Dada Manifesto

“Dada is a new tendency in art. One can tell this from the fact that until now nobody knew anything about it, and tomorrow everyone in Zurich will be talking about it. Dada comes from the dictionary. It is terribly simple. In French it means "hobby horse". In German it means "good-bye", "Get off my back", "Be seeing you sometime". In Romanian: "Yes, indeed, you are right, that's it. But of course, yes, definitely, right". And so forth”

 

 

I understand from the above quote that Dada is an art that newly emerges.  The author says at the time, nobody knew about it.  However, individuals got to know about Dada because people in Zurich were later talking about it.  The word is in the dictionary.   It carries different meaning to different people.  For example, the French defines it as” hobby horse” whereas the Germans sees it as “good- bye”,   “Get off my back”, “Be seeing you sometime”.  To the Romanian, Dada means “Yes, indeed, you are right, that’s it”. 

 

I chose this quote because it there is some truism to it.  Something may appear new in the morning but by midday, the whole world may learn about It and give new meaning to it.  I therefore agree with the author because people often interpret what they see or hear according to their perception of things. 

 

The quote helps me to see that what is said may not always be defined according to the one who repeats it.  Rather, an individual can interpret something be it a word or action according to his own perception.  That which is interpreted becomes factual to the interpreter.  I may see things differently from others but this does not mean that I am wrong nor does it make others correct.   For example, some people justify wars.  They consider fighting as a just cause. Others condemn it because they see other solutions rather than fighting.  It is the same with Dada, different people have different interpretation to the word.