How Dada Has Influenced Design Practice in the Late 20th/early 21st Centuries - Essay Example

? Discuss using specific examples/Case studies, how Dada has influenced design practice in the late 20th/early21st centuries. Introduction Dada refers to a cultural movement that started after the First World War; this form of movement mainly encompassed cultural changes in literature, design, theatre, as well as visual arts. The main aim of the movement entailed protesting against the First World War and the barbarism experienced during this war. Dadaists believed that the form of arts in operation during the war used to be oppressive and irrational. As such, Dadaism came as a form of art movement that could replace the existing art forms and introduce new artistic designs. The art of Dadaism encompassed a revolt by some writers and painters during the 20th century. Most of these artists were from Switzerland, Germany, as well as France. The works of these artists used paintings with the main aim of expressing absurdity (Elge & Grosenick 2006). They rejected the traditional aspects of art and design used by Western Artists. This paper will discuss how Dada has influenced design practice during the late 20th century and the early 21st century. How Dadaism has influenced design in the late 20th century/early 21st century Most of the art forms during the late 20th century and early 21st century borrowed a lot from Dadaism. As a result of Dada, many forms of art came to being. Dadaism had a notable impact on the practice of design in numerous ways; many principles of design borrowed a lot from Dada. One of the ways in which Dadaism influenced the practice of design during the late 20th century and early 21st century was mainly through the use of collage. Dada was influential, and it played a significant role in the introduction of the process of collage. Through this process, new forms of art and design could be combined by clipping of images with the aim of creating a collage that consisted of images that could be regarded as chaotic (Elge & Grosenick 2006, p. 28). The other way in which Dada influenced design during the 20th and 21st century was through the introduction of photomontage. This form of design became popular and is still in use up to this date. Photomontage was extremely influential, and it played a vital role in the design of albums, as well as posters. Photomontage has revolutionalised design as it has led contributed to the creation of appealing images. Moreover, the changes in design through Dadaism also incorporated the use of skewed photography. This aspect of design encompasses the typing of words that have different font sizes, as well as font styles. This is mainly done by getting various letters from the headlines of magazines and clipping them together to form a pattern. The resultant pattern appears attractive, and it can be regarded as a form of masterpiece art (Ryan & Conover 2004, p. 48). The influence of Dadaism on design also relates to the way this principle of art led to the introduction of the absolute freedom philosophy. As a result of this principle, there was the creation of numerous designs of sculptures during the late 20th century. Some of the forms of designs that emanated from this principle included old urinals that could easily be found in galleries. Moreover, there was the development of some forms of design such as a bicycle, which could be mounted on the wheel of a bicycle to make it an attractive form of art. Dadaism also influenced the practice of design through the innovativeness that it brought to layout, line spacing, typography, as well as letter spacing. These innovations played a pivotal role to the development of communication design (Elge & Grosenick 2006, p. 31). In terms of design, the form of topography introduced by Dadaism mainly encompassed the use of non-textual content as a new method, which was used to get the meaning. Another example of how Dadaism influenced design during the late 20th century and late 21st century was through attaching meaning to a word based on the characteristics, which seemed uncanny. As a result, new forms of design during the late 20th century encompassed bright displays of words that had a double meaning (Ryan & Conover 2004, p. 51). The other way in which Dadaism has influenced design during the 21st century is through the introduction of elevators. Elevators are crucial products that have emanated from the works of artists affiliated to the Dadaism movement. This form of design has been particularly essential during the 21st century as it has brought immense changes. According to Dadaists, the main aim of using elevators was to ensure that they spread design that came with this movement. The idea behind the elevator is that people enter into a waiting room, which has no amenities since people should not inhabit it for a long time. Thus, an elevator can be regarded as one of the most crucial forms of design that has emanated from the influence of Dadaism on design. The use of this form of design started way back in the 20th century; however, the design of elevators has improved dramatically to include more recent and advanced forms of elevators (Bhaskaran 2005, p. 106). The other way in which Dada influenced design during the late 20th century was through the introduction of an advanced design, which could be used in highways. Artists of the Dada movement made this design with the ultimate aim if ensuring that people can be connected. Through highways, people can link to one another; to some extent, highways have played a crucial role in the linking of people between continents. Another form of design that resulted from Dada included the landmine as a sculpture. According to Dadaists, the creation of this design had several things in mind. Based on Dadaism, the design of a landmine is meant to make the sculpture invisible. This explains why the landmine tends to be buried carefully so that whoever wishes to view it cannot see it. Such a design indicates the superior nature of Dadaism in that Dadaism has strived to ensure that the designs created out of this movement tend to be superior to humans (Elge & Grosenick 2006, p. 34). Another notable impact that Dadaism had on design during the 21st century includes the impact that this form of art had on paintings, as well