Dada and Poetry

The idea of concrete poetry links to the Dada concept of breaking from the constraints of the typeface. An example of this is an invitation to a ‘Dada Soiree’, which is almost a type of concrete poetry. They used stock images, different fonts types and sizes to create a very unusual poster. 

As I am experimenting with replicating other people’s work, I had a go at recreating this poster! It was quite a challenge, and didn’t feel as free as a lot of the other concrete poetry I had previously created. 

(Also, as some of the small words weren’t very clear, I was unable to create an exact copy.)

[click to see original]

This type of concrete poetry was very often less about creating a picture, and more about shapes and breaking from moulds. Concrete poetry is about creating art out of words, it is thus giving art a message.