perspective in favour of geometric forms. It attempted to achieve the illusion of three-dimensional forms in a different way by showing many aspects of familiar objects all at once from many vantage points to create new combinations.
What to look for: You may ask yourself, “What is it?”
Futurism(1909) was an Italian movement with the intention to reject tradition ideals, and celebrate the aesthetic generated by the speed and power of the machine, and the energy and restlessness of modern life. Futurists adopted the Cubist technique of depicting several views of an object simultaneously with fragmented planes, and used rhythmic spatial repetitions of the object’s outlines in transit to render movement. Their preferred subjects were machines, and urban crowds. Their palette was more vibrant than the Cubists’.
What to look for: You may ask yourself, “What is it?”
Dada (1916–1923) was initially a Swiss movement who channelled their revulsion at World War I into an indictment of the values that had brought it about. They were united not by a common style, but a rejection of conventions in art. Through unorthodox techniques, they sought to shock society into self-awareness. The name Dada itself was typical of the movement’s anti-rationalism. Various members of the group are credited with selecting the name for its childish and nonsensical connotations.
What to look for: You could be forgiven for not recognising a Dada exhibit as art (e.g. Duchamp “improved” the Mona Lisa by drawing a moustache on her).
Surrealism (1924) flourished in Europe between World Wars I and II, and grew principally out of the earlier Dada movement, and was