Frist Center Hosts German Expressionism Exhibition in Upper-Level Galleries

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CONTACT: Maggie Carrigan: 615.744.3351, [email protected] Ellen Jones Pryor: 615.243.1311, [email protected]

German Expressionism from the Detroit Institute of Arts Opens at the Frist Center for the Visual Arts October 19, 2012

Exhibition Reveals the Dramatic History of Modern Art in Germany

NASHVILLE, TENN. (September 26, 2012)— Opening October 19, 2012, German Expressionism from the Detroit Institute of Arts will be on view in the Frist Center for the Visual Arts’ Upper-Level Galleries through February 10, 2013. Featuring paintings, sculpture and works on paper from the Detroit Institute of Arts’ distinguished collection of German Expressionist art, the exhibition explores the full breadth of this artistic movement from 1905 to 1950 and includes works by Max Beckmann, Wassily Kandinsky, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Käthe Kollwitz, Franz Marc and other major masters.

One of the major movements in modern art, German Expressionism is known for two groups of painters: Die Brücke (The Bridge) and Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider). Die Brücke was founded in Dresden by four young architecture students who worked and exhibited together. Although not formally trained as artists, the members of Die Brücke developed the movement’s distinctive style which is defined by vivid colors, distorted forms and

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. Winter Landscape in Moonlight, 1919. Oil on canvas, 47 1/2 x 47 1/2 in. Gift of Curt Valentin in memory of the vigorous brush strokes. “The artists of Die Brücke sought a artist on the occasion of Dr. William R. Valentiner’s 60th birthday, Detroit Institute of Arts, 40.58 more intuitive form of expression,” explains Frist Center curator Trinita Kennedy. “Following in the footsteps of Vincent van Gogh and Edvard Munch, they focused on conveying psychological states and emotions rather than outward appearances, which became the fundamental premise of German Expressionism.” Der Blaue Reiter was founded in Munich by Russian émigré Wassily Kandinsky and German Franz Marc. The group was a loosely organized international association of older, academically trained artists. “What united Der Blaue Reiter was a strong interest in color theory, spiritual values, the relationship between visual art and music, and a tendency toward abstraction,” Ms. Kennedy notes.

The outbreak of World War I and the subsequent rise of Germany’s National Socialist (Nazi) party had drastic consequences for German Expressionism. The Nazis began a destructive campaign of vilification against

Franz Marc. Animals in a Landscape, 1914. Oil on canvas, 43 3/8 x 39 modern art, claiming that it didn’t conform to “healthy” 1/4 in. Gift of Robert H. Tannahill, Detroit Institute of Arts, 56.144 Aryan values. The infamous Degenerate Art exhibition of 1937 featured over 700 works of modern art, including Otto Mueller’s Gypsy Encampment, which is on view in this exhibition. Thousands of other modern artworks were destroyed by the Nazi regime.

The Detroit Institute of Arts acquired its significant German Expressionism collection largely under the guidance of director W. R. Valentiner, a German art historian. “After befriending Franz Marc during his service in the Germany army in World War I, Valentiner became deeply engaged with the art of his own time,” says Ms. Kennedy. “He befriended many German artists, and made great efforts to support their work and secure exhibitions for many of them in the United States. This exhibition is comprised as much of tokens of friendship as it is extraordinary works of art.”

Exhibition Credit This exhibition was organized by the Detroit Institute of Arts.

Sponsor Acknowledgement Member Preview Sponsor: Dickinson Wright

Design Sponsor: highbrowfurniture.com

The Frist Center for the Visual Arts gratefully acknowledges our Picasso Circle Members as Exhibition Patrons.

Belmont University and Ocean Way Recording Studios donated recording time and professional expertise in the production of this audio tour.

