Modernist Aesthetics in Transition : Visual Culture of the Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany / edited by Deborah Ascher Barnstone and Donna West Brett.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Ascher Barnstone, Deborah, editor.

Brett, Donna West, editor.

Series:

Visual Cultures and German Contexts.

Visual Cultures and German Contexts

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Art and society.

Modernism (Aesthetics).

National socialism and art.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (304 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Distribution:

London : Bloomsbury Publishing (UK), 2024.

Place of Publication:

London : Bloomsbury Visual Arts, 2024.

System Details:

text file HTML

Summary:

How did German aesthetic values change during the Weimar Republic and after its immediate collapse at the beginning of the National Socialist period? Contrary to conventional narratives that depict modernist aesthetics as static, shaping principles of modern art and design, this volume argues for their complexity and ever-shifting nature. Illuminating the vital exchanges that occurred across multiple art forms during a period of unmatched cultural activity, this multi-disciplinary volume explores the cultural transition between Weimar- and National Socialist-era Germany and offers a fresh perspective on the fate of modernism during a time of censorship and social stigma. Featuring essays on architecture, painting, photography, film, sculpture, cabaret, typography, and commercial design, the volume explores competing and comparable themes across German art from 1919-1945 and addresses how modern approaches like New Vision coexisted with more traditional and established artistic modes. Such visual complexity is evident from the volume's eclectic coverage: these include 'sexology' and eroticism, visual grammar in typography and architecture, the reception of Weimar art in the National Socialist period, and the formation and transformation of queer and Jewish identities. The volume encompasses subjects as different as shadow in the animated films of Lotte Reininger, filmic adaptations of Heinrich Zille's social commentary in the 1920s, the photography of László Moholy-Nagy, and depictions of female sexuality in Magnus Hirschfeld's oeuvre. By bridging multiple artistic fields, this highly interdisciplinary work provides a fresh perspective on the ever-changing art and aesthetic principles of early-20th-century Germany.

Contents:

List of Illustrations Introduction 1. Shadow Schein and Scherenschnitte: Lotte Reiniger and the Silhouettes of Early Weimar, Erin Maynes (Los Angeles County Museum of Art, USA) 2. Cinema of the Underprivileged: Heinrich Zille's Influence on Weimar Street Film, Andreas-Benjamin Seyfert (UCLA, USA) 3. Moholy-Nagy: Shadows and Space-Time, Donna West Brett (The University of Sydney, Australia) 4. Female Sexuality, Sex Research and the Visual Arts, Birgit Lang and Eliza Coyle (The University of Melbourne, Australia) 5. In Pursuit of Beauty: Manasse and Erotic Photography in the Weimar and Nazi Eras, Camilla Smith (University of Birmingham, UK) 6. Visual Diversity within Gleichschaltung? The Diffusion of 'New Typography' during the Interwar Period in Germany, Patrick Roessler (University of Erfurt, Germany) 7. The Case of Color in 1920s and 1930s German Architecture, Deborah Ascher Barnstone (The University of Sydney, Australia) 8. Altars to Ambition: The Triptych Revival in Late Weimar and National Socialist Germany, Peter Chametzky (University of South Carolina, USA) 9. Cabaret in Transition: Ilse Bois' Parodies Between the Times and Between the Genres, Mila Ganeva (Miami University, USA) 10. The Case of Breker: Sculpture Reception, 1919 - 1943, Nina Lubbren (Anglia Ruskin University, UK) 11. Flamboyantly Gay, Jewish and Avant-garde: Alfred Flecthheim's Dealing with Transitional Aesthetics, Transsexualities and Antisemitism, Fae Brauer (University of East London Centre for Cultural Research, UK) Index

ISBN:

9781350442535

1350442534

9781350442559

1350442550

9781350442542

1350442542

OCLC:

1440773544