Biography and the Educative: a Critical Examination of the Life and Artwork of Wilhelm Heinrich Otto Dix
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Biography and the Educative: A Critical Examination of the Life and Artwork of Wilhelm Heinrich Otto Dix.
One Volume
Charanjit Singh (MSc, Barrister)
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D)
Faculty of Human and Social Sciences
November 2012
1
2 UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON
ABSTRACT
FACULTY OF HUMAN AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D)
Biography and the Educative: A Critical Examination of the Life and Artwork of Wilhelm Heinrich Otto Dix.
By Charanjit Singh
Often modern institutionalised notions of the educative connect less to education as a means through which individuals and society can improve, but more with education as the conduit by which to achieve a particular career. Both these notions are of equal importance because of the dynamics in which modern day education exists. Wilhelm Heinrich Otto Dix (1891 – 1969) was an individual who learnt much through his life, but in a continuous democratizing effort he also shared his experiences with those that surrounded him. In this study I will explore the educational influences in the life and artwork of this artist and the formation of his self from a broader notion of the educative. This is achieved through the combination of Bildung (a German concept that concentrates on self- formation, education and cultivation), traditional biographical and art historical analysis, and Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of the habitus. The result, as exemplified by the artists life is to show that Otto Dix was in a state of Bildung and thus his self was constantly forming and reforming. The study brings together, for the first time, notions of Dix’s bildung and self-regard.
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4 Contents
Page
Title Page and Thesis Abstract 1 – 3
Contents 5
List of Illustrations 7 – 9
Declaration of Authorship 11
Acknowledgements 13
Definitions and Glossary of Terms 15 – 22
Chapter One: Introduction 23 – 34
Chapter Two: Literature Review 35 – 82
Chapter Three: Analytical and Methodological Framework 83 – 108
Chapter Four: Otto Dix Biography 109 – 116
Chapter Five: Otto Dix Biography (1890 – 1918) 117 – 152
Chapter Six: Otto Dix Biography (1918 – 1969) 151 – 192
Chapter Seven: Conclusion: Dix and the Educative 193 – 210
Appendices 211 – 262
Bibliography 263 – 297
5
6 List of Illustrations: Plates and Diagrams
Figure 1: Halbakt (Half Nude), 1929 Christian Schad
Figure 2: Bildnis der Tanzerin Anita Berber (Portrait of a Dancer Anita Berber), 1925 Otto Dix
Figure 3: Die Stützen der Gesellschaft (The Pillars of Society), 1926 George Grosz
Figure 4: Bildnis Margot (A Portrait of Margot), 1924 Rudolph Schlicter
Figure 5: Agosta, der Flügelmensch, und Rasha, die schwarze Taube (Agosta, the Pigeon-Chested Man, and Rasha, the Black Dove), 1929 Christian Schad
Figure 6: Diagrammatic Representation of Study
Figure 7: Bildnis Frau Martha Dix (Portrait of Martha Dix), 1923 Otto Dix
Figure 8: Lustmord Scene II (Mord) or Sexmord (Scene II (Murder)), 1922 Otto Dix
Figure 9: Halbakt (Half Nude), 1926 Otto Dix
Figure 10: Kriegskrüppel (War Cripples), 1920 Otto Dix
Figure 11: Die Eltern des Künstlers II (Portrait of My Parents II), 1922 Otto Dix
Figure 12: Die Eltern des Künstlers I (Portrait of My Parents I), 1921 Otto Dix
Figure 13: Selbstbildnis als Soldat (Self-Portrait as a Soldier), 1914 Otto Dix
Figure 14: Selbstbildnis mit Artillerie-Helm (Self-Portrait Wearing Gunner's Helmet), 1914 Otto Dix
Figure 15: Selbstbildnis mit Zwei-Frauen (Self-Portrait with Two Women), 1920 George Grosz
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Figure 16: Diagrammatic Representation of Analysis
Figure 17: Nikolaus (Portrait of Nikolaus Schad as a Child), 1926 Christian Schad
Figure 18: Marcella (Portrait of Christan Schad’s Wife), 1926 Christian Schad
Figure 19: Man with Glass Eye, 1926 George Grosz
Figure 20: The Rape of the Sabine Women, 1634 Nicolas Poussin
Figure 21: Rue Montorguiel in Paris, Festival of June 30, 1878 Claude Monet
Figure 22: The Operation, 1929 Christian Schad
Figure 23: Sonnenaufgang (Sunrise), 1913 Otto Dix
Figure 24: Selbstportrait mit Nelke (Self-portrait with Carnation), 1912 Otto Dix
Figure 25: Bust of Frederick Nietzsche, 1914 Otto Dix
Figure 26: Selbportrait als Schießscheibe (Self-Portrait as Shooting Target), 1915 Otto Dix
Figure 27: Ein Schones Grab (A Beautiful Grave), 1916 Otto Dix
Figure 28: Lichtsignale (Flare), 1917 Otto Dix
Figure 29: Die Felixmüller Familie (The Felixmüller Family), 1919 Otto Dix
Figure 30: Dr. Meyer-Herman, 1926 (Berlin) Otto Dix
Figure 31: Streetfight, 1927 Otto Dix
8 Figure 32: Erste internationale Dada-Messe: Katalog.
Figure 33: Dr Hans Koch, 1921 Otto Dix
Figure 34: Apotheose (Apotheosis), 1919 (published in 1922)
Figure 35: Photograph of Dix with Käthe König, 1962 Otto Dix
Figure 36: Reclining Woman on Leopard Skin, 1927 Otto Dix
Figure 37: Lustmord (Sex murder), 1922
Figure 38: Lustmord I, Versuch (Sex Murder I, Trial), 1922
Figure 39: Photograph: Self-portrait with Eva Peters George Grosz
Figure 40: Der Lustmörder (Selbstbildnis) (Sex Murderer), circa 1920 Otto Dix
Figure 41: Der Salon I (The Salon I), 1921 Otto Dix
Figure 42: Der Krieg (The War), 1932
Figure 43: Bildnis der Journalistin Sylvia von Harden (Portrait of the Journalist Sylvia von Harden), 1926 Otto Dix
Figure 44: To Beauty, 1922 Otto Dix
Figure 45: Selbstbildnis als Kriegsgefangener (Self-portrait as a Prisoner of War), 1947 Otto Dix
Figure 46: Ecce Homo III (Behold the Man), 1949 Otto Dix
Figure 47: Krieg und Frieden (War and Peace), 1960 Otto Dix
Figure 48: Mädchen vor dem Spiegel (Girl in Front of a Mirror), 1922 Otto Dix
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10 Academic Thesis: Declaration Of Authorship
I CHARANJIT SINGH declare that this thesis and the work presented in it are my own and has been generated by me as the result of my own original research.
Biography and the Educative: A Critical Examination of the Life and Artwork of Wilhelm Heinrich Otto Dix.
I confirm that:
1. This work was done wholly or mainly while in candidature for a research degree at this University;
2. Where any part of this thesis has previously been submitted for a degree or any other qualification at this University or any other institution, this has been clearly stated;
3. Where I have consulted the published work of others, this is always clearly attributed;
4. Where I have quoted from the work of others, the source is always given. With the exception of such quotations, this thesis is entirely my own work;
5. I have acknowledged all main sources of help;
6. Where the thesis is based on work done by myself jointly with others, I have made clear exactly what was done by others and what I have contributed myself;
7. Either none of this work has been published before submission, or parts of this work have been published as:
Singh Landa, C. (2010) Capturing Humanity: The implicated biography and validity in a narrative world. HSOTONDRJ. Vol. 1 April 2010. University of Southampton Publication.
