East German Art and Cultural Politics: An Introduction By April A. Eisman 1 y
On October 7, 1949, the Soviet Zone of Occupation in post-war Germany became the German Democratic r a r b i
Republic (GDR, or East Germany). From the beginning, art played an important role in East Germany, where it L
m l was viewed as a vital element in the development of the ‘all-around socialist personality.’ Artists were i F
A F
expected to create art that addressed the people, while the people were expected to be interested in art and E D
e
to explore their creative side. The form that this art was to take, however, was a source of frequent debate h t
y b over the forty-year history of the GDR, and especially in the first two decades of the country’s existence. e s a
Although many communist artists had embraced modernism during the Weimar Republic and were persecuted e l e R by the Nazis for both their political and aesthetic beliefs, the East German leadership often had difficulty D V D accepting modernist styles in these early years, in part because of the Soviet Union’s emphasis on a conser - A •
vative style of socialist realism. Seeing similarities between the Soviets’ artistic style—one marked by opti - s t r o mism, monumentalism and a straightforward realism—and that of the Nazis, many East German artists, on h S
x i the other hand, challenged its suitability for the GDR. The result was a cultural policy marked by freezes and S
K R
thaws depending on whose views—politicians’ or artists’—had the upper hand. O W
|
T R A
The history of East German art begins before the founding of the German Democratic Republic in •
1949 with early postwar paintings by artists such as Wilhelm Lachnit (1899-1962) and Hans Grundig (1902-1958). n a m s
These early works tended to emphasize the hardships of postwar life and, especially, the suffering of commu - i E
. A
nists at the hands of the Nazis. In 1945, for example, Lachnit, who lost most of his oeuvre in the bombing of l i r p
Dresden, created a small painting titled, Der Tod von Dresden (Death in Dresden , Staatliche Kunstsammlungen A
y b
Dresden, Galerie Neue Meister), which became a key work in the canon of pre-East German art, where it ” , n o i functioned as a reminder of the destruction the Germans had brought upon themselves. It shows a woman and t c u d
child amidst the glowing-red wreckage of the city, head in hands, she slumps over her little boy, who leans o r t n I against her and looks out at us forlornly. Behind them, a skeleton under a yellow blanket mimics her pose, as if n A
: death itself is overwhelmed by the loss of life. A year later, Grundig created a similar work of loss that acqui - s c i t i red an even higher place in the Eastern canon, Victims of Fascism (1946, Opfer des Faschismus , Museum der l o P
l bildenden Künste Leipzig). This painting depicts two prisoners laid to rest in the assembly grounds of a r u t l
Sachsenhausen concentration camp. The red blanket around one, and the red triangle on the other, identify u C
d them as communist prisoners. The shape of the painting—long and narrow, like a predella panel on a triptych, n a
t r A
which usually depicts Christ laid out after his Crucifixion—suggests that they, like Christ, suffered and died for y n the sins of the people and would rise again. The implication is that the victims of Nazism, especially anti- a m r e
fascist communists, had earned the right to rule in the wake of the Third Reich. G
t s a
Both Lachnit and Grundig went on to become important figures in the East German art world, play - E “ ing key roles in early postwar Dresden. In East Germany, only four cities had a major art academy: Berlin, Dresden, Leipzig and Halle. 1 Each school was assigned a different pedagogical emphasis based on its history. Halle focused on applied art, as a result of its location near Dessau, a former home of the Bauhaus. Leipzig, a traditional center for bookmaking, focused on graphic arts. The art academies in Berlin and Dresden both focused on painting. Nicknamed the “Florence on the Elbe,” Dresden had been a center for painting since the 18 th century—with artists ranging from Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (1880-1938) and Otto Dix (1891-1969), to Caspar David Friedrich (1774-1840)—and had outstanding art collections dating from the renaissance to the 20th cen -
1 A fifth major art academy in Weimar closed in 1951. tury. Grundig was the first postwar director of the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts, where until 1954 Lachnit was an important teacher, including of Jürgen Böttcher (b. 1931), who paints under the pseudonym Strawalde. 2
To become a professional artist in East Germany after the mid-1950s generally required studying at y r a r
one of the four art academies. The course of study lasted five years and emphasized concrete skills, such as b i L
m
drawing, perspective and color theory; students also had to take courses in art history and Marxism-Leninism. l i F
A
Upon fulfilling the requirements for graduation, which included putting on a small exhibition of recent work and F E D
writing a thesis, most students joined the Association of Visual Artists (the VBK). This allowed them to be practi - e h t
cing artists in East Germany, where some worked as freelance artists and others became teachers. The low cost y b
e s
of living generally meant that they could survive on the creation of art alone. Membership in the VBK provided a e l e
artists with social benefits including a pension, as well as access to art materials and commissions. R
D V
In addition to the national branch, located in Berlin, the VBK also had local branches in each of the D
A •
fourteen districts ( Bezirke ) of East Germany. These local branches disseminated national policies and managed s t r
local matters, such as commissions and the regional art exhibitions that took place every two to three years. The o h S
x
history of the district and the personalities of those involved resulted in significant differences in how cultural i S
K
policies were carried out in each region as well as the development of local styles. There was also competition R O W
between the regions with regard to national recognition, as some of the works shown at the regional art exhibiti - |
T R
ons were chosen for the national art exhibition, which took place in Dresden every four to five years. Each chap - A
•
ter of the VBK kept track of how many of its artists were represented. Every four to five years, the VBK also spon - n a m
sored a conference that brought together artists, art critics and historians, and cultural functionaries from across s i E
.
