- A precursor to Surrealism, the Dada movement stressed the absurd and unpredictable, the illogical and chaotic, lashing out against traditional aesthetics and upending artistic conventions. Emerging from the artistic milieu of Zurich during World War I, it signaled a re-evaluation of art"s place in the shadow of industrialized war. Jean Arp, Marcel Duchamp, and Man Ray were among the most famous proponents of Dada, creating works that dared viewers to expand their notions of what can be considered art.