eubordersproject

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Exhibition Essay

Within the 20th century, Germany experienced tumultuous phases of widespread war and geopolitical division which, eventually, lead to a period of reconstruction. This included events such as World War II, the split of Germany into separate regions, and the reunification of Germany. In each of these segments, there was a clash of sociopolitical issues which fueled the creation of contemporary art. Due to this, the art of each time period can be seen as a time capsule for a certain perspective from each era. In particular, this exhibition displays art from each of the previously mentioned time periods chronologically in order to investigate the concept of borders.

While borders are traditionally thought of as the tangible separation of regions, they also exist as conceptual barriers dividing society into separate parts by ideology. For instance, when the Nazi (National Social German Workers’) party began to gain prominence before World War II, they labeled any art that did not follow their definition of classical values to be degenerate. From that, degenerate art became a border denoting an inside versus outside mentality. Those who disproved of degenerate art were on the inside with the Nazi party while those who approved of this type of art were on the outside against the party. Because of this division, the Nazi party started removing and banning artists who drew degenerate art. Thus, degenerate art became a border within German society which was enforced by the Nazi party.

After World War II, Germany was split into different regions which were each governed by one of the nations from the Allied Powers. Eventually, the western nations consolidated their territories causing Germany to be split into East and West Germany. The former was controlled by the Soviet Union while the latter was jointly governed by France, Britain, and the United States. Because of this, East and West Germany became diametrically opposed due to the differing ideologies of their governments. Due to the widely differing cultural values, the prevailing art styles from each region were in complete opposition with one another. From that perspective, the art of each region served to reinforce the ideological and cultural border separating each region. In order to represent this, the exhibition situates artworks from East and West Germany adjacent to one another. By doing so, the artworks of each region are readily available to compare and contrast with one another.

When the two regions of Germany were eventually reunited, East Germany was absorbed into West Germany, meaning both regions began following the laws established by the latter. During that time period, the reunification of Germany was widely celebrated which was also reflected within the contemporary art. Most artworks of this type featured the distinct cultural symbols from each region together in order to demonstrate the newfound unity. In doing so, the art normalizes the cultural differences between the two regions. Thus, the art dismantles the previously established cultural borders which distinguished East and West Germany.

From this examination of German artwork of the 20th century, art has been shown to have a multifaceted effect on borders. Depending on the subject matter, art can be used to reinforce or demolish certain borders while, at times, even becoming a border in and of itself. This is significant to border studies because art is contributing to the “overtly public and political contestation over the meaning of the border” (Johnson et al. 66). Thus, art is a component in the performative nature of a border which demonstrates how the practices of maintaining a border directly affect its societal power.

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This is a photograph of a hand titled 5 Fingers Has the Hand an art piece by John Heartfield. It was first produced in 1928 for the Red Flag newspaper. In addition, this image can be found on the John Heartfield website.

John Heartfield was a prominent Avant-garde artist who opposed the Nazi political party. This photo represents the five candidates of the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) working together to take down Hitler. This demonstrates how artists work to create political change which was dangerous due to the rising tensions between artists and the Nazi party which culminated in the concept of degenerate art.

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This is a photo of Arno Breker taken in the 1930s. Arno Breker was a German sculptor and architect focused on realism. In addition, this image can be found on the wikiart website.

Arno Breker was a classical artist who created idealized figures of the human form. Because of that, he was praised and supported by the Nazi Party since his art directly opposed what the Nazi party considered as degenerate art. Additionally, this label was usually given to modernist artworks which typically disregarded old traditions in favor of experimentation.

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This is a photo of Joseph Goebbels, a prominent Nazi politician, standing within the Degenerate Art Exhibition which was taken in 1938. The credit for this photo goes to Sueddeutsche Zeitung Photo/Alamy Stock Photo. In addition, this image can be found on the Art Agency, Partners website.

The Degenerate Art Exhibition was a special exhibition meant to showcase art that the Nazi party found distasteful. In this way, the exhibit was a political attack on the different styles of modern art arising from the time. One style that was prominently shown within this exhibition was expressionist works. Additionally, the Nazi party began to enforce its view by removing and banning artists who created degenerate art. From that, degenerate art became an ideological border dividing those who aligned and those who did not align with the Nazi party.

