Author: Apal Jain

Abstract: Background: Dadaism was a political art movement which developed during the first world war, lasting from 1916 to 1924. The movement’s first centre was in Zurich, Switzerland, when later other establishments came up in Berlin, Paris, London and New York. The movement adopted a philosophy of nonsense, rejection of meaning and protest against the war, which was expressed through mediums like performance art, filmmaking, and poetry. Objective: To analyse the methods by which Dadaism was able to question the established practices of art making and the acceptance of political actions and war. To understand the different parts of Dadaism, and the extent to which they were successfully able to do the aforementioned. Methodology: This essay uses critical theories about culture, art, and politics, and analyses different forms of art making equipped by Dadaism through their lens. The methodology used for this essay is a combination of secondary literature review and critical data analysis.

Keywords: Art, Dadaism, Europe, Politics, Protest.

Article Info: Received: 14 Sep 2025; Received in revised form: 09 Oct 2025; Accepted: 12 Oct 2025; Available online: 16 Oct 2025

DOI: 10.22161/ijels.105.63