the country to give papers and discuss cultural policies for the arts. A
l i r
East German cultural policies pertaining to art were marked by alternating periods of tolerance and p A
y b
repression, often related to political events of one kind or another. In the immediate wake of the Second World ” , n o
War, the artistic atmosphere throughout Germany was marked by an openness to modern art not seen since the i t c u
Weimar period. At the Allgemeine Deutsche Kunstausstellung (General German Art Exhibition) held in 1946—the d o r t n
first of ten major exhibitions of contemporary art held in Dresden—modernist works that would have been pillo - I
n A
ried by the Nazis as “degenerate” were the norm, including work by Kirchner and Dix, as well as Max Beckmann : s c i t i
(1884-1950), George Grosz (1893-1959), Paul Klee (1879-1940) and Oskar Kokoschka (1886-1980). Lachnit and l o P
Grundig also exhibited work in this exhibition. l a r u t It was first with the increasing hostilities of the Cold War period that modern art’s role in the East l u C
began to be questioned. In October 1948, in the midst of the Berlin Blockade and less than a year before d n a
t Germany was officially divided into two countries, two articles in bildende kunst —East(ern) Germany’s profes - r A
2 y sional art journal—marked the first phase of the “formalism debates.” These articles took opposite stances on n a m r
the role that art should play in society. In “Art and Politics” ( Kunst und Politik ), Karl Hofer called for artistic free - e G
t s
dom, arguing that it is up to the artist to decide on style and content, including whether or not to be political. In a E “Politics and Art” ( Politik und Kunst ), Oskar Nerlinger argued that no art could be free from politics, even that “ which claimed to be, and therefore all art, as a public medium, should be accessible to the people. The latter view won out with political leaders; in their view, a realist style was a prerequisite for fulfilling this purpose. The second phase of the formalism debates took place when N. Orlow published the article “Directions and Misdirections of Modern Art” ( Wege und Irrwege der modernen Kunst ) in the Tägliche Rundschau on January 20, 1951. In it, he called for optimism in art, stating that pessimistic works like those by Käthe Kollwitz (1867-1945) reflected an earlier moment in time, one that predated the victory of communism, and
2 This journal began as bildende kunst and would later become Bildende Kunst. were thus not suitable for East Germany. These two phases of the formalism debate essentially set the stage for official insistence on a conservative form of Socialist Realism, based on Soviet models, that emphasized realism, 3
figuration and optimism, as well as monumentality and heroicism. y r a r
Although art of this kind was made throughout the nearly forty-year history of the GDR—and is what b i L
m
most Anglo-Americans associate with socialist realism—it reached its official apex in 1953, at the Third German l i F
A
Art Exhibition in Dresden. In the wake of Stalin’s death in March of that year and the Workers’ Uprising three F E D
months later, East German cultural policy loosened somewhat, in the first of several thaws. Artists began to expe - e h t
riment with modern art, inspired by Italian realists, such as Renato Guttoso (1911-1987), and Mexican muralists, y b
e s
such as Diego Rivera (1886-1957) and David Alfaro Siqueiros (1896-1974). In the mid-1950s, Bildende Kunst even a e l e
ran a series of articles about Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) as a possible role model for East German artists, due to R
D V
his combination of a modernist aesthetic with communist politics. D
A •
It was in these more relaxed years of the “New Course” in the mid-1950s that Jürgen Böttcher, who s t r
had graduated from the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts in 1953, started working as a freelance artist in Dresden. o h S
x
That winter, he taught a painting and drawing class at the local adult education center ( Volkshochschule ), beco - i S
K
ming friends with several of his students, including Peter Graf (b. 1937), Peter Herrmann (b. 1937), Peter Makolies R O W
(b. 1936) and Ralf Winkler (b. 1939, who later became famous in the West as A. R. Penck). Although better known |
T R
today as a filmmaker than painter, Böttcher set the standard for his students in those years, and together they A
•
studied old masters like Giotto and Rembrandt, as well as modern artists like Picasso, whose influence can be n a m
seen in several of Böttcher’s paintings from this period. In Mutter mit Kind (Mother with Child 1956, Staatliche s i E
.