Singh Landa, C. (2012). Biography as a Looking Glass: Revealing the Hidden Influences in the Life of Christian Schad. In Sparkes, A. C. (Ed.). Auto/Biography Yearbook 2012. Nottingham: Russell Press. Pp. 94 – 109.
Signed: ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Date: ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
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12 Special Acknowledgements
I wish to thank my parents Mr. and Mrs. Singh Landa and those friends and relatives including Surinder Pal Singh and Udam Singh Landa (and all my siblings) who supported me throughout my studies, support that often included proof reading my many English to French and German, and French and German to English translations.
Further, I wish to acknowledge the encouragement and support of both Mr. Ian Bryant (PhD Supervisor) and Dr. Gillian Clarke (academic mentor) and the many scholars who inspired my research including Mr. Michael Erben from the University of Southampton’s Education School.
I also provide special mention to the Otto Dix Stiftung (Foundation), which was set-up by Martha Dix (the widow of the artist) in 1983. The Foundation has proved a useful source both because of its archive and extensive collection of evidence but also as the starting point through which much other evidence could be collated. The Foundation has connection with scholars on Dix including Professor Dr. Rainer Beck, Dr. Suse Pfäffle and Dr. Ulrike Lorenz. The Otto Dix archive is maintained by Pfefferkorn and Rainer Northild Eger (archive at www.otto-dix.de). The council is based in Vaduz, Städtle 22, FL 9490 Vaduz and the archive is located in Bevaix, Chauvigny, CH 2022 Bevaix.
I would also wish to thank Dresden and Gera City (Germany) Civil Offices and Archives: Births, Deaths and Marriages, the Academy of Art (Dresden), the School of Arts and Crafts (Dresden) and the many galleries that I contacted for the efficiency by which they responded to my requests for information.
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14 Definitions and Glossary of Terms
What follows is an outline clarification of the terms used within the argument in this thesis, thus avoiding the many interpretations that are given to terminology. Unless otherwise stated, the traditional definition has been adopted.
Acuity
The sharpness of vision; the ability to resolve finer detail and the quick penetrating intelligent perception.
Autobiography
An account of a life that is written by the person whose life it is. Note also; autobiographer.
Bildung
This is German concept that has no similar comparison across the world, it is more comprehensive and holistic than the term ‘education’ and implies the totality of learning and teaching (educatedness). It is humanistic (which includes psychological and spiritual) and focuses on notions of authenticity, ethics, personality and values, and environmentally connected growth. Bildung advocates education as a form of self-cultivation and the cultural conditions which promote it, and to which it contributes. Those invested with bildung are considered as being learned but also self-directing because they have a holistic educated and prescient grasp of the world that surrounds them through generation and habit – freedom of thought that facilitates freedom of expression.
Biography
An account of a life that is written by a person whose life it is not. Note also; biographer.
15 Capital
Within the field (Pierre Bourdieu) is capital, this consists of the process within it and is essentially a product of it. Bourdieu argues that capital is accumulated and relates, directly, to position. Capital comes in four forms, namely economic (money and assets), cultural (aesthetic, culture, knowledge, narrative and voice), social (culture, family, friends, networks and religion) and symbolic (anything that denotes other forms of capital which can be exchanged for example qualifications). Thus, in accordance with this there exists disequilibrium in distribution of capital from the outset. Capital (dynamics/situatednesses) is a form of sub-structure and structure within a field/paradigm which when coupled with doxa (pre-reflexive intuitive knowledge gained from experience) helps form the habitus. The latter then also goes onto inform the formation of the paradigm/field because all these are in constant evolution. See also dynamic and field.
Conatus
Pierre Bourdieu’s conatus (or life-trajectory) is defined as a combination of dispositions and interests associated with a particular class of social position which inclines social agents to strive to reproduce at a constant or an increasing rate the properties constituting their social identity, without even needing to do this deliberately or consciously (1988, p.176). It is the force that endows individuals with certain propensities via their habitus. See also habitus.
Convergent Evolution (Education in Trajectorial Form)
Evolutionary change in more than one dynamic, that results in the independent development and adaptation of subsequent paradigm(s), structure(s) or field(s) to similar circumstance(s) because similar characteristics, rules or traits are acquired in distinct and unrelated realities.
16 Doxa
Doxa is the pre-reflexive intuitive knowledge shaped by experience, and refers to unconscious inherited physical and relational predispositions (Grenfell et al 2008, p.121).
Dadaism (Dada)
A European movement in art and literature in 1916 – 1923 which flouted traditional aesthetic and culture adopting, amongst other things, nonsense and travesty.
Dynamic
These are a factor that acts to shape a life; whether that is an educational trajectory, the educative thought or the life in general. Dynamics can be, amongst other things, cultural, economic, legal, social and political for instance having a bourgeoisie or proletarian background may affect the chances you have to participate in certain professions or gain a particular status. See also capital.
Educative Thought
Educative thought is formed by the process, procedure or action through which an individual or group of individuals is educated and who learn in the wider sense through participation in a culture, this includes perception, affect and judgment. This can be referred to as the knowledge, information and skills acquired through education. It can be thought as a part-product of self-reflection by reason of which understanding and critical inquiry is developed.
Emergent Evolution
New characteristics, rules and traits that appear at complex (macro/paradigms/structures or fields) levels, these cannot be predicted or
17 studied without exploration and study of less complex micro levels such as sub- structures.
Equiluminance/Equiluminant
This is the generation of a sense of motion, vibration or eerie quality through the use of particular colours.
Field
Pierre Bourdieu ‘s notion of field gives habitus its meaning and location; it is the sphere in which the habitus works. Thus, one can be considered without the other but only in the abstract. The field, which is synonymous to the paradigm, contains capital and dynamics. See also capital, dynamic, habitus and paradigm.
Futurism
This was an art and social movement originating in the twentieth century in Italy with parallel movements in England and Russia. The Futurists sought to depict contemporary notions of the future including technology and violence.
Global Paradigm
Thomas Kuhn (1953) distinguishes between global and local paradigms on the basis that the former somehow form the latter, the assumption here is that the same or similar paradigms will exist in generality and that they will connect in terms of some universal or common attribute. Global paradigms can also be referred to as macro-paradigms or fields. See also field and local paradigm.
Habitus
Pierre Bourdieu’s notion of habitus concerns itself with the regulation of behaviour where behaviour is not the product of obedience to rules; it is the
18 method by which the conscious, social and subconscious shape each other to form the self. Bourdieu defines habitus as a structured and structuring structure. In summary the habitus is structured by the past and present circumstances (conditions of existence including education), structuring because the habitus shapes present and future practices and structured because it is systematic in its order and therefore not random or un-patterned. See also self.
Hermeneutic and Double Hermeneutic
In this study the term hermeneutic is defined as the method of interpretation and the art of understanding. The term double hermeneutic refers to the interpretation and understanding of that which has already been interpreted and understood others (author or creator of something, or others for instance biographers, historians or other disciplinarians).
Humanistic
The term humanistic is defined as: a concern for humanity. Humanist belief is in continuous emergent evolution (see above). See also Weltschmerz.
Luminance
The value of light and lightness; the amount of light that passes through or is emitted by a particular unitary area.
Life-Narrative/Narrative
The story of a human life(es), actual or fictional in time. The object of which is to reveal the identity of an individual or group of individuals through the particulars of an act(s), epiphany(ies), event(s) or occurrence(s). See also: autobiography and biography.
Local Paradigm
19
Thomas Kuhn (1953) distinguishes between global and local paradigms on the basis that the latter are somehow formed by the former, the assumption here is that the same or similar paradigms will exist in generality and that they will connect in terms of some universal or common attribute. Local paradigms can also be referred to as micro-paradigms or fields. See also field and global paradigm.
