Part of the Struggle. Art and politics in the Weimar Republic - ACE159.2

Photographs of Kaiser Wilhelm, German military leaders, soldiers, etc. Captions: "1914. Krieg! War Declared! World War." Paintings of scenes at the Front. Commentary says that, in Germany, the nationalistic fervour of the First World War inspired many young artists to enlist, but that their enthusiasm did not survive the reality of war. Work by Otto Griebel, by Otto Dix (Der Krieg / Trench Warfare, 1932), George Grosz (aka Georg Gross) (Grey Day, 1921). Photomontage (War and Corpses - the Last Hope of the Rich, 1932) by Helmut Herzfelde (aka John Heartfield). Another. Neue Jugend, anti-war magazine produced by Der Malik Verlag, publishing house formed by Grosz, Heartfield and the latter’s brother , Wieland Herzfelde. Captions: "1916. Dada." "Dada in Zürich." "Cabaret Voltaire." "Berlin Dada" Commentary says Dada "used total nonsense as a rationalisation of the human carnage caused by war". Dix’s Kriegskrüppel (1920). What is German culture? Shit! and others. First Dada event in Berlin (Ersten Internationalen Dada-Messe), held at the J B Neumann Gallery (1920). Prints. Actor as Grosz on the origins of Dada. Photographs from First World War. Caption: "71 Million Soldiers Enlisted. 10 Million Dead. 20 Million Wounded." Actor Grosz asks "What is the point of art?... The real task: a committed art in the cause of the revolutionary struggle. Art is a weapon…" Captions: "1918. November Revolution in Germany." "General Strike in Germany." "Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicates." "Peace." Photographs of demonstrations, of maimed ex-servicemen. Drawings by Grosz including Wacht auf, Verdammte dieser Erde / Arise, ye workers from your slumbers. Caption: "1919. Spartacist Revolt in Berlin." Photographs and film of Spartacist march, ex-soldiers, soldiers in streets with field guns, ruined buildings, Freikorps members, corpses, Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg, killed in the uprising. Caption: "1920." Photograph of the Dada-Messe Berlin; exhibits including posters proclaiming that Art is Dead and that Dada fights for the revolutionary proletariat. Drawing by Grosz. Magazines Jedermann sein eigner Fussball, Die Pleite, and Der Gegner. Work by Otto Dix, Pragerstrasse (1920); Streichholzhändler (The Match Seller) (1920). In Dresden, Dix began moving away from Dada "towards a more socially critical form of realism". Actor as Dix teaching in art school, wondering if it is possible to create new forms of expression; he believes one should develop what exists. Paintings by Lea Lange and Hans Grundig. Actor Dix talks about proper subject matter coming from a working class view of the world. Dix’s Head of a Woman (1923). Actor Dix saying that artists should move away from bourgeois art market and critics.