Kunstsammlungen Dresden, Galerie Neue Meister), for example, Böttcher—who had begun studying film in A
l i r
Potsdam-Babelsberg the previous year—painted a black woman in a white dress, seated on a wooden chair in a p A
y b
room decorated only by a table, a small painting and a door. The woman wears a white hat and red high-heeled ” , n o
shoes and holds a little girl, presumably her daughter, who wears a yellow dress in a similar style. The colors i t c u
throughout are muted earth tones; the forms are simplified, with dark outlines emphasizing their flatness; and the d o r t n
thick brushwork of the painting sits on top of the canvas in large, but controlled strokes. Although figurative, this I
n A
painting rejects the monumentalism and near-photographic realism that had been promoted at the Third German : s c i t i
Art Exhibition just a few years earlier. l o P
In the same year, Nikita Khrushchev, the leader of the Soviet Union, delivered his famous speech l a r u t acknowledging Stalin’s crimes at the 20th Party Conference of the USSR. This speech forced a reassessment of l u C
the Stalin cult, which had persisted since his death three years earlier. The revisionist discussions that ensued d n a
t expressed an increasing desire for “Socialism with a human face,” one that took a “third path” between Stalinist r A
y
communism and western capitalism. With the Hungarian Revolution in October and November 1956, such n a m r
discussions came to an abrupt end, as Khrushchev sent in Soviet tanks to quell the protesters. This crackdown in e G
t s
the political realm was accompanied by a new freeze in the visual arts in East Germany. Modern art, including a E Expressionism, was rejected. Editor-in-chief Herbert Sandberg, who had allowed the articles about Picasso to be “ published in Bildende Kunst , was removed from his position. Over the next couple of years, art publications and official proclamations emphasized the importance of the Soviet Union and socialist life as models for art. In 1959, another new policy for the arts was implemented. Known as the Bitterfelder Weg (Bitterfeld Way), it encouraged artists and writers to go into the factories, where they were expected to get to know the workers, who were to be both the audience for and the focus of their work. Workers, on the other hand, were to learn how to create art themselves, as this was seen as an important element of the well-rounded socialist personality. In 1959, Heinrich Witz (1924-1997) created a painting titled, Der neue Anfang (The New Beginning , Art Collection of the Wismut GmbH, on permanent loan to the Haus der Geschichte in Bonn ) in response to the 4
Bitterfeld Way, a painting that seems to demonstrate his interest in and understanding of the workers. It depicts y r a r
two brigade leaders in suits shaking hands over a table at a festive social gathering. Well-dressed men and b i L
m
women look on from their seats, while champagne bottles and glasses wait for the toast to come. It is an image l i F
A
that stresses worker collegiality, which was promoted in East Germany as a positive alternative to the individual - F E D
ism pursued in the West, as well as the fruits of collaboration. Highly praised by politicians, Witz received a e h t
number of prizes in 1960 for this painting, including the City Prize of Leipzig, although he would later be publicly y b
e s
criticized by a number of artists for the poor quality of the work’s painterly execution. a e l e
Not all attempts to realize the Bitterfeld Way were greeted as positively by politicians (or as nega - R
D V
tively by artists). In the same year that Witz created Der neue Anfang , Harald Metzkes (b. 1929), an important artist D
A •
from East Berlin—and one who studied with Lachnit in Dresden around the same time as Böttcher—created a s t r
painting titled, Polytechnischer Unterricht (1959, lit. Polytechnic Instruction, Galerie Junge Kunst, Frankfurt/Oder). o h S
x
It shows four students working together amidst industrial equipment on a project involving a variety of tools. i S
K
Although it, too, emphasizes collegiality and, in this case, men and women working together on a project requi - R O W
ring both manual and intellectual skill, it was heavily criticized for its modern style, which is evident in its com - |
T R
pressed depiction of space, simplified forms and visible brushwork. A
•
It was in this era, in August 1961, that construction began on the Berlin Wall. Although viewed in the n a m
