4 Takes on Dada

From these four excerpts I'm starting to gain an appreciation for all that is Dada. It's chaos, and not chaos at the same time, it's about being devoted and yet atheist towards conforming ideals. In a generalization, Dada is nothing and everything, although not necessarily at the same time, as Richard Huelsenbeck claimed, "He is not the same man today as tomorrow, the day after tomorrow he will perhaps be 'nothing at all' and then he may become everything". I think this is wonderful, whether it's dealing with art or life in general, it is not reasonable to expect people to be what they say they are all of the time. People need room to fluctuate their behaviors, their personalities. I'm not saying everyone needs to have multiple personalities because that can lend implications of transparency and dishonesty, however, the ability to empathize and understand different personalities and situations is pivotal in being an artist. I also especially enjoy Huelsenbeck's line about how the Dadaist is 'entirely devoted to the movement of life'. It's such a free sounding ideal, it doesn't seem constraining, but only focused on the betterment of one's life and art.

I also really enjoyed the excerpts from Tristan Tzara's Manifesto. By reading it aloud I really was able to get a better understanding of what he was saying. It was enjoyable how his words were so honest, exciting, and so poetic.