AH334 GERMAN ART AND ARCHITECTURE IN THE 20TH CENTURY: FROM 1933 TO THE PRESENT IES Abroad Berlin DESCRIPTION: This class is a survey and analysis of the most important trends in German art and architecture from the Third Reich to the present. The developments are presented within their respective historical contexts and special emphasis is placed on the role of Berlin in this epoch of big changes and famous artists. Topics include the intellectual, political, and social aspects of art and architecture under National Socialism. Also explored is the contrasting development of German art after 1945 in the East and West. In the GDR: Stalinism, Socialist Realism, and later the liberalization movement, and in the FRG: abstraction, realism, and other concepts and tendencies of Western Modernism. Various phases of urban reconstruction in the East will also be discussed, along with international building exhibitions in West-Berlin (1957, 1987), art and architecture after the German reunification: searching for identity in Germany, Berlin as the new capital of Germany, the face of the city at the turn of the century. CREDITS: 3 credits CONTACT HOURS: 45 hours LANGUAGE OF INSTRUCTION: German PREREQUISITES: None ADDITIONAL COST: (if applicable) material for art project METHOD OF PRESENTATION: Lectures including slide and video presentations Discussions Museum visit/ field trip Description and analysis of pictures Production of a final art project (equivalent to a written final term paper) Moodle will be used to enhance students' learning experiences. Pars pro toto : We will be viewing different representative examples from every important period and lessons will occasionally be accompanied by music. We will analyze the characteristics of certain aspects of selected art pieces or buildings as well as their relation to their respective time period, theme, style, composition, color, material and construction. Students will independently write two to three picture analyses which will enhance their ability to critically approach and engage with art as a medium. Students will choose the works of art they want to describe. Such picture critiques are also a part of every midterm and final exam. Alternatively, students can write personal statements reflecting their impressions after visits to museums and exhibitions. At the end of the semester students will create a piece of art with the work title Spirit of Berlin. Students have the freedom to choose themes, mediums, and techniques, and will be provided with professional input and technical support if needed. REQUIRED WORK AND FORM OF ASSESSMENT: Midterm Exam - 20% Final Exam - 25% Final art project (including presentation in class) or final term paper - 25% Course Participation 15% Written analyses of pictures -15% Midterm and final exams Midterm and final are written exams and consist of two parts 1) questions on material covered in class and 2) a comparative analysis of two pictures in relation to theme, composition, and own critical judgment/ evaluation. Art work Spirit of Berlin
At the end of the semester students will create and present their art project. Students can freely choose their topic but are required to discuss it with their professor. Outline: The written outline for the art project (approx. one page) needs to be handed in three weeks prior to the end of the semester at the latest. Any changes concerning the topic must be approved by the professor. Project: Topic, techniques, medium, quality of realization are evaluated. Presentation: The final art project will be presented in class during the final week (depending on the group size this will last approx. three to four hours with a short break). The presentation is part of the exam and the overall grade. The original art project (or in consent with the professor: an analog or digital copy of the work) must remain at the IES Abroad Center for final evaluation and grading. The work must contain the following information: project title, student name, home school, term. Term paper (as alternative to the art project) Students can choose a topic which must be approved by the professor. Paper outline (topic, research interest, bibliography) is due three weeks prior to the end of the semester at the latest. Paper length: approximately 5-7 pages plus cover page and bibliography, spacing 1.5; margin for corrections, pagination. Course participation and picture analyses This includes attendance, active participation in class discussions, and familiarity with the reader texts. Students are expected to actively engage in the analysis of the social and artistic background of the respective trends and the related study of pictures (for details concerning picture analysis see description above). ATTENDANCE POLICY: Attendance and punctuality at all IES Abroad courses, including course-related trips, is necessary and mandatory. Students are responsible for signing the attendance sheet in each class, and for clearing absences with their professors. Absences can only be excused for valid reasons. Students are responsible for producing documentation of these reasons if necessary (i.e. a doctor s