Metaphysics
The Oxford Concise defines the term as having originated in the mid-16th century from the Latin metaphysica and Greek ta meta ta phusika (the thing after physics). This is the branch of philosophy that deals with the initial principles of things including abstract concepts for example being, identity, time and space, and is often referred to as the science of things that transcend the natural and physical. The two strands of metaphysics are; that which exists lies beyond experience (Plato) and objects of experience are the only reality (Kant and Hume et al).
Narrative
A spoken or written account of the connected events in a life, tis can be referred to as a story.
Neue Sachlichkeit (New Objectivity)
A movement in German painting during 1920 – early-1930s that reflected the post-First World War period. The exponents worked using realistic styles rather than the abstract or expressionist and were violently satirical. The term was first used by Gustav Hartlaub who was the Director of the Mannheim Kunsthalle, for an exhibition that included the works of Otto Dix, George Grosz and Max Beckmann.
20 Ontology
Ontology as a branch in philosophy is referred to as metaphysics and deals with the existence of entities, their subsequent grouping and possible subdivision according to similarity or difference. In this study ontology is taken as the study of the nature of being and existence including properties (bundles and relations), dialectics (conflict and debate), hierarchies and order (dynamics and paradigms), value (outcomes dictate processes) and human cognition (subconscious). In short, it is justification and the basis of that justification. See also dasein and metaphysics.
Paradigm
Thomas Kuhn introduced the concept of the paradigm. Essentially, a paradigm refers to the world-view through which the world around us can be interpreted; this view is constructed via the dynamics/situatednesses that surround us. The paradigm can also be referred to as a field because both inform the habitus. See also field and global paradigm, local paradigm.
Self
This is a person’s essential being shaped by their habitus, it distinguishes one from another especially in terms of reflexive practice. This definition includes the individual’s nature, personality, self-perception, style and general uniqueness.
Situatedness
These are a factor that acts to shape a life; whether that is an educational trajectory, the educative thought or the life in general. Situatednesses can be, amongst other things, cultural, economic, legal, social and political for instance having a bourgeoisie or proletarian background may affect the chances you have to participate in certain professions or gain a particular status. See also capital.
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Spatiality
Any property that occupies or relates to space and is something other than that which is at the centre point of the human gaze.
Sub-structure/Structure
The sub-structure (dynamic/situatedness) is synonymous to capital. This, when coupled with doxa, helps form the habitus, field/paradigm. See also field, global paradigm and local paradigm.
Verism
From the Latin verus (true) and Italian verismo, it essentially refers to realism or the achievement of a higher level of truth in appearance because of the preference to use contemporary subject matter instead of the heroic or legendary. In the 1900’s the term was originally used to describe the melodramatic and violent operas of Puccini and Mascagni.
Weltschmerz
A term that was coined by the German author Jean Paul. From the German term that means world-pain or world-weariness. This is also taken to denote the appreciation that reality can often never satisfy the demands of the mind.
22 CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION TO THIS STUDY
1.1 Introduction
The question posed in this study is; what does a biographical study contribute to an understanding of the educative as a process of self and cultural formation? This research interrogates a broader notion of the educative and evidences this through a biographical exploration of the art, educational trajectory and life of the German artist Wilhelm Heinrich Otto Dix (1891 – 1969). More specifically, the purpose is to interrogate the notion of the educative from a broader educational perspective to highlight the educational influences in the artist’s life and explore the connection between his educational trajectory and the formation of his self.
Although discussed in depth in chapter two it is salient to state at this point that biography is used to investigate the educational influences (institutional and personal) in the life and artwork of Otto Dix within the overarching context of his creative being. The strategic-self determines how the individual navigates through life for example in terms of how others regarded the artist and how he regarded his fame and notoriety. The impact that the locations, situatednesses or dynamics of life including the First and Second World Wars, Weimer culture, economics, opportunity, politics and power had on Otto Dix’s education are analysed through biographical life-narrative. This allows an exploration of the educative as a broad and dynamically organised phenomenon that exists outside of the contemporary definitional constraints. It also gives some logical coherence or order to the dynamics that form the structures in which the educational-life exists so that they can be utilised to inform, for the purposes of teaching and learning, conventional educational questions relating to a broader concept of the education and the educative that equally embraces the formal and informal.
23 1.2 The Educative in the Artistic Phases of Otto Dix
Although the influences on the artwork of Dix are varied, ranging from the Masters of the renaissance right through to the futurists, there are three notable movements and styles in which Dix’s work is firmly located, namely: Dada, Neue Sachlichkeit and Verism, and Futurism. The most notorious of his artwork was produced during the artists Neue Sachlichkeit phase in the verist style and therefore the other two are not discussed here save in mention, however these are fully discussed in Chapter four. Here notoriety is defined as being known for some act or quality, causing outrage and encouraging discourse.
Verism, derived from the Latin versus that means true, was located within the New Objectivity (Neue Sachlichkeit) art movement was a form of realism that sought to embrace reality and much of this work can be regarded as vulgar, unconventionally beautiful or aesthetically pleasing (see appendix one, figures 1 and 2). Artists within the Neue Sachlichkeit (New Objectivity) can be defined as either verists (as above) or magical realists (classically- orientated/classicists/neo-classicists). The works of the latter group, which do not form part of this study, included Anton Räderscheidt, Georg Schrimpf and Carl Grossberg clearly exemplifies a post-war return to order evidenced through, amongst other styles, beautiful landscape and photo-realism. Verism rejected, amongst other things, the heroic and the legendary. What is particularly strange about this movement is the fact that it was nurtured by the Berlin metropolis during the 1920’s where
the free and applied arts [were] outstripping Paris and London for more than a decade (Staatliche Museum 1974, p177 in Michalski 1994, p.23).
Verism became the defining art style for the Weimer Republic where artists, amongst others, Otto Dix, George Ehrenfried Grosz (George Grosz from 1916) and Christian Schad. These artists expressed and exposed their experiences as a form of social criticism of bourgeois culture, and the First and Second World
24 Wars through their works of art and it can be stated that the educative in their artwork and styles expressed itself through their experiences. The result of this was to smash the imaginary utopian worlds created by expressionism that distorted reality where subjugation acted as a conduit through which the inner- self could be communicated. The work of many other artist’s forms part of this movement including Eugene Hoffman, Karl Hubbuch, Max Beckman and Rudolph Schlicter all of whom deserve mention however this study focuses solely on Otto Dix with reference to other artists as and where appropriate.
Verist works are distinguishable because of the meticulousness in detail that captured reality in a way that is discernibly detached and often contrasted by the circumstances of existence for example culture, socio-economics, morality, politics, revolution and sexuality – good examples of this are the Pillars of Society (1926) by George Grosz (see appendix one, figure 3) and the Portrait of Margot (1924) by Rudolph Schlicter (see appendix one, figure 4).
1.3 The Educative and the Biographical Life-Narrative
This thesis will examine the educational life (recounted by others and sedimented in various art movements and styles) of one of the artists considered to be the most highly regarded, notorious and influential: Wilhelm Heinrich Otto Dix. This is achieved through biography and visual theory (narrative, semiotics and colour) with the aim of exploring the educational influences in the artist’s life. In addition, Otto Dix’s life is used to examine how the biographical life-narrative can aid the exploration of an individual educated- self and their personal reality (see Kuhn 1996, p.44).
