Dadaism << DAH duh ihz uhm >>, a protest movement in the arts, was formed in 1916 by a group of artists and poets in Zurich, Switzerland. The Dadaists reacted to what they believed were outworn traditions in art and to the evils that they saw in society. They tried to shock and provoke the public with outrageous demonstrations, cabaret performances, poetry recitals, and art exhibits. Much Dada art was playful and highly experimental. According to one report, dada, the French word for hobbyhorse, was chosen because it was nonsensical.
Dada founders included Romanian poet Tristan Tzara, French artist Jean Arp, Romanian artist Marcel Janco, and German poet Hugo Ball. Later members included French artist Francis Picabia, French poets Louis Aragon and Andre Breton, and German artists Max Ernst and Kurt Schwitters. Though not strictly a member of Dada, French artist Marcel Duchamp was working in the Dada spirit as early as 1913. Dada assumed its most radical and political character in Germany, where World War I (1914-1918) had led to severe economic hardship. The appearance of Dada in Paris led to the development of Surrealism, another protest movement in the arts, in 1924.
