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SaraHartmann
manandmachineinaspontaneouseruptionofnewpossibilities.Tisfactinevita-
blyprecludedtherecognitionofalegacy,orevencontinuity,betweenotheravant-
-gardeprojectsandtheFuturistKnewworld.’
DestructiveDada
WhenthewordKdada’emergedasthesignofadestructiveandatthesametime
naïveculturalmovementin1916,6thedisconnectednessitadvocatedwaspartofan
alreadyestablishedethos.Dada,orDadaism,intendedtobreakwithanyprevious
formofartandconventionbyadvocatingspontaneityandactivesimplicity.Itpre-
senteditselfwiththeurgetodisorderanyestablishedorder,todestroyanyprevious
formorformula,tolaughatallseriousnessandrespectability.Dadaistshadanacute
senseofthearbitrarinessofrecognitionandsuccess,aswellasofthegenerallyshort
durationofthesephenomena.Also,theyknewKthat[their]anti-dogmatism[was]
moreexclusivistthanthebureaucrat,that[theywere]notfreeandthat[they]pro-
claim[ed]freedom’7(Tzara1963:11).
Dadaism,inmanyways,developedagainstFuturism.Havingemergedinthe
middleofWorldWarI,mostlyamongimmigrantsinneutralSwitzerland,itposi-
tioneditselfclearlyagainsttheconflictandasanheirtothedamageitcaused.But
bothmovementshadincommonwhatwouldlaterserveasdilusedemblemsofthe
Europeanavant-garde:thecontemptforpastmodelsandtraditions—especiallyin
thefieldsofartandliterature—thesystematicdisseminationofideasandthesearch
fornewformsofexpressionthatdispensedimmediatecomprehensibilityandpublic
recognition.
Self-ironyplayedanimportantroleinDadaism,sothatitsfollowerscollectively
subscribedneithertotheirancestorsnortothechangestakingplaceinmodernity.
Dadacouldbedefinedasaspiritofrevoltblowingagainstallconformity;thatis,
thehatredofsystemsbythedilusionofspontaneityanddecomposition.According
tothefamousformulaofHausmann,KDadaiswhatyoucanmakeoutofyourself’
(Herbst1968)—itexpressedaformofmentalitythatincludedartsinthefightfor
newethics.AccordingtoHugnet,ontheotherhand,italsodenotedthosewho,
Kbycontemptforlogicandsystematicdenial,byscandalandlaughterintheiratti-
tudetowardslifeandtowardsart,participatedinthisstateofmindleadingtothe
subversionofallacceptedvalues’8(1976:73).
6
Asisfrequentlyevoked,TristanTzara,JeanArpandRichardHuelsenbeckKfound’theword
Kdada’intherandomslidingofapapercutterbetweenthepagesofadictionary.
7
Quenotreanti‑dogmatismeestaussiexclusivistequelefonctionnaireetquenousnesommespas
libresetcrionsliberté.
8
Ceuxqui,parleméprisdelalogiqueetlanégationerigéeensystème,parlescandaleetleriredans
leuratitudedevantlavieetdevantl’art,participérentdecetétatd’espritvisantaurenversémentdetoutes
lesvaleursadmises.
