Dada or Dadaism was an artistic and literary movement that started in
Europe when World War I was raging on. Because of the war, artists and writers,
many from France and Germany, moved to Switzerland, which was neutral in the
war. Instead of being relieved that they had escaped, they were furious with
the modern society. So, they decided to show their protest through art. They
decided to create non-art since art in the society anyway had no meaning.
These so-called non-artists turned to creating art that had soft
obscenities, humor, puns and everyday objects. The most controversial painting
was by Marcel Duchamp, he painted a mustache on a copy of the Mona Lisa and
scribbled obscenities under it. He also created a sculpture called Fountain,
which was just a urinal without the fittings and a fake signature.
The public was shocked and disgusted by the movement. However, the
Dadaists found this encouraging. And, slowly the movement spread from Zurich to
other parts of the world. Just as many mainstream artists were thinking about
this movement seriously, the Dada movement dissolved in the early 1920s.
