I have created an infographic on Visme to show a visual representation of my project development and research. This can be viewed full screen here. This is my development of ideas for a project using expressionist photography techniques. I am hoping that this explains further how I plan to work on these ideas.
I have been developing my idea for my Media project as stated previously this needed to be in conjunction with my art project this term where I was using Expressionism. However, here is an example of neo-expressionism by David Bowie - I will also be exploring neo-expressionism in my photography research.
As I am working in both Art and Media classes and my project for Art is in Expressionism I have chosen to develop an idea using Expressionist photography for Media class. This will mean I will have a clear theme through both projects.
I began developing this by looking at Expressionist films of the 1920's as the idea of German expressionist photography was: 'art in which the image of reality is distorted in order to make it expressive of the artist's inner feelings or ideas.' (Tate 2021)
Nosferatu (1922) was a seminal film of this era. The film is loosely based on the book by Bram Stoker, Dracula. The film uses light to create shadows that change in shape and size, also doorways and archways to frame the shots. The sense of fear and anticipation of horror is palpable. In Sweden this film was banned for excessive horror, the ban was only lifted in 1972. All known prints and negatives were destroyed of this film under a lawsuit by Bram Stoker's widow.
I also want to discuss here the photographs of Ernst Ludwig Kirchner as I am studying Kirchner's work in painting for Art, it is important to also look at the images that he took. He was an avid photographer, in fact the only Expressionist painter who really took an interest in photography - which makes him a perfect study for this as I am creating both paintings and photography in Expressionism. Thie photograph below is quite surreal with teh sculpture of the woman mirroring the real woman in the forefront of the image.
Nina Hard, nude in full figure, putting on make-up, 1921, photograph, 17 x 12.5 cm, unsigned, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner,
Kirchner took thousands of photographs and I will explore these in much more detail in later posts.
In terms of devloping the ideas I think this is a good starting point to cosider how I can create Neo- Expresionist photographs.
References
Tate (2021) Art Terms: Expressionism [Online] Available from: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/e/expressionism (Accessed 16/01/21)
Rima Shah Photography (n.d.) German Expressionism [Online] Available from: https://rimashahasphotography.weebly.com/german-expressionism.html (Accessed 16/01/21)
IMBd (1990-2021) The Cabinet of Dr Calgari [Online] Available from:https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0010323/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1 (Accessed 16/01/21)
Following the last post let's look more closely at Otto Dix who I discussed briefly in a previous post but who will be an important influence in my project work. I will look at the biography here of Dix as this is integral to his work and his experiences in the War.
Otto Dix
Otto Dix was born in 1891, Dix always showed an interest in Art and studies at Saxon School of Arts and Crafts. Here he was influenced by many other artists however he stated that his greatest influences were Goethe, Nietzsche and The Bible. Dix signed up for war after Arch Duke Ferdinand was assassinated and in 1915 he was assigned to a machine-gun unit on the front line. He was wounded several times throughout the war. In August 1918, he served in Flanders where he took a nearly fatal wound to the neck. During the war, Dix kept a diary and a sketchbook and this became the basis for 50 prints that he created just called - The War. (Dix 2009).
Later in life Dix was married and became a professor at the Kunstakademie in Dresden. he stayed here until the Nazi rise to power in 1933. Dix was stripped of his professorship and his work was displayed at the Degenerate Art Museum in Munich. They were later destroyed. Dix went to live quietly just painting landscapes and refused to leave Germany, he was conscripted to war again in the latter half of WWII but was captured and spent most of this in a French Prisoner of War camp. He died in 1969 and continued to make art until his death. (Dix 2009).
George Grosz
George Grosz also enlisted in the military in World War I (as did Adolf Hitler) as he thought it would be good for his artwork. He did not foresee with the latest in military technology the utter horror he would face - these experiences haunted him for the rest of his life. While Hitler was rising to power Grosz use his art to create satirical images of the radical right-wing and to show the public what they were capable of. When Hitler came into power Grosz and his wife and children had to flee to New York to escape death threats from the Nazis. He left just in time a few days later the Nazis raided his home and studio. Gros believed that the most important thing an artist could contribute to the world was social criticism
The above image Grosz created after he had gone to visit his home country, Germany in 1936. This self portrait expresses his anxiety horrified by what he saw and could see that Germany was heading for another war; Grosz stated; 'I could not explain exactly what was really troubling me. But after I had returned to the States, my paintings became prophetic. I was compelled by an inner warning to paint destruction and ruins; some of my paintings I called ‘Apocalyptic Landscapes,’ though that was quite some time before the real thing took place.” (MIA 2021)
Grosz used oil painting, sketching, and mixed media in his work and he continued to paint throughout his lifetime, although he never regained his prewar renown. Grosz died in 1959, he had returned to Germany after the war but struggled with drinking which led to his death.
