difference between dada and surrealism
March 5, 2010 7:55 PM Subscribe
what are the major differences between Dada and surrealism? I am doing a essay and can't seem to find much info on this, please help :)
This post was deleted for the following reason: homeworkfilter -- mathowie
A Google search for "Dada vs Surrealism" brings up some info, and also a lot of essay sites. Sounds like homework to me.
posted by alligatorman at 8:08 PM on March 5, 2010
posted by alligatorman at 8:08 PM on March 5, 2010
Dada was a very loose 'movement' rallying around the idea of an 'anti-art' that happened in different cities - there's New York Dada, Zurich Dada, Paris Dada, and so on. While there is a general definition (read Tzara's Dadaist manifesto, etc) it makes more sense if you consider it as a sort of loose movement-cum-mass-psychological reaction to WWI, an anti-art nonsense-fest as a cathartic expulsion of trauma.
Surrealism was much more focused than Dada -- it had a leader, Andre Breton, who was sort of tyrannic in his control of the group and would expel people if he thought that they didn't like it. Read his manifesto. It's more focused on the idea of the sur-real, the more meaningful and 'higher real' that one could access when you bypassed reason -- say, when you draw your dreams, or when you draw on a piece of paper without thinking (automatic drawing), or so on. It's not synonymous with the idea of 'Whoa! Random!' that it's often associated with.
posted by suedehead at 8:33 PM on March 5, 2010 [1 favorite]
Surrealism was much more focused than Dada -- it had a leader, Andre Breton, who was sort of tyrannic in his control of the group and would expel people if he thought that they didn't like it. Read his manifesto. It's more focused on the idea of the sur-real, the more meaningful and 'higher real' that one could access when you bypassed reason -- say, when you draw your dreams, or when you draw on a piece of paper without thinking (automatic drawing), or so on. It's not synonymous with the idea of 'Whoa! Random!' that it's often associated with.
posted by suedehead at 8:33 PM on March 5, 2010 [1 favorite]
cathec, a careful reading of the Wikipedia entries on both movements will give you a good starting point. Write down the names of the primary artists of each movement, then head to the library and see what you can find. This is not a difficult essay, and the resources to answer your question are abundant. Conducting research to develop an essay is a skill, and this is a good chance for you to practice. Good luck!
posted by archivist at 8:34 PM on March 5, 2010
posted by archivist at 8:34 PM on March 5, 2010
I'm tired and not sure what I was writing up there. "Andre Breton would expel people if he thought that they didn't conform to his idea of surrealism."
posted by suedehead at 8:37 PM on March 5, 2010
posted by suedehead at 8:37 PM on March 5, 2010
I don't know if you're pressed for time, but if not, I've had this on my to-read list for a while:
A Very Short Introduction: Dada and Surrealism
posted by Nattie at 9:11 PM on March 5, 2010
A Very Short Introduction: Dada and Surrealism
posted by Nattie at 9:11 PM on March 5, 2010
Dada was more destructive and less sexist. You might try contacting the librarian for art at your university/college, if that's where your essay is due. AskMetafilter is not the place for homework :)
posted by unknowncommand at 10:04 PM on March 5, 2010
posted by unknowncommand at 10:04 PM on March 5, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by ovvl at 8:05 PM on March 5, 2010