2007
and replaced by facsimile in 2011)] Yale University Art Gallery, Connecticut. [online] Available at:
https://artgallery.yale.edu/collections/objects/43792 [Accessed 25th February 2021]
7. Duchamp, M., 1925. Rotary Demisphere (Precision Optics). [Painted papier-mâché demisphere
fitted on velvet-covered disk, copper collar with plexiglass dome, motor, pulley, and metal stand].
MoMA. Available at: https://www.moma.org/collection/works/81432 [Accessed 25th February
2021]
8. Höch, H., 1919-1920. Cut with the Kitchen Knife Dada through the Last Weimar Beer-Belly
Cultural Epoch in Germany. [Photomontage, collage, watercolour]. Staatliche Museen zu Berlin,
Nationalgalerie. [online] Available at: https://smarthistory.org/dada-collage/ [Accessed 5th March
2021]

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