1918 - tristan tzara - dada manifesto

8/13/2019 1918 - Tristan Tzara - Dada Manifesto

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dada manifesto

by tristan tzara

23rd march 1918

The magic of a word - DADA - which for journalists has opened the door to an

unforeseen world, has for us not the slightest importance.

To launch a manifesto ou ha!e to want" A.#. $ %., and fulminate against 1, 2, $ 3,

wor& ourself up and sharpen ou wings to con'uer and circulate lower and upper case

As, #s $ %s, sign, shout, swear, organise prose into a form that is a(solutel andirrefuta(l o(!ious, pro!e its ne plus ultra and maintain that no!elt resem(les life in the

same wa as the latest apparition of a harlot pro!es the essence of )od. *is e+istence had

alread (een pro!ed ( the accordion, the landscape and soft words. To impose onesA.#.%. is onl natural - and therefore regretta(le. !erone does it in the form of a

crstal(luff-madonna, or a monetar sstem, or pharmaceutical preparations, a na&ed leg

(eing the in!itation to an ardent and sterile /pring. The lo!e of no!elt is a pleasant sortof cross, its e!idence of a nai!e dont-gi!e-a-damn attitude, a passing, positi!e, sign

without rhme or reason. #ut this need is out of date, too. # gi!ing art the impetus of

supreme simplicit - no!elt - we are (eing human and true in relation to innocent

pleasures0 impulsi!e and !i(rant n order to crucif (oredom. At the lighted crossroads,alert, attenti!e, ling in wait for ears, in the forest. am writing a manifesto and theres

nothing want, and et m saing certain things, and in principle am against

manifestos, as am against principles 'uantifing measures of the moral !alue of e!erphrase - too eas0 appro+imation was in!ested ( the impressionists.

m writing this manifesto to show that ou can perform contrar actions at the same

time, in one single, fresh (reath0 am against action0 as for continual contradiction, andaffirmation too, am neither for nor against them, and wont e+plain mself (ecause hate common sense.

DADA - this is a word that throws up ideas so that the can (e shot down0 e!er

(ourgeois is a little plawright, who in!ents different su(jects and who, instead of

situating suita(le characters on the le!el of his own intelligence, li&e chrsalises onchairs, tries to find causes or o(jects according to whiche!er pschoanaltic method he

practices to gi!e weight to his plot, a tal&ing and self-defining stor.

!er spectator is a plotter, if he tries to e+plain a word to &now4 5rom his padded

refuge of serpentine complications, he allows his instincts to (e manipulated. 6hence thesorrows of conjugal life.

To (e plain" The amusement of red(ellies in the mills of empt s&ulls.

DADA D7/ 7T A A:T*)


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!egetation, resin and rain is our sweat, we (leed and (urn with thirst, our (lood is

strength.

%u(ism was (orn out of a simple manner of loo&ing at o(jects" %eBanne painted a cuptwent centimetres lower than his ees, the cu(ists loo& at it from a(o!e, otherscomplicate it appearance ( cutting a !ertical section through it and so(erl placing it to

one side m not forgetting the creators, nor the seminal reasons of unformed matter that

the rendered definiti!e. The futurist sees the same cup in mo!ement, a succession ofo(jects side ( side, mischie!ousl em(ellished ( a few guide-lines. This doesnt stop

the can!as (eing either a good or a (ad painting destined to form an in!estment for

intellectual capital. The new painter creates a world whose elements are also its means, a

so(er, definiti!e, irrefuta(le wor&. The new artist protests" he no longer paints sm(olicand illusionistic reproduction (ut creates directl in stone, wood, iron, tin, roc&s, or

locomoti!e structures capa(le of (eing spun in all directions ( the limpid wind of the

momentar sensation. !er pictorial or plastic wor& is unnecessar , e!en if it is amonster which terrifies ser!ile minds, and not a sic&l-sweet o(ject to adorn the

refectories of animals in human gar(, those illustrations of the sad fa(le of humanit. - A

painting is the art of ma&ing two lines, which ha!e (een geometricall o(ser!ed to (eparallel, meet on a can!as, (efore our ees, in the realit of a world that has (een

transposed according to new conditions and possi(ilities. This world is neither specified

nor defined in the wor&, it (elongs, in its innumera(le !ariations, to the spectator. 5or its

creator it has neither case nor theor. 7rder C disorder0 ego C non-ego0 affirmation -negation" the supreme radiations of an a(solute art. A(solute in the purit of its cosmic

and regulated chaos, eternal in that glo(ule that is a second which has no duration, no