It is postulated that notions of reality that inform definitions of the educative and education (design, policy, teaching and learning, and research) can be used to explore how formal and informal education influenced Otto Dix’s life and artwork. Heidegger (1962) in his treatise (see Macquarrie, J. and Robinson, E. Heidegger, M. 1978, at pp.21 – 32) suggests that the meaning of reality (being) matters to those to whom being matters. For instance Otto Dix’s subsequent
25 anti-war stance was informed by the role he had played in the First World War. Heidegger also argues that the basis and intelligibility of human existence lies in time when he states
what seems ‘simpler’ than to characterise the ‘connectedness of life’ between birth and death? It consists of a sequence of experiences ‘in time’ … in spite of constant changing of these experiences, the self maintains itself throughout with a certain selfsameness (1962, p.425).
From this it can be stated that time has both a subjective and objective application. It is subjective in terms of the individual assessing in hindsight their actions during their life (reflexive-self) and ‘objective’ in the sense of others making sense of their life and work during their life and posthumously (third- party-reflection). This has implications in terms of how individuals strategically navigate through life and the choices they subsequently make. These considerations are explored in relation to a broader notion of the educative through questions such as what influenced Otto Dix’s educative-self and what did the messages in his artwork teach others (see Chapters two – three).
If historicity (context or location) can make human existence intelligible then it can also provide insight into the educational influences in an individual life. The biographical life-narrative is best placed to achieve this. It also allows reconsideration of the educative and understanding of subjective truths about informal teaching and learning in terms of private knowledge. It is salient to state that this is distinct to the form in which reality is presented, through interrogative biographical life-narrative studies including the artistic, autobiographical, biographical, economic, historical, political and social. The form of reality (consisting of many realities) in this study is of significance to educationalists (educators, politicians or researchers) because of the insights into a broader notion of the educative and strategic-self.
Otto Dix will be used for the first time as a biographical case study to explore his practice from an educational perspective. This avant-garde German artist is
26 regarded as being important because he represented what it meant to be German, he was also the co-founder and advocate of new art movements including Dadaism and Verism. Otto Dix (Dix from now) was probably the most influential artist in terms of German art and was considered by many to be
[the] Neue Sachlichkeit [and thus a facet of verism] personified (Michalski 1994, p.53).
Dix was especially noted for his ability to capture
personalities that could provide information about their time [often exaggerating elements of them so as to typify them in accordance with the dynamics of physical time and space (epoch) which they occupied as in appendix one, figure 2] (Michalski 1994, p.53).
Other than his background, class, education and career notable are the roles he played, whether freely or otherwise, during the First and Second World War. In 1914 Dix volunteered for the German army and was assigned to a field artillery regiment (Dresden) and subsequently became a non-commissioned officer with a machine-gun unit (Eberle 1985, p.22). This choice undoubtedly affected his educational-life and the educative in his artwork; something that is explored through the art he subsequently produced. His artwork also evidences through his practices his education (informal) outside of the traditional and more formal educational setting revealing the struggle between the milieu of Dix’s everyday life, sexuality, cultural, ethical and religious beliefs, the roles he was required to play in accordance with the economic, moral, political and social constructs for example artist, father, lover, son and solider with the German educative.
When the biographical life-narrative of this artist is examined in this way what begins to emerge is evidence substantiating a broader notion of the educative and its relationship with the choices he made in his educational-life and how that impacted upon his reflexive and strategic-self. For instance, in relation to the latter two this analysis reveals the educative in his artwork in terms of what
27 he was trying to teach others and the strategies he adopted to achieve this given the dynamics that existed at that time. In educational terms this narrative and semiotic study will enhance understanding of contemporary interpretations about teaching and learning through an expansionist philosophy and transcendent knowledge about the ways of being in the world, beyond teacher and learner, and contemporary philosophies of education. For the purposes of biography this facilitates the creation of biographical life-narratives that reveal how practices (conscious; chosen and coerced, and subconscious choices) and situatednesses infinitely relate, interact, create and recreate themselves over and over again and the premise by which they do so. Furthermore, this biographical life-narrative informs self-reflection and evaluation, and furthers understanding of the educative within Weimar culture (epoch) and its values.
1.4 The Educative in Art
Critiques of art often involve the analysis and dissection of a work(s) to reveal the essence of the individual that created it so that explanation and perhaps meaning can be given to their biographical life-narrative, and the dynamics and history in which they existed but this rarely focuses on that which is educative in their artworks. Such analysis will also be taken in terms of the works of the chosen artist with further context given through an exploration of his locations including when the work was commissioned and created, for example some attention will be paid to the length it took for the production of the work(s) and the history-lived during that period by bringing about an awareness of time. Furthermore, explanations or explanatory constraints that are imposed by historic events (First World War) and more current discipline specific theories are also explored; contributing original knowledge to art, biography and education.
The point is that it is through an interpretation of the educative, the educational- life, reflexive and strategic-self through the biographical life-narrative that can ultimately alter the accepted meaning and understanding attributed to it particularly in relation to an individual’s life.
28 1.5 The Material for this Study
This study will bring together published auto/biographical literature on Otto Dix so that a chronology and structure of his life can be deciphered, some of which has already been undertaken by, amongst others, Michalski (1994), Schick (2005, pp.121 – 122) and Gutbrod (2010). These texts have supported exhibitions and have been used as reference sources by a variety of other texts including catalogues and magazines. The most recent text is that of Peters (2010) on the works of Otto Dix. To enhance this biographical data other epistolary data will be used for example photographs, letters (public and private) and correspondence (private); Otto Dix wrote many such letters to his girlfriend Helen Jakob during the First World War and later to his wife Martha.
Although a comprehensive literature review is undertaken in Chapter two and the methodology/theoretical framework in Chapter three it is salient at this point to state the lines of enquiry that informed this study that included broad reading to understand the Weimar Republic and its understanding by others; for example its perceived, represented and actual form which has allowed relevant situatednesses to be teased out. Such text data includes amongst other things; Weimer Culture: The Outsider as Insider (Gay, 2001), Artists for the Reich: Culture and Race from Weimar to Nazi Germany (Clinefelter, 2005), The Hitler Myth (Kershaw, 2001), Berlin in the 20’s: Art and Culture 1918 – 1933 (Metzger, 2007), The Dark Mirror: German Cinema between Hitler and Hollywood (Koepnick, 2002), Cool Conduct: The Culture of Distance in Weimar Germany (Lethen, 2002) and Glitter and Doom: German Portraits from the 1920s (Rewald, 2007).
The study combines written text, epistolary evidence and the visual image. Hence, amongst others the following textbooks on biography and narratives informed this study in terms of, amongst other things, research methodology and validity; Narratives in Social Science Research (Czarniawska, 2008), Analyzing Narrative Reality (Gubrium and Holstein, 2009), Narrative Analysis: Studying the Development of Individuals in Society (Daiute and Lightfoot, 2004), Narrative Methods for the Human Sciences (Riessman, 2008), Biographical Research
29 (Roberts, 2002), Biography and Education: A Reader (Erben, 1998), Documents of Life 2; An Invitation to Critical Humanism (Plummer, 2001) and Doing Narrative Research (Andrews et al, 2008).
For purposes of analyzing the visual image the following textbooks, amongst other sources, provided useful insight into the theories of analysis; Vision and Art: The Biology of Seeing (Livingston and Hubel, 2002), Using Visual Data in Qualitative Research (Banks, 2007), Handbook of Visual Analysis (Leeuwen and Jewitt, 2001), The Uses of Images: Studies in the Social Function of Art and Visual Communication (Gombrich, 1999), Methods and Theories of Art History (D’Alleva, 2005), Method Meets Art (Leavy, 2009), Art and Illusion: A Study in the Psychology of Pictorial Representation (Gombrich, 2002), Ways of Seeing (Berger, 1972), Languages of Art (Goodman, 1976) and How to Write Art History (D’Alleva, 2006).
