Dada

Dada was the first great international art movement of modernism, and its practitioners include some of the most famous individuals of 20th century European art. As a group, they were obsessed by what they saw as the irrationality and horror of the modern city, and World War I served as a catalyst for Dadaists to try to convert the seeming meaninglessness of the age into a theoretical position from which to create new art. Lemoine's essay traces the movement's beginnings in Zurich and New York and looks at the influence of such precursors as de Chirico and Duchamp. The works of Max Ernst, Kurt Schwitters and Francis Picabia are discussed in some detail, and Lemoine provides a careful accounting of Dada's development in other European cities. With good reproductions and pictures from the period in addition to a chronology and bibliography, this title is a strong addition to the publisher's excellent series of books on artists in the 20th century. (July)