Dada: Art and Anti-Art (World of Art)

Rating:
Summary: You Are There
Review: Hans Richter lived on the fringes of Zurich's Dada movement, and here offers a personal narrative of the Dada movement and its eventual successor, Surrealism. This was the first book I'd ever read on Dada and I found it quite sufficient -- all the personalities are introduced, and their motivations and how they came together are revealed. Richter is best in the earliest sections, while discussing the birth of the influential Cabaret Voltaire and how the First World War helped amplify Dada's influence in Europe. The book peters out a bit in later chapters, but is still a detailed look at the subject. If you are simply seeking an understanding of the movement, this book is a fast and entertaining read.

Rating:
Summary: Good for reading in the car.
Review: I bought this book in Flordia because I had to go to a wedding, and there wasn't much to do that I enjoyed. The photo plates are extra good because I had never seen the paintings that had to do with the men and women of Dada. There are many good photographs of the Dada people too. The events in the book are inscribed well, and the excitement is carried over into your very home and arms.

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Summary: Memoir by a member of the Zurich Dada movement on Dada
Review: I personally found this text fascinating. Historical memoir by Hans Richter with great photos. Has personality and, of course, bias; but Richter shows restraint and moderation in his commentary. Is part of a wonderful series on art, with many plates of pictures, journal covers, poems, and photos. Probably not too terribly interesting if you are not intruiged by Dada, its "philosophy", its members, and its movement; but its definately readable if you need to do some research. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: dada, where art thou?
Review: In the interest of re-appropriating dada, read this book on the origins of the movement in Zurich at the Cabaret Voltaire. The Hanover period is less than compelling except for the brilliant Kurt Schwitters. His attempt to gatecrash the Club in Zurich led to marginal friendships with the progenitors - he was perceived as too bourgeois - and Schwitters went on to non-fame in exile in Britain, snubbed by the international art intelligentsia, which still denigrates his late work. Most interesting role? Hugo Ball, the impresario of the Cabaret Voltaire who championed the idea of the gesamtkunstwerk (total work of art) then dropped out to live in the Ticino in Tolstoi-esque self-induced poverty. Greatest sub-narrative? The battle for the ownership of dada by the hangers-on.