Tristan Tzara

Tristan Tzara (born Samuel or Samy Rosenstock, also known as S. Samyro, in Romania in 1896; died 1963 in Paris, France) was a Romanian and French avant-garde poet, essayist and performance artist. Also active as a journalist, playwright, literary and art critic, composer and film director, he was best known for being one of the founders and central figures of the anti-establishment Dada movement. He wrote the first Dada texts and, after he moved to Switzerland, Tzara's shows at the Cabaret Voltaire and Zunfthaus zur Waag, as well as his poetry and art manifestos, became a main feature of early Dadaism. His work represented Dada's nihilistic side, in contrast with the more moderate approach favored by Hugo Ball. After moving to Paris in 1919, Tzara, by then one of the "presidents of Dada," joined the staff of Littérature magazine, which marked the first step in the movement's evolution toward Surrealism. (Photo credit: Verlanga.)