note). Absences for travel or visits of friends or family members are not excused. Unexcused absences affect students grades: an unexcused absence leads to a deduction of 3% of the overall grade and may negatively affect the participation grade. Students who miss 25% or more of class sessions will receive a final grade of F for the course. Missed tests cannot be taken at another point in time except in case of documented illness. Students who are late for exams have no right to take extra time. If you are granted an excused absence from an examination (with authorization, as above), your instructor and center director will decide how you will make up the assessment component (by make-up examination or extra coursework). Late submission of term papers and other work is not accepted unless an extension due to illness or an emergency is approved. ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: Students are expected to abide by the IES Abroad Academic Integrity Code. Assigned papers need to be properly and amply footnoted where appropriate, with all sources attributed. Poorly written and grammatically sloppy papers will be judged more severely. Work with a language tutor. LEARNING OUTCOMES: Students will be introduced to the basic characteristics and terminology of art. In the course of the semester, they will be familiarized with the historical facts and societal context that constitute artistic movements as well as shape the intentions and works of artists. A similar approach will enhance the students knowledge of urban planning and architecture. CONTENT: Woche Themen Aufgaben
Woche 1 Introduction National Socialism: Reader: Kunst im Dritten Reich 1. ARCHITECTURE: the big architectural plans 2. ART and ideology in the Third Reich; Entartete Kunst (degenerate art), inward and outward emigration Woche 2 National Socialism: 1. ART and ideology in the Third Reich; Entartete Kunst (degenerate art), inward and outward emigration (continuation of week 1) Reader: Kunst im Dritten Reich Reader: Kunst in der DDR: 50er-60er Jahre Division of the German cultural development after the Second World War: 1950s and 60s: 2. ART: Stalinist dogmas and Socialist Realism 3. ARCHITECTURE: Sowjet-style architecture; Beginning of liberalization and industrialization Woche 3 1950s and 60s: Reader: Abstrakter Expressionismus 1. ART: joining the art of Western Modernism: Abstraction, Informel Countermovement to the art of the informel: Zero, New Figuration, pathetic realism Woche 4 1950s and 60s: Reader: Abstrakter Expressionismus Zero Baustelle Berlin: Wohnen und Kultur
1. ARCHITECTURE: International Style West- Berlin as an example: Interbau: City West, Kulturforum Woche 5 1970s and 80s: Reader: Kunst in der DDR: 70er-80er Jahre 1. ART: new (liberal) tendencies; centers: East Berlin, Dresden, Leipzig Woche 6 Midterms Woche 7 1970s and 80s 1. ARCHITECTURE: socialist inner cities; industrial construction (Platte) versus dilapidation of historic urban substance, modern architecture: East Berlin s city center as an example Reader: Kunst in der DDR: 70er-80er Jahre Woche 8 1970s and 80s: Reader: IBA Woche 9 1. ARCHITECTURE: International Building Exhibition Berlin-West (IBA) 2. ART: new styles in painting; Expansion of the notion of art: individual mythologies; material art, installation, performance Visit to selected IBA-areas 70er und 80er Jahre: 1. ART: new styles in painting; Expansion of the notion of art: individual mythologies; material art, installation, performance (continuation of week 8) Reader: Erweiterung des Kunstbegriffs Individuelle Mythologien Woche 10 90s and 2010s: Aspects of all-german and globalized art and architecture
Woche 11 Woche 12 Visit to a museum/ gallery of contemporary art Course summary Exam preparation Finals PRESENTATION of students art projects COURSE-RELATED TRIPS: Visit to a selected museum or a current exhibition Walking tour of a selected city quarter REQUIRED READINGS: Europarat, Hayward Gallery et al, eds., Kunst und Macht. (exhibition catalogue) London: sbc, Oktagon, 1996. Gillen, Eckhart, ed., Deutschlandbilder. (exhibition catalogue) Köln: DuMont, 1997. Joachimides, Christos. et al, eds. Deutsche Kunst im 20. Jahrhundert: Malerei und Plastik 1905-1985. München: Prestel, 1995. Kapitzki, Christel, ed., Berlin. Visionen werden Realität. Berlin: Jovis, 1998. Verband Bildender Künstler der DDR, ed. X. Kunstausstellung der DDR Dresden. (exhibition catalogue) Berlin: VBK/ DDR, 1987. Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Nationalgalerie, ed., Kunst in der DDR. Eine Retrospektive. (exhibition catalogue) Berlin: G+H Verlag, 2003. Nicolaus Schafhausen, Frankfurter Kunstverein, eds.: deutschemalerei 2003. (Ausstellungskatalog), Frankfurt: Lukas & Sternberg et al, 2003 RECOMMENDED READINGS: Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Preußischer Kulturbesitz, ed. Das XX. Jahrhundert. Ein Jahrhundert Kunst in Deutschland. (exhibition catalogue) Berlin: Nicolai, 1999. Feldmeyer, Gerhard. Die neue deutsche Architektur. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer, 1993. Kapitzki, Christel, ed., Berlin. Visionen werden Realität. Berlin: Jovis, 1998.