West with almost universal horror and disdain as the symbol of a dictatorship gone too far, the Wall had a more s i E
.
complicated reception in East Germany. Some artists and intellectuals saw it as a necessary evil—the only way A
l i r
to keep East German workers from going to the West, where the pay and material benefits were better—and p A
y b
hoped that the authorities would relax once the threat of the West had been removed. These artists began taking ” , n o
more risks with their work and advocating for an art based on German, rather than Soviet precedents. The result i t c u
was a multi-year period of confrontation between visual artists and politicians over who had the right to deter - d o r t n
mine artistic policy in East Germany. Such confrontations were not new, as evidenced by the Formalism Debate. I
n A
What was new was the confidence artists exhibited in claiming the right, as part of the intellectual elite, to deter - : s c i t i
mine artistic policy, in large part the result of the “breathing space” they hoped the Wall had opened up. l o P
This newfound confidence also coincided with the emergence of a younger, more experimental l a r u t generation of artists onto the East German art scene in the early 1960s. Members of this new generation of l u C
artists—most of whom were born in the 1920s—appeared in a controversial exhibition that opened at the d n a
t Academy of Arts in East Berlin in September 1961, “Junge Künstler / Malerei” (lit. Young Artists / Painting). r A
y
Organized by the internationally renowned communist sculptor Fritz Cremer (1906-1993), it showed work by seventy - n a m r
two painters, including academy-trained artists as well as people working outside the official sphere, such as e G
t s
Böttcher and his circle of friends from Dresden. This exhibition marked what Cremer believed to be a new direc - a E tion in East German art. The East German government, by contrast, criticized the works shown as dilettantish, “ primitive and formalist, but were unable to close the exhibition down because of Cremer’s position in East Germany and the support of other influential cultural figures, such as Hanns Eisler and Anna Seghers. Böttcher graduated from film school in the same year as this controversial exhibition took place. His debut as a professional documentary filmmaker titled Drei von vielen (Three of Many ), focused on three of his students and friends from Dresden—Peter Graf, Peter Herrmann and Peter Makolies—all of whom had shown work at the “Young Artists / Painting” exhibition, but supported themselves by means of other jobs. Although I t w w t w m A s B a w s s t b a s a c R 2 n a t S f m H o n R t g a i n h n h h h e i y p p t 0 s y r p i o n c f i e n e E e r ö o e i a o a y s e n
e
e e e w
g n 0 t t
e e
1 p r d i n d c a g D g t n l m a t r h s n
s r z g s
4 u
o e t 9 a e T h l
e
o s p e r e
i i s e e
c
e
e a s w “ i ) o o o e 7 t r n
s e f C t k c t t e n r m t u x
d c S
h
o p r a y u h a n n i a 7 r f
d a a y e g a o h
h e
e m b u t
k a
e r o e L t d s p r t , a a n a m
t o j n r a r p f ;
i e n h e b l t e e f u i i e
e r c b s
a e s a p m i l l d h n o g
o d l a h a c k t e
. i o r e s l s s i
i i s ) r o
d i A A r
e f o n h r p
i c a e b t s n a n , T
, t a W u i
i a u l d s
i
r c d s m
r s t
i t
r r z w r l
o y t a
r w t h v a s t t t o l l a h i
i f c e t t h o a i e e u i A k
E A A I
e a e s
a f o o n n t
e e g
i
C l f t t f e e o a r h e E E n p e w i s n n c o f t x s n r t
h t l l r
n
d c
a e
r a o w l f t e r e s i y a i m
x x S
t a i d w
d h h
o R l t e n g h c o
i t i i t
f h h
w t r m e
d h r h m a t t t z w r a
e i o o
r t k a a v e i i
a o h ” t t u h h a b f
a g e a t e o g r a t : i i r h i
t l d
f o
s e m s i
a b b p h n u
s o r a i
r i a d w a i h g y
a s d t m a “ r h c s t e c r
r
“ e d n h l i t i o e g g
r w i
t e t t l t e u n W i t
i t t t t a s o l o r o s o b l
h t h k
. . c u o
s a l e i e i r
h a e a l
e o
B t i b o
o h p W M d l
n n r i r s t T e m W e c e c a e f e
t y d l
t i h f r r a d t k e e f f n n e r o e n r h
e s t e h x
o
i h
r s s
e u i
b s e a e a e
s e e n
f V u a d i c
a r w
e r e h r h
a
i i n e n i , i i n o o c e n
, e i a n s n s t m e f s s c l e n
d i n n i g e
i
n s i n m t f o
s g w a n d l l f u n e t
b s
t c n h s a e K h n t r t
d e u o r
c e o i h p , p d r
L L i l
h
o l e n E n i t
e — d s a r
h s e i l
w
u
t a
t e l t o d n i w e o l
e e o c
p i l
s d E o n u v
a
s , i a n
r h t E i u n i a n n s e
o 1 n
e a r a c h i i f e e o o u d e
a
t C r s h i y t w o p p r
