Variations on Edgard Varèse
Matthew Greenbaum
From Revolutionary to Normative: A Secret History of Dada and Surrealism in American Music |
| Dada, a cultural movement triggered by the anti-war sentiments of a group of European visual artists and writers during the First World War, promulgated provocative anti-art as a response to the prevailing complacent standards of art. By 1922 Dada had self-destructed, giving way to surrealism, a movement best known for the surprise, unexpected juxtapositions of its visual artworks and writings. Both movements have had a tremendous impact on all subsequent avant-garde painting, sculpture, theatre, film, poetry, and fiction. But such a claim of influence would seem senseless in contemporary music, where the presence of Dada and surrealism is generally unrecognized or forgotten. |
TO CONTINUE CLICK ON:
"Surrealism in New York." New Music Jukebox (American Music Center) Fall 2009.