Dada Data - by Sarah Hegenbart & Mara-Johanna Kölmel (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

What is the relevance of Dada and its artistic strategies in our current moment, one marked by post-truth politics, information floods and big data? How can contemporary art highlight the neglected nuances of cultural representation in the present day? While it may feel like we are living in a period of anomaly with the rise of the alt-right, this book shows how the Dada movement's artistic response to the aggressive nationalism and fascism of its time offers a fruitful analogy to our contemporary era.

Dada's counter-cultural strategies, such as the distortion of reality and attacks on elites and rationality, have long been endorsed by artistic avantgardes and subcultures. Dada Data details how modern-day movements have appropriated such tactics in their ways of addressing the public both on- and offline. Bringing together contributions from interdisciplinary scholars, curators and artists working in global contexts that explore an array of artistic modes of persuasion and resistance, the book demonstrates how contemporary art can bring out neglected nuances of our post-truth moment. In linking the Dada movement's counter-cultural activities to modern phenomena such as post-internet art, information floods and big data mining, the book collates original propaganda with diverse artwork from such figures as Hannah Höch, Paula Rego, Tschabalala Self, Sheida Soleimani and South African artists donna Kukama and Kemang Wa Lehulere. In doing so, Dada Data brings together a rich scrapbook of Dada resources and perspectives that are highly relevant to present-day political concerns.

With artistic contributions by IOCOSE, donna Kukama, Kemang Wa Lehulere and Montage Mädels.

Review Quotes

"Providing new ways of combatting the current and continued onslaught of right-wing aggression, Dada Data offers the potential for a way forward through a variety of curatorial, political and social interventions." --Cole Collins, Teaching Fellow in Modern and Contemporary Art, Edinburgh College of Art, The University of Edinburgh, UK

"Smart and focused, challenging and illuminating, Dada Data is a much-needed study, arriving at a timely moment but also promising to have long-term implications for the study of aesthetic resistance and counter-cultural practice." --Thomas Haakenson, Associate Professor in Humanities and Sciences, California College of the Arts, USA, and author of Grotesque Visions: The Science of Berlin Dada (2021)

"Offering a spectrum of fascinating and surprising interpretations on the influence of post-truth politics on contemporary art, and bringing together a range of international researchers and curators, Dada Data is recommended for anyone who would like to gain an informed overview of these cultural crossovers." --Jörg Trempler, Chair of Art History and Image Science, University of Passau, Germany

About the Author

Sarah Hegenbart is Lecturer in Art History at Technical University Munich, Germany, and currently acting as a substitute for the professorship in art research with a focus on contemporary art at the Braunschweig University of Art. Prior to this, she worked as an Associate Lecturer at the Courtauld Institute, where she also undertook her doctoral research, and as Curator of Art at the Pembroke Art Gallery at the University of Oxford, UK.

Mara-Johanna Kölmel is Associate Director of the exhibition platform peer to space Berlin, Germany. She obtained her PhD from Leuphana University Lüneburg and holds an MA in Art History from the Courtauld Institute. Mara has performed curatorial roles for Akademie Schloss Solitude, Kunsthalle Hamburg & the Biennale of Sydney.