e a
n s i 9 c d h s n n a c
d r a
h e
r r a l c t
i n r i t s e e s r w z z E B i t n r . r t 7 H c h d t k o
e
t e
h
l c
e
h t h
m a i i t G
y c t d b r i
f a i 4 r T g
h t i e
g g n ( i l a o e h r i p n n o y e b m t n
a
G v e e h p b l 1
c e , s e n h r w h
E
a
t o w r
n i e
o
a r
y a
n H W a i w 9 n e
e l r s e h c a t e i t r t e s e E n e
a n i s s
n
l
u o o s r h 2 a s d m i l n
a e x
b G i a o t m r
G r s a u g i
e
e s y W i c w
e t
g v 7 h r m e s 1 a n e e
a p t r e p m n t f e h t
D s a p
d r e w k y e o e - s e u h m r 9 e o y
( u
l t l a a e t u e e
e t a 2 G s n p i o . r e 1
y t r R r e r w 6 a
r
e d
f n a
a d a n s
m , b c v
s 0 e b
n s G , 9
a
o f m
5 a
e t , r q o w
”
t l a s i i , i p d a p i t 0 e l
k y
e 2 F h
i s e n t
t r c e . e e a i b r q ,
t u p n a
i r
i e p 4 i c e
t a
5 e o i o o h g a m s n t n
s T i l n p w r n t w a l n
u e e
r a l 1 ) h d e - . e r r
v n u p
m u a a 1 t t e
c h — g t
o
r i
i h 2
a s n t 9
f s l e
a e i i a
c n c w 9
r a n r l n t h
c
a e e s a s
t r 0 a t 8 a d a , n n b o t i e
t r d s 7 u
o k
r i t
s a t i t h c ;
f s
1 o t 2 h r o e i 7 n
d
s e i t e f
e u p a s
4 p i l
l
h n l t o a t d w h s
1
t f r y , a t
8 i c a h n d y
s s , h . t d i C a
l r , e o c t u m e c g n r
) s
a o 1
0 h , s w t o
t o
. s t e I h b g i
a l t
r l o h r r
l i o e a t
n 9
o t a
c w t
l e i
u s I n W i w o a s a s e i e a a o
t a n h i n
e p t o f n 8 r l l d
n e w n
t c d o t p l
e
f l r c t e e i r
w
a w i g n s o 4 d i e a
i
c n -
d e e h d s t e t
t o n i n
e a p
w e d a n t r h
i t
r n t s
m r n b o
e e
s a e
s a l i a h h n f g o y t u c
e o i i i
s b
o W n r i g o D i d o n n e t h v t d c p d r
s t n e - e t o
f s e e i s l
s
y q W
i n
a r a r e i
n
t a d t s i
w
o r
t e o d t - H d s a c a
e
a c
h o d r
e b u h W o i t l c
a d i s l t i a m c n e
c t l e e l i n f
t x s g u h e
e v i h n y e i 1 o y m t e h c m n r
o
s H n s e
c
t o r s e e 7 e n b t e
r i p e e t 9 n
o f m s e e r d m r w s a h n
, t m e o o e t 0
a r
r i y s 8 e e i l
a
t f
h t
i s n
i b t n n e o i
R a s c
- f a
t g i n b g i j p
h t 8 a y s U m x t b o s e o S e o s o e t 8 e y . i o t x r s o i o i n
, . y , r e
m h s a h e i n e n s r i x
s
0
l r c
r d o s ,
o e t g n t s
b p B a i T 1
g
e
l i w
h l e g a e r % s a i t
h i
m V c
b t i d l l
t t e 9 r e n r r i ü b b
a a n
y y e h a e t d
m o
e r o a s i i i a e t e u B 8 w o r s
r
b o a y y c
t
t n r t c i e n r
c p m o n W r e r t h i u l i s p c 5 e
p t b , u K
k d l h o l s i h g t i e t d o
i k p t e f
i a z t
a t e o r r u o l s y o t p e s f h t
a e . a t n s e e h e e p
r e
n s o e t
o m s
p d r t
a R a v o c m o
k C e
s r h n — a
t o s
r s i d t a a i c
i r 1
s e o n o h r d l k o
n a r s e
a n
, e d t r m s
r
, i
t n s t h
N 9
a l
s r f
a
f e e e n . b n i t u s i n i t
d
i
i M p p t
t t n o d 8 i
h e h k p o n u r f u T s
h m
t s a y t d y i n m t d u o a l y c t t 0 e h
n h e
i o r e r r c c a a i d
h l e h a h z e t g M s
e
r v n e s e i t i e e s
e a e h a
a l h i a l n c c i e h r t t e r e l s
t t u e
s e , e
a . , r n a
y o o l e r e h k d t
h
a r t ” t e
e
c e
p
w
. d t
w s o t w n h t i i
s t t a s e r s w
u
o
c
e t h n
n b i e
e r
A f c . i o T i
t o h o i a c o t S ; r w x o t
n s i a o e u
h e h n g f h
y n y a r A n a
t f h S l n r i f e n t h a r e t s g n r
m l i l
i s s o
l s e
d h i s s a a n t s
h k s i t A e 1 r
E k . a t t i m i
e s t t
u
1
h
b u
i h e m h t s t
l a H
i H a 9 h t o
p
H D l n a t p i
s s i i b
, r b f h e
i o e h e
h i s n s t c 8 1 t a d r r u t a o e a g s e i n V h e r e w e l o a
l i u t r e i o p
e 0 9 t C
i r i
b S a o t r a i l
r ,
s w o s
m B c e l
t t “ t s t
0
. t s s e E w e
w o m
. e o l r h
n
p
w n
i E e m w w 1 . h r n i
i
t K T r s w o o
a e i a .
g n c s
E n
s o a s n w t D n 9
a e a d e o t g w h h f r
o s n c n h i i h , a t , ; l a s e l n 6
r e
t n s c n e k
t
e i r i o t e e a s t
h o i i e W e K i s t
v a c
4 i t r c
c a a s o s s h e n c n h t a v p t
s i r j G t
e u c e d , n u y h o o w
e
t
h l t
n m t e i e a
e a l e o b e s d
r t v
a R c , w e 1
e
o d n i n i
C
, n t
h
o d e c n d n
s o n e e r e t a
a t 9 B t g b h h i r g a
g s a i o h e o n e h v o f e a o t i
t
l e r m t n d m 7 r r o e
t s t f u b h d E i a h l w w e e e i m e
e a o k s m n i t h e i
1 d
t
S o
v c m e
a t a l r e n 1 1 d
a e y h
r n S s k d
l a P i e e
e a e p m e o s . e e n t i
c s n 9 5 i
i
n
d e
a
e e T n h t n r n r l e h r p 1
a D p f B a ( t r v 6 %
o y e e i d i e f e
r d
l m t b v ü
d a
g y 5 t n n a u r l t e e 5 t
.