as drawings. The drawings that resulted from this form of art were unique and more advanced than the drawings in the past. Dadaism also influenced design during the late 20th century through the introduction of forms of design such as frottage. This form of design includes the reproduction of texture design through rubbing a paper that has a drawing medium on some texture. Some of the examples of drawing mediums that can be used in this case include crayon or pencil. Such rubbings have been instrumental in changing the design of paintings since they can be included in paintings through collage (Ryan & Conover 2004, p. 52). The influence of Dadaism on design can also be seen through the influence that this art movement had on the inclusion of some designs in artwork during the late 20th century. Design changed as a result of including sounds in the art work, and the inclusion of found objects in artworks. These developments were of immense benefits, and they led to tremendous changes in artworks. The incorporation of sounds and objects altered design as it led to the development of more advanced and modern forms of art. The incorporation of such aspects made design abstract. As a result, the audience could participate in the new forms of an artwork that resulted from Dadaism. Design was made alive during the late 20th century through the use of sounds in artwork. The participation of the audience could be guaranteed through these new forms of design, which resulted from Dada. Design changed in such a way that the viewers of the arts of work had an opportunity to be more attentive to work and also have an understanding of the meaning, which was intended by the artist (Bhaskaran 2005, p. 107). The influence of Dadaism on the aspect of design can also be associated with the impact that Dada had on digital photography during the 20th century. For example, the development of designs in photography has led to numerous advancements in the field of photo editing. Software such as Photoshop tends to borrow a lot from the initial designs that were proposed by Dadaism. The development of this software has enabled the production of photomontages with a lot of ease. The use of imagery as a concept of Dadaism has also been particularly instrumental in the development of design. With the profound advancements in the digital age, it has become possible to improve the initial designs proposed by Dada. The photomontage design has improved significantly, thus eliminating some of the errors that could emanate from the use of traditional tools (Elge & Grosenick 2006, p. 35). The influence of Dadaism on design can also be seen through the impacts that Dada techniques spread during the late 20th century. There was immense spread of these techniques in numerous fields, and this can be exemplified through various examples where Dada became dominant. Some of the examples of Dada techniques that influenced design during the late 20th century entailed the design of web pages (web design), billboards, album arts, as well as labels used in wines. On this regard, therefore, it can be said that Dada has had a profound impact on the practice of design in contemporary times. The inclusion of design in the techniques mentioned above reflects the persistent impact, which the Dada movement continues to have on many forms of art (Bhaskaran 2005, p. 108). The influence of Dada on design during the late 20th century can also be seen through the impact that Dada had on the rise of other art movements. With its never ending revolutionary nature, Dadaism gave birth to the rise of designs associated with arts of performance, abstract art, as well as surrealism. Moreover, all the designs associated with the Avant-Garde borrow a lot from the Dada movement. Through its advocacy for artists to break the norms and set rules that govern art, Dada encourage innovation and enabled many designers and artists to develop new designs that they could use in their works of art. With the slow death of the past arts, modern artists have had the opportunity to develop new forms of design that seem more appealing to the audiences. Therefore, Dada influenced design in the late 20th century by encouraging artists to develop new designs (Ryan & Conover 2004, p. 53). The influence of Dada on design during the late 20th century included the use of this art movement in the creation of advertisements. The experiments that Dadaists carried out with typography and collage can be credited for the commercial advertisements, which are featured in many mediums of advertising. For example, the founding of the Dada Advertising Agency led to the design of advertisements in newspapers and magazines. These advertisements have had a significant impact on modern advertising. The design and improvements of adverts during the late 20th century borrowed a lot from these adverts. Design witnessed immense changes during the 20th century due to the influence of Dadaism. For example, Dadaism led to numerous changes in the design of movies. This was achieved through the incorporation of many cultures in films. For instance, most movies designed during the late 20th century encompassed cultures from America, Africa, as well as the Oceanic region (Bhaskaran 2005, p. 110). Conclusion In conclusion, Dada refers to a cultural movement that started after the First World War; this form of movement mainly encompassed cultural changes in literature, design, theatre, as well as visual arts. The various techniques of Dadaism used to be prevalent in designs during the 20th century. One of the most significant ways in which Dada influenced design during the late 20th century was through the use of collage and montage. Dada also influenced design during the 20th and 21st century through the introduction of photomontage; this form of design became popular and is still in use up to this date. The design works of many artists during the late 20th century incorporated the designs used during Dadaism. References List Bhaskaran, L. (2005). Designs of the times: using key movements and styles for contemporary design, Mies [u.a.], RotoVision. pp. 106-110. Elger, D., & Grosenick, U. (2006). Dadaism, Koln, Taschen. pp. 28-40. Ryan, W., & Conover, T. E. (2004). Graphic communications today, Clifton Park, NY [u.a.], Thomson, Delmar Learning. pp. 48-54. Read More