The Frist Center for the Visual Arts is supported in part by the Metro Nashville Arts Commission, the Tennessee Arts Commission, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Related Public Programs

Thursday, September 27 Opera @ the Frist with the Symphony 6:30 p.m. Panel Discussion: “German Expressionism: Frist Center Auditorium Exploring the Cultural Makeup of Germany $10 non-members, $8 members during the Early Twentieth Century” Reservations required; call 615.832.5242 Panelists: Trinita Kennedy, John Hoomes, and Andy Campbell Moderator: Professor Robert Moderator: Professor Robert Barsky

Music, art, and opera collide at the Frist! Join the artistic staff of Nashville Symphony, Nashville Opera, and the Frist Center for a panel discussion exploring the cultural make up of Germany during the German Expressionist movement that spawned a new style of music, art and theatre. The discussion will include examples of art and vocal/musical excerpts, as well as a live musical performance.

This panel discussion is a precursor to the Frist Center exhibition, German Expressionism from the Detroit Institute of Arts on view at the Frist Center from October 19, 2012, through February 10, 2013.

Friday, October 19 Curator’s Perspective: “Detroit's Masterpieces 6:30 p.m. of German Expressionism” Presented by Frist Center Auditorium Salvador Salort-Pons, Ph.D., head of the Free; first come, first seated European art department at the Detroit Institute of Arts The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) is the repository of one the most comprehensive collections of German Expressionist art in America. It includes a number of paintings, sculptures, prints, and drawings, which were mainly acquired during the first half of the twentieth century thanks to the guidance of Director William Valentiner. In his lecture, Salvador Salort-Pons, head of the European art department at the DIA, will walk you through some of the museum’s Expressionist masterpieces. Dr. Salort-Pons will explain how the DIA became the pioneering institution in America in this area of art collecting, describe the role of Valentiner and Detroit patrons in this endeavor, and illustrate how the DIA provided support to the German artists who were being defamed in their own country at the dawn of World War II.

Thursday, October 25 Dance Performance: 6:30 p.m. Company Rose: “Tilling Green” Frist Center Auditorium Free; first come, first seated

From the sordid, the secret, and the sublime, Nashville-based Company Rose performs “Tilling Green,” a dance work inspired by the art, artists, and attitudes of German Expressionism. “Tilling Green” is a meditation on the constant anxieties and fears that provoke transfiguration of living faces and pastoral spaces into frozen forms, a process that awakens a sense of horror and a search for the means by which subjects can till their authentic selves. “Tilling Green” is a deeply subjective and introspective work that is rooted in the inner essence of the self and nourished by the anonymity of the industrialized, alien, outer landscapes of early twentieth-century Europe. Company Rose transposes these themes found in Expressionist art, sourced in the human psyche, to the performative body through the power, poise, and simplicity of contemporary dance.

Friday, October 26 ARTini: German Expressionism from the Detroit 7:00 p.m. Institute of Arts Meet at exhibition entrance Gallery admission required; members free

Are you curious about art? Do you want to learn more about the content and concepts behind an artist’s work? If you answered yes to either of those questions, then the ARTini program is for you! ARTinis are designed for everyone—from the novice to the connoisseur—and include informal and insightful conversations that offer a deeper understanding of one or two works of art in an exhibition.

Join Keri Jhaveri, educator for youth and family at the Frist Center, as she leads an informal conversation about some of the works included in the exhibition German Expressionism from the Detroit Institute of Arts.

This program will be repeated on Tuesday, October 30, at 12:00 p.m.

Thursday, November 1 “Bertolt Brecht and Expressionism” 6:30 p.m. Presented by Peggy Setje-Eilers, Ph.D, assistant Frist Center Auditorium professor of German and teaching assistant Free; seating is first come, first seated supervisor, Vanderbilt University

Peggy Setje-Eilers, Ph.D., will examine the texts and lyrics of Bertolt Brecht and the musical compositions of Kurt Weill, Hanns Eisler, and Paul Dessau to make a connection between Brecht's work and the modernist disruptions and disjunction in expressionist visual arts. She will begin by examining Brecht’s development of Epic Theatre, which took issue with the goals of classical Aristotelian theatre and later also with the German Expressionists. The distortion of expressionistic artwork evoked emotions rather than encapsulating pure visual reality. This contrasts with many elements of Brecht’s theatre style, which instead of wanting the audience to become lost in the play, emphasized the spectator's awareness of what was happening to put the experience of watching and critical thinking at the forefront. This lecture will explore the relationship between Epic Theatre and the German Expressionist artworks on view in German Expressionism from the Detroit Institute of Arts.