G
o h m h y n d t a
s n
n h s
e h t o . b
e
% t
d b
t e I l n a n
s c o e i u
i
t S t e t c e d o a u e t n e 1 1 e p s o k l n t w r
h e h t r p a
u f
m , h
b w r e l o
u t 9 9 o m
t e h b
(
t f G t
f e W , e b c i m a t C h v m l w h i i
t i e e 2 8
- v g o c
e i i t m
s t h e w D
b i e r ( c t o c o o i h h 4 5
i e r s r h h n a g t 1 e . h s a i e e g n e g e
n e r i R t t s ) , f l e t i n u ” . 9 n s S a n d i y u i ,
i t t l
t y
r i
s s a c c
t t . i
h -
2 t r n y a — n t w
t a m f i l h c a t
i l e h o i a - e a 9 i i o c o - m n s l r n e r n s h f l - -
t s f m i d y 6
e d . - o a t 5 “East Germany Art and Cultural Politics: An Introduction,” by April A. Eisman • ART | WORK Six Shorts • A DVD Release by the DEFA Film Library a c o t C o t n s g W t D t G a A e t N s S M b n s a b c t a r a S a 1 a m o h h i h h e t t y 9 r h n v i r o o l a e o r u l u r c o o c r e
e u a y s e a
e e e o t t e t t t B a s 8 e e a
v n c a t r t c b l c h
. r i i . l o u m t s r t d
s h
i t 4 s
r
e r e r e s m r l e
h r e h e n 1 1 b n M k i l i F e ,
e , e l e a
l . t a o e i n d a
d ,
i e
r 9 9 o ,
e
p e
W e e r e
s a
m n s a m
a
I t m t n l r i t
e u t u a e 3 4 S n o w o , d i m t
w t f
i h L h o r i h
n n
s n G t m a
t d c 0 0 s a 1 n n e t g n a o a e k
e w V h e i m i e y m d h i e
a g n s s t n 9 e
r D r y
n s e e
r c G i e
e
. r h i s i a
o
t f p
, ,
8 a c b U
e e s
s r t . t a c s d C
( h R h a p a n A w
o t e e
s
t
b w 4 z b i s , e e N
u H
n t a e w h
i l t e c e b t
u ’ o e f a
r i t r
c a s e i e
w . ) h , , g D B T g
l d i t h g c m n e a o a a
t
t r l
l . f x i t d t
o
h t d g e 1 t o r a
i i
k i h )
i h i L e e e u h u y t r d n t
n h s c p n u f o t e o
a r 9 a
t e a
e t i l e u e e e e t h
d y . n k r t w
l o t s i b h k h e n r h d c , 5 t h n t y f c s r n
o i
r
i m s e e
e
h
d
i n H e n e
r i t e p e G 3
e e f S
t a
y i H f l h B
n u
e h o i s s i i a t e l h l e r t a i g p
) r z d m e n . e i t n i t e l h t
t g L o p
e ,
, e e e f v ö k c ö
e
r i t a l
l
a
A
r d
r h
( d 1 s g
o
a h t t
a w e s w n e e o q
t c t e c g N l r m G t o r e h r s a
9 a t h h i
s
s t y e e l
d d n
n u o e o t m c t d k e S s a a f h e e n e 8 G r a e
n o i e
a h
s n
r t
e f c n s n a A h t
s a o c r 0 n i c x i t a
w l a w i
d w i t n l , i e c n
H l t a n t d e f E e k
. f
ö e s h
s a h f d n o e
s l
s r , r w n i m c
h c u s h
t t
S
i t s a r , o n c r m e e c o o i g , n r
G t O v m i b l
s
r
u
n
r r a s
v y h y h a s u n a o k G r c s e n t p c o e e d e h
e e t a r b s g h o e e
t o
t c a n e
u h c e l r r r t l r l i l f
a l i i
a c t
n j t a . m e
e e o a ö , r g m n . e o b b r e r G n e r m h l e h e c
a o
t s e a t o e y e T c a
s ,
t c e
a c e a i a
r i , r
c k e m i
a f f
E l i i t o c m
r
a l a n
h f e
s w i o n k
a n t u d t t e v t h e t o C a d r t l e c w a e e n o e h n t l
i e i i n d y n g c e m a s
e r e , i v s n m s n e
r l t o s u d d t
g d n e
d
g t
e
h e
i e r a c
i i
u h i l e d w d g t
v u o a a n
t f t
e n a
p m g y i
e u r a
d d p a a b y
h h t g s a a r e
r B n v n t
d
a x i t r
e a S t n n t
a
( t ) e p n
a
t y a i e ( g i r t
e e h t o y
i h l e 1 o e
s n e i o b d s r e a t t c n a , y a
a e c
t o g
e v r
e e
n i 8 o
t i h r f n r y c r
n .
