The Big Idea:

What are the qualities/characteristics of a rule breaker?

Activity overview

Modern and contemporary artists often question traditional definitions of art through their work. Some artists have done things so differently—broken so many rules—that their work still makes people ask, 'Is this art?' The Dadaists were among the most experimental artists of the early 1900s. Many of them used words and poetry in their art. In this activity you will create your own dadaist poems by appropriating existing text, and then exhibit a single line of your poetry to see how people react to it.

Look closely

Click on each artist button at right to view detailed screens about the artist and his or her works. Be sure to click on all images, view all videos, read all documents, and use the zoom tool to look closely at the works of art.

In this activity you will:

1. create two dadaist poems
2. present and reflect on the poems
3. post a line from one of the poems in a public area of your school
4. observe how people react to the line
5. reflect on your observations

You will be graded on:

1. research notes and answers to artist-related questions
2. quality and originality of your dadaist poem
3. observational notes on reactions to your one-line poem
4. written reflection

New terms:

Dada, appropriation