Title
Kleine DADA soirée
1923
Artists
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Details
- Other Title
- Small Dada evening
- Alternative title
- DADAsofie
- Date
- 1923
- Media category
- Materials used
- colour lithograph
- Dimensions
- 29.8 x 29.8 cm image/sheet
- Signature & date
Signed and dated c. image / sheet [inscribed on plate] "...1923...Théo van Doesburg...Kurt Schwitters...".
- Credit
- Purchased 1984
- Location
- Not on display
- Accession number
- 268.1984
- Copyright
- © Kurt Schwitters & Theo van Doesburg/Bild-Kunst. Licensed by Copyright Agency
- Artist information
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Kurt Schwitters
Works in the collection
- Artist information
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Theo van Doesburg
Works in the collection
- Share
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About
Collective projects and collaborations characterised the second wave of modernism in Europe. Dada, surrealism, constructivism and other international styles emphasised and exploited the creative affinity and social conscience of artists. In this humorous poster Kurt Schwitters, the famed pioneer of collage, teamed with the Dutch-born Theo Doesburg to advertise a Dada performance, and turn typography on its head. The resulting image is at once striking, confusing, intriguing and attractive. Despite its strategies of inversion and miscalculation, the obligation of conveying useful information to the viewer has been fulfilled. In struggling to decipher the text one is brought closer to the poster, both physically and in terms of its content. This perceptual strategy is a hallmark of Dada, a move-ment with close links to cabaret, theatre and performance. 'Kleine DADA Soirée' would not look out of place in a contemporary cultural context; indeed the Dadaist heritage of artists such as Schwitters resurfaces in graphic conventions from pop art to punk rock.
Art Gallery Handbook, 1999.
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Exhibition history
Shown in 4 exhibitions
The edge of the world, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 05 Jul 1985–25 Aug 1985
Five years on: a selection of acquisitions 1981-1986, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 26 Sep 1986–23 Nov 1986
Prints in Germany 1880-1940, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 28 Oct 1989–07 Jan 1990
Modernism 1900-1950: prints and drawings from the collection, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 23 Jul 1994–25 Sep 1994
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Bibliography
Referenced in 5 publications
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Art Gallery of New South Wales, Five years on: a selection of acquisitions 1981-1986, Sydney, 1986. cat.no. 216
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Nicholas Draffin, Prints in Germany 1880-1940, Sydney, 1989, 7-8. no catalogue numbers
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Renée Free, Modernism 1900-1950: prints and drawings from the collection, Sydney, 1994. no catalogue numbers
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Renée Free, AGNSW Collections, 'The Western Heritage, Renaissance to Twentieth Century', pg. 108-172, Sydney, 1994, 151 (colour illus.).
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Bruce James, Art Gallery of New South Wales handbook, 'Western Collection: Works on Paper', pg. 78-92, Sydney, 1999, 90 (colour illus.).
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