r b t
s t h
r d b r
t d h i n e
l
s g t i a l 8 M i o m E
, w l w e a a t e a t t e 1 g
o i t h r l
e l t o i
e t
i t h
n r 9 e d s e t o a t h
s t n i 9 o r r i c e n e u s r e p o o
h h c o n i u n
i - e ;
g i i a
k i s o 4 e o d t h n a d
t
s w t t e s 1 m n t t u
a e u w
s
r a s
e e o
i t 7 i n
h n a
n f E . o
n
C e 9 o m a p n
n t e t s e m
t u i b n h r ) e l
t G e n a
o
T
n a u 8 e
y n b n , l o e e
h d u n w v r e l b y d o a p
a , o w e
t
7
h
s l e
e o
f s r s l d
e e
i m e u o
m w d
b e
r w h c d o “ ) n f f h e t n e e t r l i
h g l
t
r
,
v i n f
h n l e
o a S e
m r i g
f
l E i a a i t e e G x
b
o y s i h a r W n e m s a t o o
d a f p n e
f s
e t e i a k e
e d c r s e c i 1 a o d
a e w t
s r n f a B r e u r r t
i g e t
s s s n t s
x a u a 9 t . s k p m r e
y
s n r t i h
a e b A
r b h e i h b i
’ a n s t e t a a e 8 m
e y l U r , t u l r t
s a y e
p t r l
o l d a e i a
d r a e h r t 4 , d p a m G b r a K i d s t , v b n o t s n
o t a
l c t n
a e l l a b , , d e h
i
r y G n k s n ’
e u h
e u
e l
f n s t a
i p n a
b e a i t r a s h G n i
n a
n t h ü t d k G
r c o s r D
l r i n c t 2 b s h l r y t y n t o r i o b
e d e
t z h
e e m n e e
i s t a a w e l 0 t o l . l t t l t
e R a o
a m e o y n l
u
ö
e r
e h p ,
s t h
r t t t c o d r t A f t
a c u
m e , r n h
e t m r g h i s d c
t h c o
s e e e m
e a t e o t t c u
t
n l b i n s f i s e v
o i a -
i i k e e e B r r r o
r a c t
t n
o a c n s k r a n e a c
e
m i e e c
e
f o e
n s
r
f e a h
r e ( a e f d t b f n e a o
r g a b e i p e e i a ” r l a l
k f r i s o
e n o a c
r t i e i
, s r
a u y n l r
a
p r m o u v n n i t r
e p
t t t
w f r t s y s m s v a ( s . u s S e . f e
s e
e l t r
e h p
f r
t
l
d u r y r w t e t e a e t t i t a ; A t i c
i u c t a s x c h d n
r o n e a d e
e t
i m t i
b e a g r
b s w s n o e . l u p r h t h t d o h r o
d h a m g s n
a
o
e l h r a y r e u t t t p u s a d t a n e o
i e t r l m e p a
p l c h s r i h s s c h b
n e e h
n
y c e l t s r t g
m
s i e G s d o d
t n p
e a e o e t
t
r e t o e s i
t e e c x o h e t t h s r e d h m f t a c
n . e s d e l t
h w i
b i a i u h e
t m y r e f e a h a q N e
o
e m l
e r n o L
s o a f r
b a H e f e l i
r w r i a s s
n w a u r u
a n m e
n - i i e b a d n e a
r G t n a a t a p s k r
t s t t e p d d d l , a e r
m i
u
h i s
f
r
t y o
e e e r t a o o i e t D w f t
t v a r i m o r o i w
g r n d t l s h t y u o i
n o o r i d d m
n a s n f t r a l e o o i r r R n f e w m s
o k e e o
i e s l
f e
a n h
t
e
t o
w
m t r
n h f t o t s t a a t i d
i p c o r t ) r a i h i
d j
i h a i n e a r s v s h n o n n s
e
o a a e l O t r c n r
a a i f r e t e i d
e t a e l h g r n o f a a m
)
t n a h r d i t s a
h i n t i c t i r , a e 1 E a i i t
P y
c l l o
n y n n t t h
e r c
, r o a o
s l o f
e i
a 9 t s e
r
a 2 m
r i a
d l
n u r r G s t t e p o l v b l c
n o t m t p y p i i 7 n e h n 0 y o i u d e i s i t
n n i i t
l i n
z e b . u f c l
f l 5 s d e i e d a g p 0 a o
e c t t
s
s ö
1
1 a o
t e l g S t w o o
e t i t u ; t a h
r 9 d
e e r a r l u w t e
G 9 9 h n c
s h s n n
p l f i . r t p p e r i o p h , r i a o
r f g n l 7
7
i o n i e t
k
a e s
o e h l d e t t L t a e s i l s a t A m i e a 3 a a t f 0 8 e
c i h n e r
e
r t
t r i a i
d B t s r f e s 1 E
g , d d m e s i
r s y o a
r E b m m
i
e
o d
c e t o t t f r
t c t 9 t n t f t 1 a e . i
i x i n i a e s w i s
g o r r h a
l o , s a c i i n n t n 7 t e a
9 b t d
T b o s n n p n
l
s
o
e t s e e c c n o o ( W
7 e i e a i 9 t a n w n e d t e y h f s t
r e G n H t t u h b l d
e t o ,
c n o t d 0 e d n
h l t y
y
a g n G E
e T r h
G l i r e o c r s
o e
h d o . e s
t y , o t s
a
d
w w t a d t a s i
o t e
h e i w c s h f l s h f r m e e t e T
h e n
s I h n w t
d i e n
e s i u r m a
u c e r t p u i g i i o
t n , r
i h e t
n e
e u n o t e
a m
t
m
o
h h f g n
m e t s h
e r u G h
a a t
K a e
e r r
r G c h
n r G s i G r n o a e E h p d n d
t r e o r ,
a e l n t r e n
u a w e i t e
,
h i E D f y a i
d
1 a
i t e
n e
e
e C n a m i n
d s g o 1 c r n o i n n a i t h v
e a
l 9 t
n s l s r
R w r m s o G g c a t i
o 9 a a r y i i
f s y L i l e
m n
9 s a m p
t t o v G s s - t f m w
o h 8 r a r
. D
t i n e s
a a i 0
p t e f a
r r e
u
t n t n g G n . m c 0 f a l h
f e a e n I , a
t o i
s a b n h R ö l x a G n f
n t
p
e e s e
s i a e n i d n l b i d i o b
l m s i a n l i y i c s c t d , n c i t l z
w l e x l l i s c y r y
f o a y f c l y t y i s
l c k i e
a i m h e i i a t r f
h i
s h
g t a e l r
s t h a e n c i i i n e m d e t h t i n i n n c
a n
e l a b d e o h s n / i e h ( ,
e - r g i n
a l d a i n i d n e a e i r i - i n - n s n t : l , . 6 “East Germany Art and Cultural Politics: An Introduction,” by April A. Eisman • ART | WORK Six Shorts • A DVD Release by the DEFA Film Library M L K H G D C A o f o B s C B B B r a e n n l o o o r a o p e i r l a i u b n i u c
t u m f m m r r s m E u t m e l g i n n o n e e i l a ß m u
r , h s n o o
t e t n b ,
A s , s e h
, L a d g d u
, z a
S t ,
C r o R J
. e r
r
e w
n E B
G c - B i b G H M d a E t o ö
g a I r i u h U h e o i e s m a
p n i e a r r r i l g H a , s a r n l t n g o n i i s h
r m e , d
l a e m a L r r e e m
i e - S k i e y n , W n t v
g u n H n b
r i
i l ( l t a M s , e a p , , n i : e e c
a d u
a e
a e n i E C 2 r n r , S s d i g t
r
, i a s o u n r c e 0 c
k M y g : o t . i
T n
i l ) j s s r 0 d a o o .