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This is a political cartoon drawn by Victor Vashi in 1961 which depicted a man split apart by the Berlin wall. While it was first published by a newspaper in Budapest, it also appears within Red Primer for Children and Diplomats which is a collection of Vashi’s political cartoons from the first fifty years of the Soviet Union.

After the end of World War II, Germany along with its capital Berlin was divided among the Allies into four regions governed by France, Britain, the United States, and the Soviet Union. Soon after this division, the countries of France, Britain, and the United States combined their sections, dividing Germany into a western and an eastern region. The former was governed by the western countries and named the Federal Republic of Germany (FDR) while the latter was controlled by the Soviet Union which named the region the German Democratic Republic (GDR). Since Berlin was located in East Germany, this caused West Berlin to be landlocked by the GDR. Due to the economic poverty created by the Soviet Union, many citizens from East Berlin immigrated to West Berlin. In order to stop this, the Soviet Union built the Berlin wall. This is the wall that separates the man, who represents Berlin, into two sections.

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This piece of artwork is titled The Big Night Down the Drain by George Baselitz. This oil painting was made in between 1962 and 1963 on a canvas that was 98 by 71 inches. While it is physically located in Museum Ludwig it is digitally hosted on the Gagosian website.

George Baselitz was an artist located within the Federal Republic of Germany who focused on neo-expressionism. This was an art style that was inspired by previous expressionists which emphasized a rough, imaginative depiction of the human figure. Additionally, this art style directly opposes Socialist realism which is most common art style found in the German Democratic Republic.

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This is a ceramic mosaic by Walter Womacka titled Our life. It was placed on a building that was named “House of Teachers” near Alexanderplatz in 1964. The digital image can be found on wikicommons.

Walter Womacka was an artist located within the German Democratic Republic who focused on Socialist realism. This was a particular art style that developed within countries under Soviet rule such as East Germany which idealized socialist ideology. In addition, most other artistic works were discouraged which made this type of artwork highly politicized as a method of propaganda. This is demonstrated by the fact that this mosaic was commissioned to be built on a public building. 

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This is a photo of a mural titled The Way of the Red Flag designed by Gerhard Bondzin and created in 1969 by the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts. This resides on the side of a modernist building named the Kalturpalast Dresden located within the German Democratic Republic. In addition, this photo can be found at the Saxony news website.

Gerhard Bondzin was an artist located within the German Democratic Republic who focused on Socialist realism. Like the last object, the mural acts both as public art and propaganda which explains its overt display. Since other artistic styles were suppressed, Socialist realism was the only prominent art style that developed from the GDR. This act of selective, artistic suppression was a common theme seen in authoritarian regimes such as Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union.

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This is a group of photos taken by Bernd and Hilla Becher in 1974 which depicted old industrial buildings. Collectively this artwork was titled as Pitheads. This artwork resides in the Tate collection and can be found on their website.

Bernd and Hilla Becher were artists located within the Federal Republic of Germany who focused on conceptualism. This was an art style that emphasized the ideas within the art over its aesthetic and technical aspects. Similar to the work by Baselitz, this serves as a stark contrast to the Socialist realism found in the German Democratic Republic. Since art styles such as neo-expressionism and conceptualism were the antithesis of Socialist realism, they ended up reinforcing the cultural borders between East and West Germany.

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This is a photograph of a section of the Berlin wall near Potsdamer Platz which was photographed by Nancy Wong in 1986. The digital image can be found on the History Today website.

Notably, Potsdamer Platz was a prominent public square in the center of Berlin that was destroyed during World War II. Due to the creation of the Berlin Wall, this area ended up being desolate until the wall was eventually taken down in 1989. Within the image, various forms of graffiti from the past several years are depicted. In particular, there is graffiti which states “On this day we stand divided. By its fall we are united.” As opposed to the artistic styles discussed earlier, this art serves to break down the borders which divide Berlin.

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This is a painting on part of the Berlin wall which depicts a Trabant car breaking through it. This artwork was created by Birgit Kinder in 1990 and titled Test the Rest. The digital image can be found on the Condé Nast Traveler website.

Within the German Democratic Republic, Trabant cars were the most common automobiles which made them a symbol for the people of Eastern Germany. Thus, this painting shows them breaking through the wall which serves to break down the border that was first established by the Berlin Wall in 1961. This and the previous artwork demonstrate how art can be used to demolish borders.