Dada East:
The Romanians of Cabaret Voltaire
by Tom Sandqvist
The MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 2006
448 pp., illus. 75 b/w, 16 col. Trade,
$45.00
ISBN: 0-262-19507-0.
Reviewed by Alise Piebalga
University of Plymouth
alise.piebalga@plymouth.ac.uk
The opening statement of this fascinating
book by Tom Sandqvist states that ’Dada
was a curious movement’. The magnetism
of this movement lies not only in the
reactionary and unfamiliar nature of Dada
gatherings and art, but also in the fact
that this international movement was active
during one of the most turbulent and contingent
periods of modern history. It is, therefore,
even more fascinating that the author
chose to highlight the ties Dada has with
the East, particularly Romania and how
Romanian culture, literature, and politics
provided a rich and fertile ground for
the happenings in Zurich and their widespread
effect.
The book has been divided into 13 chapters
each dedicated to either an infamous Romanian
protagonist of Dada, such as Marcel Janco,
Arthur Segal and Tristan Tzara, or descriptions
and analysis of wider socio-political
and artistic influences, such as the anti-Semitic
policies of the Romanian government and
the inspirational nature of one of the
nation’s most colourful literary
persona, Urmuz.
Each chapter is supported with evocative
black and white and in some cases colour
images of Bucharest and its surrounding
areas, journal covers, and photographs
of the Dadaists, as well as their art.
Particularly interesting are the images
supporting the chapter dedicated to The
Little Paris of the Balkans——Bucharest
with accounts from the early 20th
century travellers, Mrs Dudley Heathcote
and John Reed, noting the absurd nature
of the city with its numerous coffee and
pastry houses "crowded with debauched-looking
men and women" and its uncanny and
intended resemblance to Paris.
Partly due to the evocativeness of the
images, but mostly to imaginative and
easily flowing language, this book reads
like a novel, with the more descriptive
accounts interlocking seamlessly with
originally analytical and evaluative conclusions.
For example, the author describes the
celebratory rituals held in Romanian villages
around Christmas and New Year, with wild
masks, dancing, simultaneous singing and
poetry and draws parallels with the costumed
Dada performances in Zurich, with masks
crated by Marcel Janco, poetry performed
concurrently by several readers and rhythmically
ritualistic "negro songs." Alternatively,
how a typical Jewish upbringing, education,
and the richness of Yiddish culture contributed
to the development, personal growth, and
artistic practices of the three legendary
Romanian Dadaists: Tristan Tzara, Marcel
Janco, and Arthur Segal among others.
Given the research limitations reported
by Tom Sandqvist, like the lack of research
materials, still lingering obsolete communist
structures, and the language barrier,
it is surprising how thoroughly this book
explores the Romanian cultural influence
on the Zurich Dada and beyond——from
peasant culture to Bucharest’s coffee
houses, from Yiddish songs to Christian
mysticism, and from anti-Semitic policies
to international cultural and artistic
exchange. This research presented by Tom
Sandqvist adds a new dimension to the
curious story of Dada; it sets the works
of art and the wild performances of the
Dadaists within a new cultural and political
context, highlighting the movement’s
significant position within art history.
However, the relaxed tone and the social
approach contribute to an enjoyable and
exciting read.