(reath, no light and no control. appreciate an old wor& for its no!elt. t is onl

contrast that lin&s us to the past. 6riters who li&e to moralise and discuss or amelioratepschological (ases ha!e, apart from a secret wish to win, a ridiculous &nowledge of life,

which the ma ha!e classified, parcelled out, canalised0 the are determined to see itscategories dance when the (eat time. Their readers laugh derisi!el, (ut carr on" whats

the use>

There is one &ind of literature which ne!er reaches the !oracious masses. The wor& of

creati!e writers, written out of the authors real necessit, and for his own (enefit. The


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awareness of a supreme egoism, wherein laws (ecome significant. !er page should

e+plode, either (ecause of its profound gra!it, or its !orte+, !ertigo, newness, eternit,

or (ecause of its staggering a(surdit, the enthusiasm of its principles, or its tpograph.7n the one hand there is a world tottering in its flight, lin&ed to the resounding tin&le of

the infernal gamut0 on the other hand, there are" the new men. ncouth, galloping, riding

astride on hiccups. And there is a mutilated world and literar medicasters in desperateneed of amelioration.

assure ou" there is no (eginning, and we are not afraid0 we arent sentimental. 6e are

li&e a raging wind that rips up the clothes of clouds and praers, we are preparing the

great spectacle of disaster, conflagration and decomposition. reparing to put an end tomourning, and to replace tears ( sirens spreading from one continent to another.

%larions of intense jo, (ereft of that poisonous sadness. DADA is the mar& of

a(straction0 pu(licit and (usiness are also poetic elements.

destro the drawers of the (rain, and those of social organisation" to sow demoralisation

e!erwhere, and throw hea!ens hand into hell, hells ees into hea!en, to reinstate thefertile wheel of a uni!ersal circus in the owers of realit, and the fantas of e!er

indi!idual.

A philosophical 'uestions" from which angle to start loo&ing at life, god, ideas, oranthing else. !erthing we loo& at is false. dont thin& the relati!e result is an more

important than the choice of patisserie or cherries for dessert. The wa people ha!e of

loo&ing hurriedl at things from the opposite point of !iew, so as to impose their opinionsindirectl, is called dialectic, in other words, heads wind and tails ou lose, dressed up

to loo& scholarl.

f shout"

deal, deal, deal

;nowledge, ;nowledge, ;nowledge

#oom(oom, #oom(oom, #oom(oom

ha!e recorded fairl accuratel rogress, @aw, orals, and all the other magnificent

'ualities that !arious !er intelligent people ha!e discussed in so man (oo&s in order,

finall, to sa that e!en so e!erone has danced according to his own personal

(oom(oom, and that hes right a(out his (oom(oom" the satisfaction of unhealthcuriosit0 pri!ate (ell-ringing for ine+plica(le needs0 (ath0 pecuniar difficulties0 a

stomach with repercussions on to life0 the authorit of the mstical (aton formulated as

the grand finale of a phantom orchestra with mute (ows, lu(ricated ( philtres with a(asis of animal ammonia. 6ith the (lue monocle of an angel the ha!e dug out its

interior for twent sous worth of unanimous gratitude. f all of them are right, and if all

pills are onl in&, lets tr for once not to (e right. eople thin& the can e+plainrationall, ( means of thought, what the write. #ut its !er relati!e. Thought is a fine


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thing for philosoph, (ut its relati!e. schoanalsis is a dangerous disease, it deadens

mans anti-real inclinations and sstematises the (ourgeoisie. There is no ultimate Truth.

Dialectics is an amusing machine that leads us in (anal fashion to the opinions whichwe would ha!e held in an case. Do people reall thin& that, ( the meticulous su(tlet

of logic, the ha!e demonstrated the truth and esta(lished the accurac of their opinions>

!en if logic were confined ( the senses it would still (e an organic disease. To thiselement, philosophers li&e to add" The power of o(ser!ation. #ut this magnificent 'ualit

of the mind is precisel the proof of its impotence. eople o(ser!e, the loo& at things

from one or se!eral points of !iew, the choose them from amongst the millions thate+ist. +perience too is the result of chance and of indi!idual a(ilities. /cience re!olts

me when it (ecomes a speculati!e sstem and loses its utilitarian character - which is so

useless - (ut is at least indi!idual. hate slim o(jecti!it, and harmon, the science that

considers that e!erthing is alwas in order. %arr on, children, humanit ... /cience sasthat we are natures ser!ants" e!erthing is in order, ma&e (oth lo!e and war. %arr on,

children, humanit, nice &ind (ourgeois and !irgin journalists... am against sstems0

the most accepta(le sstem is that of ha!e none on no principle. To complete oneself, to

perfect oneself in ones own pettiness to the point of filling the little !ase of oneself withoneself, e!en the courage to fight for and against thought, all this can suddenl infernall

propel us into the mster of dail (read and the lilies of the economic field.

