Dada Day

Celebrating the Art of Childish Nonsense

Dada was an early 20th-century art movement that began as a reaction to the culture and traditions of the time, radically rebuking a society they felt was responsible for World War I. The Dadaists created with anger, humor, and childlike immediacy. Common Dada mediums included collage, found objects, assemblages, and ridiculously terrible poetry. In an infamous Dada exhibition, visitors were invited to take axes to the works on display.

I’m very new to parenting (my daughter is just six months old), but I expect fatherhood to contain moments of whimsy, playful destruction, and occasional rebellion in the spirit of Dada. Hopefully without the axes.

References:

1. Dada,edited by Rudolf Kuenzli
2. A Dictionary of Twentieth-Century Art by Ian Chilvers