Dada: expression with scrap materials

Dada artwork, or also known as the movement "Dadaism", is commonly termed 'anti-art'. However what began as protest to World War 1 soon grew into a logical stream of expression.

The emergence of assemblage artwork during this time is of notable importance to the future development of modern and post-modern art history. These assemblages consisted of found objects, wood, wire, metal, and trash that were combined in an interesting manner. Most noted for his assemblages was Kurt Schwitters, a German artist and contributor to Dada. Schwitters searched out for materials on the streets to create his art works. With essentially useless materials, he created unified designs that incorporated all elements of design.

The image above is titled "Merz Konstruction" by Kurt Schwitters

Here is another one of Schwitter's pieces. His is also fully recognized for his collage work, which he bagman making at the age of 30. As a side note, I also discovered that his work was banned by the Nazi regime in 1937 and dubbed as "degenerate" artwork.

This movement also provided inspiration for other artists in the 20th century that did not align with Dada. With that being said, Joseph Cornell and Robert Rauschenberg. Both these artists used appropriation to create the aesthetic the Dadaists strived for.

Joseph Cornell, an assemblage artist born in the early 1900's, teetered the distinct line between constructivism and surrealism in his artwork. Unlike Schwitter's, Cornell didn't use trash but fragments of once precious objects.

This assemblage, titled Defense d'Afficher, is from 1940. 


Robert Rauschenberg, on the other hand, used trash and common place items to construct his combine artworks. I believe there is still a tangible remain of Dadaism in these works. The way these artist's reject working materials in favor of trash, objects, and scrap materials is very similar to the Dada standard and mimics their voice of rejection to intellectualism.

"Canyon" by Rauschenberg. 1959