1.6 Research and Researcher Location
The varying interests and biases of the researcher (discussed in relation to narratives in Chapter three) make it important, not least for purposes of validity, to locate the perspective from which the study is approached. Often disciplinarians such as the art historian, biographer or social scientist will take specified theoretical, methodological and philosophical approaches to collect and analyse data, formulating an argument that is firmly located within a particular school of thought for example feministic, iconographic or semiotic. It is this approach that often leads to the delimitation of life-narratives and their information of the educative. Such specific focus can lead to the researcher discounting the minutiae of a life or ignoring meaningful events and circumstances, the result of which is, other than issues of validity, truth and reliability which are discussed in Chapter three, to alter the trajectory of the narrative-form. Hence, this study will be the first that combines strategies in narrative research (auto/biography), iconography and semiotics (art history) and evidential-types for example epistolary data such as letters, paintings and
30 sketches to explore the relationship between the situatednesses in the life of Otto Dix and the educative in his verist art.
It should be noted that, like other studies that seek to explore biographical life- narratives, the analysis is objective but also subjectively informed (subjective knowledge in objective analysis see supra p.89). It is my construction of the biographical life-narrative of this verist; therefore it is partial in its assumptions, discussions and presumptions. However the combination of strategies used does, to an extent, mitigate this issue. The philosophical and theoretical perspective through which this study is coloured includes the theories of Pierre Bourdieu (habitus, capital, conatus and doxa) and Thomas Kuhn (paradigms), these are discussed in Chapter three.
My interest in exploring the educative nature of art through biography, iconography and semiotics can partly be attributed predominantly to the works of Otto Dix, George Grosz and Christian Schad (for examples of the works of latter see appendix one, figures 17 and 18). Their works, for me, were polarised and politically charged with their visual social criticism and satirical representation of the necessary evils of societies in cultural, social and political flux. For example one of Dix’s contemporaries Christian Schad took a contradictory stance in both word and practice (art) by presenting himself as being apolitical (see appendix one, figure 5).
In addition, Eliot’s (1967, 2001) East Coker (part of his thought provoking Four Quartets) poignant statement that ‘in a beginning is an end’ (2001) highlights the purpose of the posthumous life-narrative and the essence of how the educative can be discovered because these cannot be life-cast (type-cast). The term essence is used here to denote central meaning. I prefer the term life-cast to represent the categorization of the life in objectification for purposes of, amongst other things, measurement and rationalization. The caveat here relates the existence and availability of the evidence of life, for example letters from which a sense of identity can be harnessed. Ethical issues include the right to posthumous privacy, the contention being that if the life wanted to reveal itself it would have
31 consensually done so of its own accord during the life itself. The fall back position here is that the ontological purpose of the biographical life-narrative outweighs the need for such privacy – the life and its educative value, by reason of its interrelationship to the lives of others, does not solely belong to the individual because it does not exist in solitary confinement. At a metaphysical level the biographer can be said to have a fascination with a form of ontology imbued with morbidity.
Denzin states that
[everything] studied is contained within a storied or narrative representation [which acts to privilege the linguistic and textual basis of knowledge] (2001, p.58).
The biographical life-narrative, whether through its addition of story and time (Roberts 2002: 4) or in Dilthey’s terms experience, expression and understanding (Verstehen hermeneutics, Palmer 1969) reveals the educative in a life because it is through the creation of
stories [through which] we relate our lives to ourselves and [those of] others, [and through which] we attempt to make sense of our experiences and give an account … [of] who we [and others] are … from the endless incidents and experiences, thoughts and feelings of our [and their] lives, we make and remake accounts; through stories we sequence and give meaning to the remembered elements of our [and their] past (Gergen and Gergen, 1984) … [ontologically this is most notably important because] the shaping of the past, the concerns of the present and the anticipation of the future are intimately related (Roberts 2002, 103).
It is these very incidents, defining elements (Roberts 2002: 103), epiphanies (Denzin 1989, 70) or situatednesses that allowed Dix and now us to make sense
32 of the educational influences in his life and the educational messages imbued in his many artworks.
1.7 Thesis Structure
This thesis addresses conventional educational questions through a biographical exploration of the educative to address the understanding of the educative in formal and informal teaching and learning that professional educators have. Furthermore, this research departs from previous commentaries on the life of Dix in many ways; the main feature in its originality is the analytical and methodological perspective through which the study is framed namely, narrative research, colour, iconographic and semiotic. In summary, the educative is incidentally explored in German verist art through the artwork and life of Otto Dix. From an art historical perspective this is in stark contrast to the more traditional catalogue of the works of such artists often produced with complimentary biography.
Chapter two opens with the literature review in preamble grounding the philosophical and theoretical framework in current discourse and leading to inform the subsequent discussion in Chapter three on the framework itself. The literature review deals with issues of definition and terminology, and identifies relevant data that supports the study by means of identifying the theory, methodology and originality in this work. With this grounding in mind, Chapters four, five and six provide an analysis of Otto Dix’s life applying the theoretical and philosophical principles to it. His entire life is explored from 1890 – 1969, which includes the demise of the verist style in 1933 with the fall of the Weimar republic, the early post-First World War years and the end of the Second World War. The thesis concludes in Chapter seven with an evaluation of the lessons to be learnt for artistic, educative and historical interrogations from a mixed research method narrative analysis, and what the life of Otto Dix can teach us.
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34 CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW AND EVIDENCE ANALYSIS
2.1 Introduction
This chapter explores the literature that informs the philosophical and theoretical framework developed in Chapter three. This part of the thesis deals with definition and terminology, identifies relevant visual data (works of art), epistolary data (correspondence and letters) and supporting written data (textbooks, journals and other articles) that support the study, the purpose of which is to situate the theory, methodology and originality in this work.
In essence there are broadly four areas relevant to the research presented in this thesis: (a) education and the educative, purpose and process, (b) biography and the life-narrative, (c) art history, method and theory, and (d) Weimar Republic and culture. This study is an exploration of how biographical studies can provide further insights on the notion of the educative. These four concerns are interwoven, this is evidenced through the educational, personal and professional life and artworks of the German artist Wilhelm Heinrich Otto Dix (1891 – 1969) or as he is generally referred to in much of the literature; Otto Dix (Dix from now).
The discipline specific material relating to biography and the life-narrative, and later the evidence relating to the life of the artist will be examined with focus on style, form, purpose and validity. Then, literature relating to art history, method and theory will be evaluated with the purpose of identifying relevant strategies for the selection of data and its subsequent analysis. The final part of the discussion in this chapter explores the material relating to the Germany for the period 1890 – 1969 with an emphasis through Pierre Bourdieu’s theories of capital, field and habitus (discussed in chapter three) on the culture, social and political spaces occupied by the artist during the various stages of his private and professional life. The objective of this is to harness those elements that affected Dix’s life trajectory (including education, private and professional life) that are
35 not traditionally accounted for in basic biographical research applying a broader notion of the educative with the purpose of providing further insight on the strategies he used to educate others.
2.2 Education and the Educative
This exploration grounds itself firmly in education (and education research) with repercussion for future studies relating within this discipline. Education itself can be regarded as an educative process, a term defined later in this part of the chapter. So that the practical, professional and perhaps pedagogic impact of this research can be contextualised it is important, prima facie, to define the educative in terms of the nature of education, the educative process and thought, and their relationship to the self (bildung). Literature relating to the educative centres on the purpose, process and educative benefit of knowledge; this when applied to an epoch (here Germany) can provide further insight on the development of the actors within it in terms of their self (see supra p.83). Furthermore, it can highlight how individuals can influence and instigate cultural change amongst significant others that surround them; Otto Dix and some of his contemporaries for instance George Grosz and Christian Schad are used as examples to evidence this. Biography is used in this study to investigate a wider notion of the educative exploring how Dix was educated outside of the traditional or orthodox modes of teaching and learning.
