“Dadaglobe Reconstructed will reunite over 100 works by more than 40 artists that were submitted to Tristan Tzara for his planned but unrealized 1921 anthology Dadaglobe. In Paris in late 1920, Tzara, a poet and a co-founder of Dada, drew up a proposal for an ambitious anthology to document the movement’s artistic and literary production. Along with artist Francis Picabia, Tzara sent solicitation letters to 50 artists and writers in 10 countries, requesting four categories of artworks—photographic self-portraits, photographs of artworks, original drawings, and designs for book pages—along with prose, poetry, or other verbal “inventions.” While some artists submitted existing works, many created new ones for the volume, making Dadaglobe one of the period’s most generative catalysts for the production of new Dada works. Due to financial and interpersonal difficulties, Dadaglobe was never realized, and while many of the works submitted are well-known today, their origin in this project has long been forgotten.” — MoMA
Dadaglobe solicitation form letter to Alfred Vagts, signed by Tristan Tzara, Francis Picabia, Georges Ribemont-Dessaignes, and Walter Serner. 1920. Typewriting on Mouvement Dada letterhead, 10 5/8 x 8 1/4″ (27 x 21 cm). Archivo Lafuente.
“Would you please also send a clear photo of your head (not body), which you can alter freely, although it should retain clarity.” – Tzara’s Dadaglobe solicitation letter
Theo van Doesburg (Christian Emil Marie Küpper) (Dutch, 1883–1931) (a.k.a. I.K. Bonset). Portrait of I.K. Bonset: I Am Against Everything and Everyone (Je suis contre tout et tous). 1921. Gelatin silver print on postcard stock with ink additions, 5 7/16 × 3 3/8″ (13.8 × 8.6 cm). Dadaglobe submission from Bonset. Private collection. © 2016 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn.
Francis Picabia (French, 1879–1953). Rastadada Painting (Tableau Rastadada). 1920. Cut-and-pasted printed paper on paper with ink, 7 1/2 x 6 3/4″ (19 x 17.1 cm). Dadaglobe submission from Picabia. The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of Abby Aldrich Rockefeller (by exchange), 2014. © 2016 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/ADAGP, Paris.
Johannes Theodor Baargeld (Alfred Emanuel Ferdinand Gruenwald) (German, 1892–1927). Typical Vertical Mess as Depiction of Dada Baargeld (Typische Vertikalklitterung als Darstellung des Dada Baargeld). 1920. Cut-and-pasted gelatin silver prints and cut-and-pasted printed paper on thin board, 14 9/16 × 10 13/16″ (37 × 27.5 cm). Dadaglobe submission from Baargeld. Kunsthaus Zürich, Grafische Sammlung.
Max Ernst (French and American, born Germany, 1891–1976). The Punching Ball or the Immortality of Buonarroti (The Punching Ball ou l’immortalité de Buonarroti). 1920. Gelatin silver print, cut-and-pasted printed paper, gouache, and ink on paper, 6 15/16 x 4 1/2″ (17.6 x 11.4 cm). Dadaglobe submission from FaTaGaGa (image Ernst, text Jean (Hans) Arp (French, born Germany (Alsace), 1886–1966). The Bluff Collection. © 2016 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/ADAGP, Paris.
Johannes Baader (German, 1875–1955). The Author of the Book “Fourteen Letters of Christ” in His Home (Der Verfasser des Buches Vierzehn Briefe Christi in seinem Heim). 1920. Cut-and-pasted gelatin silver prints, cut-and-pasted printed paper, and ink on book pages, 8 1/2 x 5 3/4″ (21.6 x 14.6 cm). Dadaglobe submission from Baader. The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Purchase, 1937. © Bernd Baader, Stuttgart.
Nic. Aluf (studio photographer, 1884–1954). Portrait of Sophie Taeuber with her Dada Head. 1920. Gelatin silver print, 8 1/4 × 6 9/16″ (20.9 × 16.6 cm). Dadaglobe submission from Sophie Taeuber (Swiss, 1889–1943). Galerie Berinson, Berlin. Artwork © 2016 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn.
Unknown photographer. Portrait of Tristan Tzara. c. 1920. Gelatin silver print, 4 1/2 × 7 5/16″ (11.5 × 18.5 cm). Dadaglobe submission from Tristan Tzara (Samuel Rosenstock) (French, born Romania, 1896–1963). Collection Chancellerie des Universités de Paris, Bibliothèque littéraire Jacques Doucet, Paris, Fonds Tzara.
“Please send … 2 or 3 photos of your works.” – Tzara’s Dadaglobe solicitation letter
Max Ernst (French and American, born Germany, 1891–1976). The Chinese Nightingale (Die chinesische Nachtigall). 1920. Cut-and-pasted printed papers and ink on paper, 4 13/16 × 3 7/16″ (12.2 × 8.8 cm). Dadaglobe submission from Ernst. Musée de Grenoble. © 2016 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/ADAGP, Paris.
Man Ray (Emmanuel Radnitzky) (American, 1890–1976). Woman (La Femme). c. 1918–20. Gelatin silver print, 17 3/16 x 13 3/16″ (43.7 x 33.5 cm). Dadaglobe submission from Man Ray. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Gilman Collection, Gift of The Howard Gilman Foundation, 2005. © 2016 Man Ray Trust/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/ADAGP, Paris.
Unknown photographer. Photograph of Hannah Höch’s Dada Puppets. 1920. Gelatin silver print, 8 3/8 × 6″ (21.3 × 15.3 cm). Dadaglobe submission from Hannah Höch (German, 1889–1978). Mark Kelman, New York. Artwork © 2016 Hannah Höch/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/VG Bild-Kunst, Germany.
“Please send 3 or 4 black and white drawings …. one drawing can be colorful, but containing no more than 2 or 3 colors.” – Tzara’s Dadaglobe solicitation letter
Aldo Fiozzi (Italian, 1894–1941). His Excellency Walks (Sua Eccellenza Passeggia). c. 1920. Ink on paper, 9 5/16 × 6 3/4″ (23.6 × 17.1 cm). Dadaglobe submission from Fiozzi. Private collection.
Johannes Theodor Baargeld (Alfred Emanuel Ferdinand Gruenwald) (German, 1892–1927). The Human Eye and a Fish, The Latter Petrified (Das menschliche Auge und ein Fisch, letzterer versteinert). 1920. Cut-and-pasted paper, ink, and pencil on paper, 12 1/4 x 9 3/8″ (31.1 x 23.8 cm). Dadaglobe submission from Baargeld. The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Purchase, 1937.
“In place of the color drawing, you can design a book page with or without text.” – Tzara’s Dadaglobe solicitation letter
Max Ernst (French and American, born Germany, 1891–1976) and Johannes Theodor Baargeld (Alfred Emanuel Ferdinand Gruenwald) (German, 1892–1927). Manifesto W 5: Cover. 1920. Cut-and-pasted printed papers on colored paper, 11 1/4 × 12 1/8″ (28.5 × 30.8 cm). Dadaglobe submission from Ernst and Baargeld. Collection Natalie Seroussi. © 2016 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/ADAGP, Paris.
Images courtesy The Museum of Modern Art