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RefusingthePast,OpposingtheFuture…
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TedisregardforthepasttraditionacquirednewfeaturesinDadaism.Tzara
wroteintheDadaManifestoof1918:
Leteverymanshout:thereisagreatdestructive,negativeworktobedone.Wemust
sweepandclean.Tecleanlinessoftheindividualisestablishedaftermadness,theaggres-
sivecompletemadnessofaworldleftinthehandsofbandits,whotoreanddestroyed
thecenturies.Withneitheraimnorplan,withoutorganisation:uncontrollablemadness,
decomposition.9(1963:33)
SodeartoDadaism,thesenseofrevoltandthenegativeworkofdestructionare
clearlyevidentinthequotedexcerpt;atthesametime,itamusinglyintends
toparaphraseawatchword,sofashionableinperiodsofwar.Teuseoftheword
Kcleanliness’andsimilarreferenceshighlightsDadaism’sultimategoalofgetting
ridofpreviousvaluesratherthanestablishingnewones.Suchactivityisrelated
toaKmad’stateofmindthatisincomprehensivetothepublic.Curiously,Tzara’s
textcouldfitintotheFuturiststyleifitwasnotfortheappearanceofKfoolishness.’
Bygettingridofthepreviousvaluesthroughafoolishactivity,Dadaturnsout
tobeincapableofestablishingnewones,sincesuchactivityisdevelopedKwith
neitheraimnorplan.’
TedilerenceinDada’sapproachtocollectivememoryliesinthedesiretoabol-
ishconventionsthroughabreakwiththepast—consideredtobethesourceofdis-
appointments—butalsothroughabreakwiththefuture.Moreprecisely,Dada
intendedtobreakwiththeformofthefuturethatwasforeseenbyaparticularpres-
ent.Anactualfutureofnovelty,forDada,shouldnotbesystematicallyinvestigated,
sincethisinvestigationalreadymeantitspredetermination.
Inordertoappreciatesuchabreakwiththefuture,onemayrememberthatthe
fundamentalelementaddedtothedisconnectionofDadaistsinrelationtoother
avant-gardemovements,particularlyFuturism,wastheexperienceofthewar.Te
valuesonwhichWorldWarIwasprimarilybased,asstatedbefore,enteredinaperi-
odofrelativedecadenceafter1915.Atthattime,theideologyofprogress,defended
bytheFuturists,wasprofoundlydoubted,togetherwithitssupposedcorrelates
ofdominationofnature,re-establishmentofequalityamongmenandfulfilmentof
materialneedsinanearandreachablefuture.InaclearoppositiontoFuturism,
Dadaismwouldclaimnonationality.
Teexpressioncontrelefuture(Kagainstthefuture’)figuredinDadaisttextsfrom
thetimeofthefirstmanifesto.Itappearedsidebysidewithdilerentstatements
thathighlightedtheinevitabletransienceofallbeliefs.Amongthemwere:KWisely
weknowthatourbrainswillbecomecosypillows’10andKDADAremainswithin
9
Quechaquehommecrie:ilyaungrandtravaildestructif,négatif,daccomplir.Balayer,nettoyer.
Lapropretédel’individus’afrmeaprèsl’étatdefolie,defolieagressive,complète,d’unmondelaisséentre
lesmainsdesbanditsquidéchirentetdétruisentlessiècles.Sansbutnidessein,sansorganisation:lafolie
indomptable,ladecomposition.
10
Noussavonssagementquenoscerveauxdeviendrontdescoussinsdouillets.