Humanity has been trying to understand the nature of education for thousands of years. The debates on understanding learning can be traced to the Greek philosophers Socrates (469 – 399 B.C.), Plato (427 – 347 B.C.) and Aristotle (384 – 322 B.C.). The term education, prior to its modern definition, originated from the word paideia, from the Greek pias or paidos. This provides a historical anchor by describing education as personal growth; implicit to which is then the notion of virtue as suggested by Socrates, later developed by Plato and further refined by Aristotle. In fact the latter went so far as to suggest that education was
36 the mastery of the self rather than of subject matter (Aristotle 1962, p.37).
These same debates that concentered on learning and teaching still occur today but from a variety of perspectives (see generally Barrow and Woods (1975); Blake et al (2003); Carr (2003)). For example in relation to how one learns and how learning can be encouraged and enhanced. Plato (teacher) and Aristotle (student) asked themselves whether the truth and knowledge was innate or external to one and thus discoverable through the senses. The latter is a form of empiricism; that the origin of knowledge is sense-experience and that practices are based upon experiment and observation. Plato was a rationalist, he argued that reason (self-reflection) and not experience is the foundation upon which the certainty of knowledge is built. In contrast, his pupil Aristotle sought truth and knowledge from the external world that surrounded him. Theories in education that consist of inquiry methods, discourse and reflection owe much to Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. Similarly, modern vocational education and owe much to the Roman approach to education (Hammond et al 2001, p.3).
With the Renaissance (fifteenth – seventeenth century) educational philosophy progressed in terms of freedom of thought and humanism reinforcing individual discovery and inquiry as key principles in educational theory. Rene Descartes (1596 – 1650) reinvigorated the Platonic theory. He argued that innate knowledge (ideas) existed in human beings prior to experience. John Locke (1632 – 1704) gave new life to Aristotelian empiricism by arguing that the mind is a blank canvas that is formed and shaped by experiences. In essence Locke contends that the mind becomes the experiences. Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712 – 1778) argued that education should be shaped to suit the learner. Similarly, the theories of Dewey, Montessori and Piaget partly follow this line (see generally Dewey 2011; Hammond et al 2001, p.4). Finally for Immanuel Kant the awareness of knowledge begins through experience but knowledge, still innate, exists prior to experience. Dewey (in Dworkin 1959, pp.20 and 91) believes that
37 [the] educational process has two sides – one psychological and one sociological … Profound [theoretical differences] are never gratuitous [nor] invented. They grow out of [elements that conflict] in a genuine problem.
According to Dewey Education is the mechanism through which social progression and reform can be achieved (see generally Wirth 1966). The result of this is change the relationship between the educator and learner so that the former then becomes a supervisor of activity rather than the gatekeeper of knowledge (see generally Dewey 1938). Hence, Dewey argues that education and democracy are intimately related.
Paulo Freire (1921 – 1997) argued that education should also concern itself with setting individuals free in terms of their thinking etc. In contrast to Dewey who argued for the intricate relationship between two co-existing concepts; democracy and education, Freire believed that emancipation was the mechanism through which social democracy itself could be achieved.
A relatively new movement in educational research comes in the form of social realism (see generally Maton et al 2010). This offers an alternative to positivist and other postmodern theories that have dominated this field for many years. The philosophy of critical realism is drawn upon to counter relativist theory with the aim of re-establishing knowledge as the focus of education, research and theory. Social realism achieves this by presenting realist arguments that support knowledge with rational objectivity as its basis (Maton et al 2010, p.22 – 40). Thus, this school of thought considers that there are certain forms of knowledge that to which all individuals have a right (see generally Bernstein 1974; 1996).
Although, present day definitions of education do not carry explicit Aristotelian connotations of educational virtue (educatedness) often they are implied. They focus education being the auditory, kinesthetic or visual trajectory through which information, knowledge and skills are learnt. Dewey’s contention that education is affected by a number of things including the environment also rings
38 true in modern educational philosophy where it is accepted that the practices and values crucial for personal development of civilised sensibilities, for the purposes of this study in a bildungian sense, that are instilled within an individual through education are practical (real-world) and theoretical (see also Carr 2004, p.7). Inherent to this latter definition are the conflicting aims of education for instance culture, development or economy. Education often falls prey to scientific objectification for the purposes of measurement in an attempt to satisfy statistical analysis. Arbitrary separation of that information, knowledge and those skills acquired in traditional educational settings from that gained outside of that arena has the effect of delimiting the diverse range of learning opportunities. This reveals the fragility in notions of generic and cyclically education that concentrates mainly on economy. Therefore, conventional definitions of formal education can limit the range of broader informal educational opportunities available to individuals throughout their lives (see Sewell and Newman 2006, p.7 – 9).
The current focus of educational theory has shifted from the educator in the times of the great German educationalist Johann Friedrich Herbert (1776 – 1841) to the learner with John Dewey and then to a more activist form of educator with Freire. Present debates in educational theory are concerned with a knowledge centred approach to learning (see generally Young 2008). In contrast, modern educational theory accepts that experience and reflection contributes to the ‘educatedness’ of an individual. Furthermore, it has also sought to rupture the notion of teaching so that learning may also embrace the informal. Contemporary educational theories incorporate the role of culture in the construction of individual and collective understanding. Both activity theory and the theory of communities of practice are good examples of current educational theory that promotes practise as a significant route to understanding theory (see generally Engeström (1999) and Wenger (1999) at p.4 onwards). This accords with the notion of bildung so that education and philosophy are linked as processes of personal (self) and cultural formation so that body, mind, identity and selfhood are unified.
39 The term educative is taken by association to relate to education perhaps because it subsumes the majority of the term but it must then include the accompanying process (method, procedure or action through which individuals are educated) and thought. This contributes to the development of the self in a bildungian sense as symbiotic-enduring-reflexivity engaged through the humanistic conscious and subconscious mind (psychological and spiritual). Such an impact can occur through the educational influences in the life and even prior to, during and post significant educational events (epiphanies) whether they are formal or informally encountered. Erben (1999, p.78) argues that the term refers to the
conditions within which moral reasoning [is] performed [because it relates to] a conception of personal identity originating [from] moral choices.
In this study the trajectorial experiences through which individuals are educated are accepted as including the formal and informal for instance culture, economy including hierarchical ordering, traditional education, personal, political including power, reflective including free-will and social. It is accepted that education is affected by the trajectories through which knowledge, information and skills are acquired. These three terms are widely defined to include, amongst other things, the absorption of culture, ethics, experience, morality, politics, techniques and values, and reflexivity. The educative and the educational influences in the development of Dix’s self in Germany during the period 1890 – 1969 can be discerned through a combination of narrative research, art historical and sociological research through Dix’s life and artwork (see appendix one, figures 2, 3 and 5). Thus, to understand the educational influences the life and socially critical art of Otto Dix is selected to evidence how significant formal and informal educational experiences contribute towards the artist’s educational trajectory. This study also postulates that formal and informal education combines in the form of an enduring symbiotic relationship impacting upon the educational-life and the reflexive and strategic-self. From a Bourdieusian
40 perspective this impacts upon the conatus (life-course) and doxa (pre-reflexive dispositions), and from a bildungian sense on the development of the self.
2.3 Autobiography and Biography: the Life-Narrative
Autobiographies and biographies are often considered to be studies in morality, personal and political power, fate and social control (Denzin 1989:29). Roberts (2002, pp.52 – 53) states that
biography [is] commonly considered within literary study and criticism as [a genre] of writing [authored and edited by a researcher] about another … [when] considered as life writing [it] becomes … broad [and can include amongst many other things memoirs, diaries and profiles] … [but is not considered as] enabling an individual to speak.
