Comic makes art documentary for BBC Four

Vic Reeves is to explore the absurd world of Dada art in a new BBC Four documentary.

The comedian will front the show under his real name Jim Moir  to mark the 100th anniversary of the avant-garde art movement.

Called simply Dada, the hour-long film will also feature Armando Iannucci, Terry Gilliam and Arthur Smith
 
And as part of the project, the comedian will restage an early Dada performance in Zurich’s Cabaret Voltaire where the movement first began, recreating lost artworks and devising some new ones in what’s described as ‘an entertaining and eccentric approach’ to re-telling the Dada story.
 
Moir said: ‘I first came across Dada at art school in the early 80s. It was funnier and more anarchic than anything else I discovered. And it didn’t always have to make sense! 

‘Out of all the -isms, movements and manifestos of the 20th century, it was the Dadaists who proved the most important – giving birth, not only to a lot of modern art, but also shaping comedy, music and political protest…’

The movement is said to have inspired everything from Monty Python to punk, Bowie to Banksy.

Dada will be aired as part of  a series called BBC Four Goes Conceptual this autumn.
 

Published: 23 Aug 2016