Response Questions

Dada was not a "movement" in art. What was it?
Dada was an anti-war movement. It was more of a revolutions against the political and social standards and ideas of the period.

Did the Dadaists and Futurists desire to change the status quo? Why???

How and why did they seek to challenge old conventional attitudes?

Change was a definite goal sought after by both groups. The strong demand for revolutionary action against the past, in all its forms, political, social, and artist alike, was the target the Futurists had set in their sites reacting strongly against the government of the time. The Dada wanted to change the principles of art and society and take artistic control away from the bourgeoisie and place it into the hands of the people.
The two groups used art to challenge the old ways rather than use political activism or social theory. The Futurist first, with their paintings and revolting manifestos, and the Dada opting to use action rather than speech about the need for such their art embodied revolt, and their use of style and medium represented their revolt against classical art forms; by using collages, found objects and sometimes even garbage true showing their disregard for the traditional art object and "beautiful" aesthetic.
The common goal of these movements were to spark change into society to allow them to think otherly about what was then viewed as norm. To reach this goal these groups knew that they need to completely remove the conservative and wealthy class from the art and excluded them and their ideas from this movement and show the commoner the true value of art and the worth of expression in what ever way suits the individual.

What is Noise Music?
Noise Music is music that uses socially arbitrary sounds sequenced together in a seemingly or sometimes purposely random way. This is true avant-garde, in most cases using non traditional instruments to create a musical score.

Explain why Marcel Duchamp plays a key role in the history of 20th century Art
Duchamp was a forerunner in the movement to change the state of art. He embodied the notion that art should be more than just appealing to the eye but that I should go beyond that and venture back to the mind turning art back over to the individual rather than what a certain "council" deems worth of the title art or even worth of the creation of said piece at all.

Explain why John Cage is also considered a key figure in body art. Who and what was he influenced by?
Cage was influenced by D.T. Suzuki's lectures on Zen Buddhism. I think his most prevalent tie to Body art is his hand in the development of modern art choreography through his music and collaboration with Marian van Tuyl.