The auto/biographical life-narrative can be seen as a co-constructive process that allows meanings to be brought from the subconscious to the domain of consciousness and awareness. Knowledge and the stories about it facilitate focus on identity thereby revealing values, attitudes (Pagano 1991: 193 – 205), social influences (Ricoeur 1980: 169) and perhaps also educative strategies in communal cultural democratization. Narrative method investigates the story uncovering the conscious, unconscious or existential by
weaving … context [whether social or otherwise (further emphasis added)] and individual life together (Erben 1998: 13).
Reframing a life raises many issues including validity (objectivity) and bias (researcher influence). Epistolary and visual evidence such as correspondence, letters, photographs and art works all provide memories and stories of the life lived and connect individuals to times and places (see Plummer 2001, p222 – 237 on memories). Biographical writing has seen a shift and its code has been re- interpreted (Lee 2009, p.18) allowing for more to be scrutinised using this
41 method (see Evans 1993, p.8). In education the study of biography covers topics from schooling experience to the acquisition of pedagogical knowledge (Roberts 2002, p.23, Erben 1998, p.4). If autobiography is the act of the present (Eakin 1985) then biography must be an act of reframing the past, herein lay its inherent flaws. Within this genre exists the narrative (life-narrative) theoretical approach that seeks to explore factors that include the past, present, future, self and memory – these are discussed more in Chapter three. Other theoretical approaches within biographical research include phenomenology, discourse theory, symbolic interactionism and ethnomethodology. Riessman (1993, p.1) argues that narrative research, and more specifically the life-narrative
does not fit neatly within the boundaries of any single scholarly field [and thus it is] inherently interdisciplinary [in nature].
The life-narrative is considered to be part of the broader practice known as the qualitative research methods where
researchers tend to espouse an approach in which theory and empirical investigation are interwoven … [either] during or at the end of fieldwork, rather than [as] a precursor to it (Bryman 1988, p.81 in Roberts 2002, p.2).
It is often argued that, at least from a philosophical perspective, such research tends to be guided by highly abstract principles (Denzin and Lincoln 2008, pp.31 – 38; Bateson 1972, p.31). Riessman (2008, p.10) describes narrative as a
family of methods for interpreting texts that have in common a storied form.
Narrative has seen a significant and positive shift or turn in study with questions regarding the explanation, interpretation and understanding of individual and group action in the social sciences (Geertz 1973, 1983; Rabinow & Sullivan 1979, 1987; Riessman 1993, pp.5 – 6; Chamberlayne et al. 2000; Roberts 2002, pp.3 –
42 4). This can be attributed partly to the omission of humanity where modern science seeks to pursue only causal accounts for purposes of explanation or objective measurement for statistical satisfaction and are therefore inherently flawed (Rustin 1999: 65; Roberts 2002: 4).
Changes to the way in which the very nature of scientific knowledge was perceived and the methods used to achieve it in the last thirty years (Roberts 2002, p.4) have meant that the life-narrative, which is no longer regarded as the sole province of literary study, has added concepts of story and time to the research process (Roberts 2002, p.4) giving more scope for a rather fraught postmodern individuality (Shilling and Mellor 1994, pp.115 – 128); an uneasy individuality that does not conform to established principles or practices and as a result it sits uncomfortably without a scientific evidential basis. Narrative research as a strategy of inquiry appears in many forms and contributes in value to research on the educative through a diversely rich methodological and interpretative exploration of contemporary lives and their cultural and structural settings. This can provide new and possibly narrower or less generalised evidence on how formal and informal educational activity unifies and contributes towards ‘educatedness’. This also highlights the different roles that principled understanding plays in the formation of the educative-self.
It is postulated by this study that further insight into the educational influences namely the combination, unification and impact of formal and informal education on Dix’s educational and life trajectory can be highlighted through the biographical life-narrative when combined with the theories of Pierre Bourdieu. This is because Bourdieusian theory helps illuminate the relationship between the paradigmatic (field) and nature for example places, times, events, roles and interactions. In other words to investigate how ‘things’ interact to co-construct the self and the multiple individual educative realities or truths in which it exists, this is explored further in Chapter three.
43 Most qualitative research conforms to a set of procedures and although several typologies exist (cf. Cortazzi 2001; Mishler 1995) narrative research is far more fluid (Riessman 1993, p.54). Riessman (1993) heuristically identifies four contemporary approaches to narrative research; thematic, structural, dialogic and visual analysis, within each of these is an intrinsic link to the stages of the narrative research process identified in her earlier work; telling, transcribing and analysing (Riessman 1993, p.54).
Thematic analysis has as its focus the context of a text or data, for example what is said rather than how it was said. Here the philosophical assumption is that language is the resource rather than subject that is to be investigated as a direct route to understanding meaning. With its obvious mimicry of most objectivist modes of inquiry, the validity in this approach is undermined by the implicit suggestion that thematic conceptual organisation is not, in any way, intrinsically linked to the researcher.
Although a number of other problems arise with thematic analysis only the most salient are discussed; in terms of thematic grouping it is very unlikely that all references, whether to a body, object or otherwise, have the same universal meaning, in any respect universal meaning is often ontologically flawed (this is discussed later in Chapter three). Finally, this approach does not account for those silences; these are often ignored but speak volumes for instance body language and gesture, nor does it account for variation in the tonal properties of the spoken word, and neither does it consider responses that are typologically non-conforming (see also Riessman 2003 in Lewis-Beck et al 2003).
Like thematic analysis, structural analysis focuses on form however the emphasis shifts from what is said to how it is said and is therefore an exploration of how the selection of particular narrative devices make a story more persuasive. Here, and in stark contrast to thematic narrative analysis, language is treated as a topic to be investigated rather than a pure resource. Structural narrative analysis, developed by Labov et al (1982), analyses the
44 function of a clause in the overall narrative [and] … the communicative work it accomplishes (Riessman 2003 in Lewis-Beck et al 2003).
Here the non-assumption of transparency means that theories relating to language and meaning can be built more effectively, however researchers must be sure to avoid data (for example transcripts) becoming unreadable. Often a strict adherence to the rules of thematic analysis lead to de-contextualisation of the life-narrative because historical, institutional and interactional factors are ignored, all of which are important for purposes of validity (discussed in Chapter three).
Dialogic analysis (also referred to as interactional narrative analysis) has as its focus the process of dialogue between the narrator and the listener so that both parties participate in conversation. Here, the former two approaches are not abandoned but the emphasis is on
storytelling as a process of co-construction, where teller and listener create meaning collaboratively (Riessman 2003 in Lewis-Beck et al 2003).
Dialogic narrative analysis is deficient in account for pauses, silences (as before) and other aspects of talk for example body language in the form of gestures etc.
The final approach relative for discussion is the analytic visual analysis. This takes the life-narrative beyond the spoken and written word, here storytelling becomes visual or perfomative because it acknowledges that a past
involves, persuades, and (perhaps) moves an audience through language and gesture, ‘doing’ rather than telling alone (Riessman 2003 in Lewis-Beck et al 2003).
45 Analytic visual analysis facilitates case-centred research through the interpretation of
many kinds of texts-oral, written and visual (Riessman 2008, p.10).
The approach ranges from the dramaturgic to narrative as social action and integrates the visual for example photographic or art, with the spoken or written word for example letters and documents (see supra p.44). Thus, it facilitates the analysis of oral narratives, their settings, discursive dialogue, and audience and interpreter response because a more holistic approach is taken. This approach is best suited to the exploration in this study because it centres on a wider range of communicative practices and educational identity construction.
