DADA 100 at the Janco-Dada Museum

On February 5, 1916, a literary cabaret called Cabaret Voltaire opened at Spiegelgasse 1in Zurich, Switzerland. The initiator of the cabaret was the German poet and philosopher Hugo Ball. He was joined by Emmy Hennings, Jean Arp, Richard Huelsenbeck, Tristan Tzara and Marcel Janco, and together they established a worldwide art movement that changed the face of modern art.
The performances at the cabaret, which for the most part involved scathing arousal of the audience, represented the Dadaists’ outspoken criticisms of the values of Western culture, their rebellion against and crushing of these values in the shadow of the great war being waged in Europe. They courageously and thoroughly set out to undermine the traditional aesthetic foundations of painting and sculpture, the logic of language and literature, and the classical texture of music. Cabaret Voltaire operated for six months only, but the seeds that were planted there blossomed in many centers worldwide and have been recognized in art during the ensuing one hundred years.
This exhibition examines the Dadaist elements in contemporary Israeli artistic work. Twelve curators were invited to examine the basic principles of the movement and to suggest an artist or group of artists they believe are representative of these Dadaist principles.
For collage and assemblage, curator Nitsan Shuval-Abiri chose the following artists: Inbal Hoffman, Gilad Kahana, Nechama Levendel, Ruth Noam, Hagar Nissimov, Guy Criden and Avinoam Sternheim.
For photomontage, curator Irena Gordon chose the artist Nir Dvorai.
In the field of performance, curator Yuval Meskin chose the artist Honi Hameagel.
For the topic of rejecting and abolishing existing forms, curator Oded Kotler chose the Tav Group.
For the topic of the absurd, curator Raya Zommer-Tal chose the following artists: Adar Goldfarb, Noa Leshem-Gradus, Pavel Zenbacht and Igor Kaplunovich, Tamar Sheaffer and Avner Sher.
For the topic of coincidence, curator Avital Katz chose the artists Carmit Weizman, Benedetta Pedone and Igor Kaplunovich.
For the topic of political anti-war protest, curator Izi Civre chose the artists Natali Cohen Vaxberg, Iris Hever and Shony Rivnay.
For the topic of undermining the existing order, curator Hagar Bril chose the artist Dede.
For the topic of Dada poetry and writing, curator Rina Genussov chose the artists Avraham Eilat, Nitzan Mintz and Ronny Someck.
For the topic of Dada dance, curator Nurit Tal-Tenne chose the artist Rina Schenfeld.
For the topic of ready-made, curator Vera Pilpoul chose the following artists: Arie Berkovitz, Lisa Gross, Shahar Tuchner, Dvora Morag, Doron Polak, Itai Ron Gilboa, Keren Katz and Dan Allon.
Finally, for the topic of social protest, curator Dan Chamizer invites 100 residents of Ein Hod to an artistic spectacle, first of its kind, titled: “The Golden Calf on a Silver Platter – the Dream and its Shattering.”