DADA: The Revolt of Art by Marc Dachy (Abrams: Discoveries Series, paperback) proves that good things really do come in small packages. This slender little book measures a mere 6.9 x 4.9 x 0.3 inches, weighs less than 8 ounces, and is wham-packed with tantalizing text and illustrations. As far as introductory guides go, this is one of the best we’ve seen. It doesn’t tip its hat and suck its thumb. It doesn’t lecture. It doesn’t treat the reader like an idiot—even if s/he never heard of DADA (or MOMA for that matter). It pulls one in via its undertow. The surface of looks deceptively calm… a clean, collage-like layout beckons... until—too late—you're in over your head, bombarded with shrieking DADA posters and rare, razor-sharp photographs.
A color swarm triggers eye-vibes—DADA is served! The book’s piercing overview is sprinkled with glistening gumdrops. Dachy delves into crevasses one might expect to find in prohibitively priced tomes thrice its size. You might say it’s a coffee table book for one's back pocket. A concealed weapon.
You begin browsing, pause and lock in on, a robo-erotic photograph of Sophie Taeuber dancing at the Cabaret Voltaire. Oh Dada! You zoom in for a closer look and find Hugo Ball’s description: “…a dance full of splinters and bones, full of sparkling light, of penetrating intensity. The lines of her body were broken, ever gesture decomposed into a hundred precise, angular, incisive movements.”
The next thing you know you’re lusting after Arps!
The author knows which tidbits to hook his readers with, and sends us down the rabbit hole, head-first. DADA: The Revolt of Art is one of those rare guides that both neophytes and junkies will cling to. Cunningly designed to “combat speed prayer tranquility,” DADA spreads the good word—revolt—like butter.
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