Not a lot of people know what Dadaism is. It is an art movement in the mid-20th century that involved altering, disfiguring or mutilating existing works of art or everyday things in general. While it is no longer considered a major movement today, there are some who still create works of Dadaism. 

One famous piece is the bastardization of the Mona Lisa by Marcel Duchamp. He basically put a moustache on the Mona Lisa and called it LHOOQ. As funny as it may seems, it speaks volumes about his rejection of classical ideals. Today, dada has evolved into different practices with different names. Adbusting is one of those acts that are performed today. These involve altering messages of existing ads and banners to create an entirely new message. Or they may create custom street banners imitating existing ones so as not to violate the law. 

It is very hard to make sense of Dadaist works mainly because of the ambiguity. In that sense it is also hard to determine what qualifies as Dadaist art. A humorous take on the Canadian flag like replacing the maple leaf with a leaf of the plant Cannabis Sativa may or may not be seen as a work of art. In fact, people would consider it unpatriotic and an insult to the country itself. Some anarchists also alter the American Flag with reversed colors, or changing the starts into a hammer and sickle. To them it is art. To the rest of the world, it may be an insult. But in the end that is what Dadaism is about. It’s about shocking people to seeing the things in the world a whole new way.