Dadadatadada: From Dada to Data and Back Again

Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksChapterpeer-review

Authors

  • Mara-Johanna Kölmel
Dada’s international network of itinerant practitioners defined a humorous yet radically political mode of intervention that re-conceptualized artistic practice as a form of strategies and tactics. The chapter investigates whether Dadaist strategies of abstraction, hacking and photomontage are relevant to current big data economies and if so where these strategies are employed. Through a speculative cross-reading of a Dada and a data poem – or rather, an algorithm, the introduction examines the systems and operations that make up the assemblages of Dada and data. It then turns its focus to data-driven strategies of persuasion on the far-right political spectrum that appear to have Dadaist analogies. The conclusion speculates how an engagement with Dadaist tactics can foster critical vocabularies that confront the complexities posed by our age of algorithmic power and big data.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationDada Data : Contemporary Art Practice in the Era of Post-Truth Politics
EditorsSarah Hegenbart, Mara-Johanna Kölmel
Number of pages18
PublisherBloomsbury Publishing Plc.
Publication date09.03.2023
Pages23-40
ISBN (print)9781350227613, 9781350227651
ISBN (electronic)9781350227620, 9781350227637
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 09.03.2023