Scan Magazine | Special Theme | Swedish Culture Special
The exhibition Dada is dada is on display at Bildmuseet until 20 May. Exhibition design: Alexandre Fruh. Photo: Mikael Lundgren.
A message from Cabaret Voltaire: Bring art that unites back down to the people A beacon of world-class contemporary international art, Bildmuseet in Umeå is known for high-quality exhibitions, thought-provoking collaborations and stunning architecture. This spring, however, it rewinds to World War I with a look at one of the most influential art movements of the 20th century.
fore been exhibited in the Nordics, so it’s very exciting.”
By Linnea Dunne
Among other things, the Dadaists are known for their inventive collages – often made using old rubbish, simple paper cuttings and torn advertisements. “We’ve got a beautiful collage by Hannah Höch from Germany. She is known for her pioneering practice in collage and photo montage and worked with these until her death in the ‘70s,” says Täljedal. “Then there are also sound installations to show that the movement wasn’t all about text and visual art, so you can experience the artists reading Dadaist poetry and this new art form called sound poetry, which was meant to transcend borders – let me give you an example.” She launches into a rumble of sounds, most closely resembling tongue speaking mixed with
It started on 5 February 1916 in a shoddy old night club in Zürich, Switzerland. On the initiative of Hugo Ball and Emmy Hennings, a group of young artists who had fled their home countries due to World War I met at Cabaret Voltaire to express frustration about a society that had let them down and caused so much hurt and damage. The result was Dada, an artistic movement characterised by experimental texts, wildly wicked performances, creative provocation and avant garde artworks, all a protest against the hypocritical, bourgeois society. “It was a countermovement against corruption and traditional aesthetic ideals – against 42 | Issue 110 | March 2018
art with a big A. It was an attempt to bring aesthetics back down to the people, to reunite life and art,” says Brita Täljedal. She works as curator at Bildmuseet in Umeå and is one of three curators behind the current exhibition Dada is Dada. “We have about 100 original items at this teeming, beautiful exhibition, including flyers and posters that feel cutting-edge in their approach to graphics still today,” she says. “With these artworks we’ve borrowed from private collectors in Europe, we’re providing a glimpse or a window to the huge and sprawling Dada movement. These pieces have never be-
Collage, sound poetry and readymades