Several have already noted that the Dada movement produced art of absurdity in an attempt to denounce all of society. I thought it might be useful to note some of their works, to get a feel for their wit:
- L.H.O.O.Q. (1919), Marcel Duchamp. Probably the most famous work of the most famous dadaist. Duchamp simply took a print of the Mona Lisa and drew a mustache and beard on it. Every time you've seen it done since, like in cartoons, it came from this. The name of the work is also important. Pronouncing these letters in French translates roughly to, "She has a hot ass." From mkb: The actual pronunciation is, "elle a chaud au cul".
- The Fountain (1917), Marcel Duchamp. Simply put, Duchamp took a urinal and turned it on its side. That's it. It was now The Fountain. This is Duchamp's most famous "Ready Made" art, where he would simply take a household item and submit it to an exhibit. Later he would submit a coathanger, a bicycle wheel, etc.
- For weeks several dadaists (whose names I can't recall, nor find information about on the internet) anounced a major competition to be held in a church (again, I don't remember where). When people came later, they saw only the dadaists sitting on benches, not really doing anything. When asked about the great competition, they replied that it had already started. They were seeing who could become the most bored...
- Compass (1920), Man Ray. A U-Shaped magnet hooked to the top of a gun. Not much more needs to be said, I think.
Something else I'd like to do is distinguish Dada from other art movements:
Nearly always Dada is lumped in with Surrealism, when they are in fact rather different (although Surrealism did have its roots in Dada). The difference is in intent: While Surrealism celebrated the imagination with its bizarre creations, Dada would use the bizarre as an attempt to mock. Dada work was not meant to be inspiring or thoughtful (or not usually), just stupid and silly.
Also, Modern Art will often make use of a Ready Made. A recent exhibit was nothing more than the trash from a party the night before. But again, the difference between this Ready Made and a Dada piece is intent: Modern Art looks for deeper meaning in ordinary life. Dada merely mocks our art as meaningless.