Considering Grosz and his work, it reminds me very much of John Heartfield who also raged against the right-wing and Hitler before he came to power and who also fled to the USA. These artists should make us consider what our role in society is and should we involve ourselves in social criticism? Is it our duty as visual artists to reflect the world back at itself?
I have looked at these two artists in relation to concept and to some extent technique however, I think I need to look more at technique and how I will really learn the technique. As seen from my previous posts I was looking at Kirchner, I enjoy Kirchner as I think it looks simple, and yet I do not think that it really is. The painting looks naive and childlike at times but there is a depth to the images - as shown below. The artist uses rapid brush strokes and bold colours. 'He sought to distil his subject matter into what he termed ‘primordial’ signs; the bold, pared-down vocabulary of line and form evident in such works as Self-Portrait with Model (1910; Hamburg, Kunsthalle).'(Elan Vital n.d) I liked this idea of simplicity, boldness, and the line as I think that I might be able to achieve something like this in my own work. The next steps I will take will be to start practicing the technique.
References
Otto Dix (2009) The Online Otto Dix Project [Online] Available from: https://www.ottodix.org/ (Accessed 16/01/21)
Tate (2021) Five Things to Know About Otto Dix [Online] Available from: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/lists/five-things-know-otto-dix (Accessed 16/01/21)
MOMA (2021) Otto Dix: Der Krieg [Online] Available from: https://www.moma.org/collection/works/63259 (Accessed 16/01/21)
Lane M.M (February 2020) History.net: The Artist who dared to take on the Nazis from their earliest days [Online] Available from: https://www.historynet.com/the-artist-who-dared-to-take-on-the-nazis-from-their-earliest-days.htm (Accessed 16/01/21)
Jonathan 5485 (22/01/2011) My Daily Art Display: The Pillars of Society by George Grosz [Online] Available from: https://mydailyartdisplay.wordpress.com/2011/01/22/the-pillars-of-society-by-george-grosz-3/(Accessed 16/01/21)
Lackman J. (01/07/2010) Art News: His Own Best Critic [Online] Available from: https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/his-own-best-critic-327/ (Accessed 16/01/21)
Elan Vital (n.d.) Elan Vital [Online] Available from: https://elanvital.omeka.net/items/show/18 (Accessed 16/01/21)
SMART Objective: The End Times
This term I will use the theme of Expressionism to create six 2D pieces. These will be created using drawing/painting. I will probably use traditional methods however I may experiment using digital drawing as well. The concept for these pieces will be end times to reflect the world situation emulating the German Expressionists and their images of World War I & II. The final images will be scanned/photographed and digitised for the portfolio on my website.
Last week I was exploring the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end, and discussing the end times. I like the concepts I could bring into play here and I am still veering toward using expressionism as the theme. Therefore for this class development exercise, I used the Flag - as flags are extremely powerful, they are symbols of country and patriotism. In America, the punishment for burning, defiling, or mutilating the flag is a fine and/or imprisonment for up to a year.
In Danish law, it is banned to burn flags of other nations as this would be a provocation to other nations however burning the Danish flag is absolutely fine! In China, you can be imprisoned for up to three years for mocking the national anthem by singing it in a sarcastic voice. Burning, defacing, or stomping on the national flag. Germany punishes anyone who “reviles or damages” the German federal flag, with offenders receiving up to five years in prison. Nazi flags are banned in Germany and Austria and can only be used for educational purposes. In France as of July 2010, it is a crime to desecrate the French national flag in public and even distribute images of the action being undertaken in a private setting.
So using this powerful symbol I created an end of the world flag.
I created this using, pencil, watercolour pencil and red marker. I created the triptych of destruction on the left-hand side and the screaming head on the right to create a terrifying scenario. The earthnixlings are what we become a kind of nothingness and here the strong will survive and be reborn!
References
Nosowitz D (25/05/20) Altlas Obscura: Around the World: Things you can't do to flags [Online] Available from: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/flag-desecration-laws (Accessed 16/01/21)
Beswick E, () EuroNews: Which Country has the harshest punishments for disrespecting their flags [Online] Available from: https://www.euronews.com/2017/11/09/which-country-has-the-harshest-punishments-for-disrespecting-flags-and-national (Accessed 16/01/21)
Okay, today I joined a 2D 3D Class and completed the monochrome task - All of you (art and design students) will have yours on Instagram however since this is a one-off for me I thought I would just share my work here.
This is the image I used, just me as a baby....circa 1975!