Thursday, November 8 Curator’s Tour: German Expressionism from the 12:00 p.m. Detroit Institute of Arts Meet at exhibition entrance Gallery admission required; members free

Join Trinita Kennedy, curator at the Frist Center, for a conversation that interweaves the dramatic history of modern art in Germany with the history of one of the first major collections of German Expressionism in America, established at the Detroit Institute of Arts

Film Series: In the 1920s, German Expressionism was well established; the art and film world were influenced by the cultural collapse of Germany. Government officials banned foreign films and filmmakers relied on the war to perform as a muse. This film series presents key works that helped to both define and influence this movement. Through the use of asymmetrical camera angles and stylized lighting techniques that produced contrasting shadows and silhouettes, filmmakers synthesized Expressionism with sordid realism. All three movies present the world as a dark and alienating place that can cause one to question the notion of sanity.

Friday, November 16 Film: Metropolis 7:00 p.m. Auditorium Free; seating is first come, first seated

Metropolis is a silent movie set in the year 2026. Joh Frederson has created a machine operated city, the Metropolis. As creator of the city, he hires an inventor to aid him in avoiding a workers’ revolt. The plot thickens as the workers realize they are deceived. Will the city crash or will the people realize that the heart can act as a mediator to the head and hands? Directed by Fritz Lang, 1927 (2002 restored). 124 minutes. 35mm. Unrated. Black and White.

Friday, December 14 Film: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari 7:00 p.m. Auditorium Free: seating is first come, first seated

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is a silent movie that transports the viewer into a nightmarish world. A doctor hawks his own circus attraction that involves a sleepwalking man with psychic powers. Mysterious murders begin to occur across the small community. When the murderer attacks the beloved Jane, the betrothed of Francis, he seeks the truth about his fiancée’s fate. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari was one of the first horror films to gain international attention. Directed by Robert Wiene, 1919. 75 minutes. 35mm. Unrated. Tinted Black and White.

Friday, January 18, 2013 Film: The Blue Angel 7:00 p.m. Auditorium Free; seating is first come, first seated

Considered to be the first major German sound film, The Blue Angel captures the sinister undercurrents of German Expressionism. Professor Immanuel Rath (Emil Jennings), a teacher at a boy’s prep school begins to admire a nightclub songstress, Lola-Lola (Marlene Dietrich), at the local cabaret, “The Blue Angel.” As he becomes fully involved with Lola, his life becomes a rollercoaster of degrading events. Professor Rath soon learns that the many lessons he thought he understood were never fully revealed to him. Directed by Josef Von Sternburg, 1930. 106 minutes. 35mm. Unrated. German with English subtitles. Black and White.

About the Frist Center Accredited by the American Association of Museums, the Frist Center for the Visual Arts, located at 919 Broadway in downtown Nashville, Tenn., is an art exhibition center dedicated to presenting the finest visual art from local, regional, U.S. and international sources in a program of changing exhibitions. The Frist Center’s Martin ArtQuest Gallery features interactive stations relating to Frist Center exhibitions. Gallery admission to the Frist Center is free for visitors 18 and younger and to Frist Center members. Frist Center admission is $10.00 for adults and $7.00 for seniors, military and college students with ID. College students are admitted free Thursday and Friday evenings (with the exception of Frist Fridays), 5–9 p.m. Discounts are offered for groups of 10 or more with advance reservation by calling (615) 744-3247.The Frist Center is open seven days a week: Mondays through Wednesdays, and Saturdays, 10 a.m.–5:30 p.m.; Thursdays and Fridays, 10 a.m.–9 p.m. and Sundays, 1–5:30 p.m., with the Frist Center Café opening at noon. Additional information is available by calling (615) 244-3340 or by visiting our Web site at www.fristcenter.org.

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