DADA/T /7TAT:

6hat call the -dont-gi!e-a-damn attitude of life is when e!erone minds his own

(usiness, at the same time as he &nows how to respect other indi!idualities, and e!en how

to stand up for himself, the two-step (ecoming a national anthem, a jun& shop, the

wireless the wire-less telephone transmitting #ach fugues, illuminated ad!ertisementsfor placards for (rothels, the organ (roadcasting carnations for )od, all this at the same

time, and in real terms, replacing photograph and unilateral catechism.

Acti!e simplicit.

The incapacit to distinguish (etween degrees of light" lic&ing the twilight and floating inthe huge mouth filled with hone and e+crement. easured against the scale of ternit,

e!er action is !ain - if we allow thought to ha!e an ad!enture whose result would (e

infinitel grotes'ue - an important factor in the awareness of human incapacit. #ut iflife is a (ad jo&e, with neither goal nor initial accouchement, and (ecause we (elie!e we

ought, li&e clean chrsanthemums, to ma&e the (est of a (ad (argain, we ha!e declared

that the onl (asis of understanding is" art. t hasnt the importance that we, old hands at

the spiritual, ha!e (een la!ishing on it for centuries. Art does no(od an harm, and thosewho are capa(le of ta&ing an interest in it will not onl recei!e caresses, (ut also a

mar!ellous chance to people the countr of their con!ersation. Art is a pri!ate thing, the

artist ma&es it for himself0 a comprehensi(le wor& is the product of a journalist, and(ecause at this moment enjo mi+ing this monster in oil paints" a paper tu(e imitating

the metal that ou press and automaticall s'ueeBe out hatred, cowardice and !illain.

The artist, or the poet, rejoices in the !enom of this mass condensed into one shopwal&erof this trade, he is glad to (e insulted, it pro!es his immuta(ilit. The author or the artist


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aggressi!e, complete foll of a world left in the hands of (andits who ha!e demolished

and destroed the centuries. 6ith neither aim nor plan, without organisation"

uncontrolla(le foll, decomposition. Those who are strong in word or in strength willsur!i!e, (ecause the are 'uic& to defend themsel!es0 the agilit of their lim(s and

feelings flames on their faceted flan&s.

orals ha!e gi!en rise to charit and pit, two dumplings that ha!e grown li&e elephants,

planets, which people call good. There is nothing good a(out them. )oodness is lucid,clear and resolute, and ruthless towards compromise and politics. oralit infuses

chocolate into e!er mans !eins. This tas& is not ordained ( a supernatural force, (ut (

a trust of ideas-merchants and academic monopolists. /entimentalit" seeing a group of(ored and 'uarrelling men, the in!ented the calendar and wisdom as a remed. #

stic&ing la(els on to things, the (attle of the philosophers we let loose mone-gru((ing,

mean and meticulous weights and measures and one understood once again that pit is afeeling, li&e diarrhoea in relation to disgust, that undermines health, the filth carrion jo(

of jeopardising the sun. proclaim the opposition of all the cosmic faculties to that

(lennorrhoea of a putrid sun that issues from the factories of philosophical thought, thefight to the death, with all the resources of

DADA/T D/)/T

!er product of disgust that is capa(le of (ecoming a negation of the famil is dada0

DADA0 ac'uaintance with all the means hitherto rejected ( the se+ual prudishness of

eas compromise and good manners" DADA0 a(olition of logic, dance of those who areincapa(le of creation" DADA0 e!er hierarch and social e'uation esta(lished for !alues

( our !alets" DADA0 e!er o(ject, all o(jects, feelings and o(scurities, e!er apparition

and the precise shoc& of parallel lines, are means for the (attle of" DADA0 the a(olition

of memor" DADA0 the a(olition of archaeolog" DADAthe a(olition of prophets"DADA0 the a(olition of the future" DADA0 the a(solute and indiscuta(le (elief in e!er

god that is an immediate product of spontaneit" DADA0 the elegant and unprejudicedleap from on harmon to another sphere0 the trajector of a word, a cr, thrown into the

air li&e an acoustic disc0 to respect all indi!idualities in their foll of the moment,

whether serious, fearful, timid, ardent, !igorous, decided or enthusiastic0 to strip ones

church of e!er useless and unwield accessor0 to spew out li&e a luminous cascade anoffensi!e or lo!ing thought, or to cherish it - with the li!el satisfaction that its all

precisel the same thing - with the same intensit in the (ush, which is free of insects for

the (lue-(looded, and gilded with the (odies of archangels, with ones soul. @i(ert"

DADA DADA DADA0 - the roar of contorted pains, the interwea!ing of contraries and

all contradictions, frea&s and irrele!ancies" @5.

in 191E at the %A#A

1918 - tristan tzara - dada manifesto

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