k G t : e l e ,
a o h e
o y ,
3 a
n S h n , R
r a G c D M
n e e r
g “ . l e “ d a t h o ,
n e o t e d e m
J
R n D
i
r D e ä S f
r w E
t g
m ü d
e
A u e h f o i
r P u U i a e e i e r t : o e z n i s e p s n
b
g i s
n
n , l K & t h
d s d
G
o d
v I t e t a d R F w p l i i n
s
e r ,
e t e s a n G G i
e
H o o a b , t g f r 2 e t r
p l e o r e s
r l a 1 e r u a B s h 0 l D a g e a l y t t u r 9 n i r r 0 a l t e ö - n v r m n p e
D i g
n 9 6 t c a r o e f n t e d h
h k 1 h m o d R . t a o P r u n .
c t e . i . t
r e C ( . n l k u n
r
a I
e h
o u d H a r n o F
M a e d n i d e n W
e e u n f f n e o m l
n o e s r i l r o F s n d
r a e f - o
, . O r s e
i
d
S & k )
l n l t K m r R m s t ,
r m h s e t e
t a h ,
a u o i K a
r t e W e r e o s n e s B d a , l r i n u l
t e n n n ,
d o l A e T w e u
i o e n a
e 1 e t A
r r u r A r m s f –
s a y a 9 r n r l b M
r t i c , t c . s r A 8 l n s n t
h
u
d t d C h
o S h i 3 c a s i r : e i n n e s
n e , c - t
o h a h l A
r
f d
1 t
e 1
r i d l H o s e u t s l C a o 9 e u
a r l 9 t e b c :
n a i e l 8 g o ,
s f h n 9 s i
r A i u b d n s 9 i , M n m l 0 t o d
” d s a D o
t t , n i . e l , s
i
n m e e d u A A r c t g i D : e L n
h y
n s s
e d m : u K e i T R I
e
d n K a n l e D o n a a i i a . o h p e e
t s r u n i n s F E E
r e s z
n p t H I n c
r D
y F i i i t r o a M
e e n t g .
s h A a K s D u
E w r n u e : t S e t m t
u
A t
a R , h F n
F
i e a h n
a n R n s
M p i a . e d
f e b l
n s t
e f S m e r D b u e d
o u t A o d t G r l t e e
s a e r
r c a e i m
: L & o e m k
r r t s r h t t c h
i
D r
s r
e h
b
& & D
t e e B e m t p V R E
e h r h
U n
i D o e a e e F s F W e
e a e t S r n A i r R k
a r a
l n
s y i y y C l t C i t i n b , a l y p v
u t , i
F e o a
v s
o e e c . g e i d 2 D i
n e e u c f l n d r o C , r 0 y m t ,
r l
r h s e t
s m 2 S 0
u
d e t 2 r D o i
, . r 0 9 a r a t o e
L s
0 p
f y 1 G r r 0 . u 1 d i d z 0 r
l e e , b 9 3 E D
e 9 i
l i 2 i e N a d l n w s 9 c r . a 4 l t . V n a e d 0 l
e t t a 5 s i h I l D i , r . s n e d y n o
t ” t e y w
m i , , . n
s
n G o
,
r a i
s E , t n i e s u 2 n
e i
t h c F t b
h 0
s a r u K o s e r k o 0
m l a t h f R a u
g h 9 o e
i n e a " s
n e a a . k
E p
k
o n s i l r D
w t q a n e f m t t f
e u
V A
u r
b r o & i a A t a i r n D a e r e i r t c c
r n t
l k
c H , . t d . i h a u u t i
k B n e a a y e m l s
a " g e r a b n s c
r i
r
r e M d D r n
o c
l m e i i
i p
D n o n a a a m a t
u :
R i
h
P n n p t V r , e i
n h s
h t e & e r l e , D a e r d s l s d a s i . g s 7 “East Germany Art and Cultural Politics: An Introduction,” by art historian April A. Eisman • ART | WORK Six Shorts • A DVD Release by the DEFA Film Library