Encounters from Dada till Today

In English for the first time: The pioneering Dadaist’s insights and remembrances of a lifetime working side-by-side with the leading modern artists of the twentieth century.

Painter, filmmaker, writer, and teacher Hans Richter (1888–1976) was at the center of some of the most important movements in modernism, including Expressionism, Dadaism, Constructivism, and Surrealism. In contrast to the image of the lone artist creating in isolation, Richter’s long and prolific career was fueled by his encounters with others. With appearances by Calder, Cocteau, Duchamp, Eisenstein, Fellini, Höch, Kaprow, Malevich, Mondrian, Man Ray, and Tzara (to name just a few), Encounters from Dada till Today documents the collaborative aspirations of a generation of modern artists, as well as testifies to a lifetime of friendships forged in creativity. In Richter’s words, “the form, the content, and the occasion of each encounter commemorate the unrepeatable particular person, and give him the small eternity to which everyone is entitled.”