Kleine Dada Soirée
Kurt Schwitters
German, 1887–1948
Theo van Doesburg
Dutch, 1883–1931
1922
A 1922 lithograph poster by Theo van Doesburg that advertises a small Dada soirée by turning the announcement itself into an experimental visual performance with bold red diagonals and hand-drawn typography.
At a glance the page hits you with slashing red stripes beneath a dense, playful tangle of uneven black letters, tiny sketches and pointing hands so that reading becomes a frenetic, rhythmic experience rather than a neutral list of information.
Straddling his De Stijl sensibilities and Dada’s irreverence, van Doesburg made typographic layout an active, performative medium, helping to expand graphic design into expressive collage and the modern poster as avant‑garde art.
Medium
Lithograph
Dimensions
11 7/8 x 11 7/8" (30.2 x 30.2 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Gift of Philip Johnson
Accession
178.1945
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
![Untitled (Advertisement for Myself [Reklame für mich]) on poster designed by Raoul Hausmann for Dada Milchstrasse (Dada Milky Way) performance](https://www.moma.org/media/W1siZiIsIjQ3NjMzMyJdLFsicCIsImNvbnZlcnQiLCItcmVzaXplIDEwMjR4MTAyNFx1MDAzZSJdXQ.jpg?sha=ffab8e58e6cc4636)