In terms of epistolary data it is important to distinguish between letters and correspondence, and the relevant issues related to them. Both are important forms of data because there is a deep connection between them and the lived life. As Stanley (2004, pp202, 212 and 223) states
Letters … [provide] evidence about events or people … [They] involve a performance of the self by the writer … [and] are written by a living person located within a material and social context … [Both letters and correspondence] describe or invoke aspects of this context and the place of these people within it … they are traces of this person.
Stanley (2004, p.209) distinguishes between correspondence and letters in the following terms
[Correspondence is] an exchange persisting over time, whilst a letter can be written, sent and read as a one-off occurrence.
A number of interesting contemporary biographies utilise such data for instance Clarke’s recent biography on the English artist Randolph Schwabe (2012) (see also supra p.87). Similarly, in this study correspondence between Dix and Helen
46 Jakob, and letters between the artist and Martha (see chapters 5 – 6) are used to lend insight into the events in Dix’s life as are individual private letters between the artist and his family, friends and individual public letters for example from Dix to the Gera Department of Culture.
Plummer (2001, p.54) highlights how suspicious social scientists are of correspondence and letters. The problems in relation to this data include the fragmentary nature (see generally Plummer 2001, pp.52 – 55; Stanley 2004, p.204) of them especially where only one side of the letter or correspondence is available. The correspondence between Jakob and Dix falls into this category. The reciprocal correspondence from Jakob was most likely destroyed and is therefore unrecoverable; however Dix’s correspondence gives us some fairly cogent clues in terms of their content. Another issue lies in the selection or rejection of some of the letters or correspondence. It is salient to state that a mixture of individual letters, parts of individual letters and correspondence is utilised. Unfortunately, choices have to be made. The data was selected by reason of its connection to the major events (or epiphanies) in the life of Otto Dix as discussed in Chapters 4 – 6, and the correspondence serialised this in order of date. This is because the time at which they were written affects their content. In terms of this study the data is insightful in terms of the educational influences (experiential) in Dix’s life. Additionally, this data can be considered as historical records of the moment in which they were written for instance Dix often vividly describes the frontline to Jakob (see supra p.137 onwards).
Plummer (2001) and Stanley (2004) both discuss the editorial process involved in the use of correspondence and letters in life writing. However, neither directly mentions the issues inherent in translating letters between languages, in this study from German to English and French to English. There are a number of issues in translation for instance retaining the original text and its own particular rights, the cultural framework in which the data emerged and milieu in which it should be read, its destination, language (colloquialisms and prose) and whether the context of the data should be put academically or using popular culture (see generally Eco 2003, p.1 – 9).
47
Translating any data has an impact on how faithful a representation is to its original form, its author and the cultural milieu in which it was created. Therefore, the correspondence and letters used in this study were translated three times, once by me and then twice by independent individuals. The translations were then contrasted, this allowed for the presentation of a faithful ‘closest natural equivalent’ (see generally Venuti 2004, p.75 – 85) translation of the original written text.
Use of the life-narrative in education research is varied, MacIntyre argues
narrative history of a certain kind turns out to be the basic and essential genre for the characterisation of human action [and thus is the] … only guarantee of social intelligibility [because one cannot] … account for or understand the actions or views of others unless we grasp the lineaments of their narratives – if we cannot identify ourselves … we are both philosophically and situationally baffled [as a result of which we are unable to explore the distinction between that which is] … humanly accountable and the merely natural (MacIntyre 1985, pp208 – 209).
The biographical life-narrative also provides further insight into how an educational-life is constructed through the revelation of the paradigmatic interrelationships that exist between formal and informal education by harnessing individual-universalised realities. Erben argues that
narrative competence [facilitates] our understanding of the narratives of others and [thus] understanding of our own actions, reflections and confusions (Erben 2000, p.385).
Although Ricoeur (1983, pp.52 – 86) argues that narratives make time comprehensible, this same reasoning may be applied to the educative in that it
48 becomes more comprehensible because it is given context by time as a universal and defining architecture (field or paradigm) of education.
This is because the researched life reveals how the educative is enmeshed with the subjectivities and structures (or paradigms/fields), whether social or otherwise, in which it exists (see also Erben 1998, p.14; Czarniawska 2004, p.69). Furthermore, the story of an educational life must be taken as being
embedded in the story of those communities from which [it] derive[s] [it’s] identity (MacIntyre 1985, p.221).
Therefore, a hermeneutic engagement through the biographical life-narrative can be revelatory in terms of revealing the interrelationship between these dynamics or the situatednesses of life (see also Erben 1998, p.13) that affect the educative, the educational trajectory and reflexivity. This can facilitate transformative education through early intervention; where individually and socially (or holistically) greater success in educative development can be achieved (trajectory). Biography can assist in the reconsideration, and perhaps rupture, of the notion that the educative is something that exists within the confines of the traditional educational setting for example the University, and in terms of teaching and learning is something that is defined according to the conventional and subjective understanding of professional educators.
With this in mind, this study reframes the life-narrative, as a method by which the educative can be explored. This requires intensive philological research so that the situatednesses that are continually structuring and recreating the educative, the educational trajectory and the life-course can be reconstructed. Although this list is not exhaustative, the life-narrative should be reconstructed in terms of intellectual and practical activity such as career, culture, education, family, science and politics, an example of this would be their publically transformational practices and production (artwork).
49 An example of comparison in such philological research would be the comparison of the autobiography or biography for instance there are two versions of an autobiography written by Otto Dix’s contemporary George Grosz (1946, 1983). Both these texts differ significantly in terms of how his life- narrative is presented, for example the later version excludes much of his childhood experiences and home-life.
For reasons unknown Dix did not write an autobiography. However, Löffler (1960, 1982), a Dresden historian and a friend of Otto Dix, provides a biographical account of Dix’s life, different to that presented by Gutbrod (2010). The latter presents an interesting account of Dix’s life primarily centering on the artist’s life since his eighteenth birthday. Arguably Löffler would be best placed to write a biographical account of the artist’s life on the basis of the assumption that as a friend he would have had first hand knowledge, such an assumption is questioned by later contradictory documentary evidence for example the conflict on how many busts of Nietzsche Dix actually produced etc. This study in exploring the educative and the strategies used to educate others within this epoch also contextualises the habitus of the subject under investigation (Dix) through the habituses surrounding him i.e. acquaintances (including employers), family, friends and lovers for often it is those that know one that know one more or less, revealing evidential conflicts in the life-narrated. Much has also been written on the influence of the First World War on the works of art produced by Dix and his contemporaries respectively.
Hence, the life of Otto Dix is evidenced in a variety of forms including chronologies and articles presented as mini-biographies that accompany the many exhibitions and catalogues celebrating their works, an example worthy of mention here is Dark Pleasures an article that accompanied the Otto Dix Retrospective (Schjeldahl 2010, pp.78 – 79). There are also works, which cannot strictly be defined as biographies because of their shape and form (discussed anon), which discuss the impact of the war on the art of Otto Dix. Examples of these includes Otto Dix: The Art of Life by Gutbrod (2010) and the documentary Portrait of an Artist: Otto Dix – The Painter is the Eyes of the World by Reiner E.
50 Moritz at al (1989). The most recent (and relevant in terms of biographical analysis) data will now be reviewed in terms of how it supports this exploration, the deficiencies that will be answered within this study thus evidencing the many facets of originality within this research.
Although considerable evidence of the life of Dix exists in auditory, visual and written form it has not been used to explore the educative nor has it been used to investigate his educational trajectory. In addition, the biographies have not been cross-examined, in the same vein whether together or otherwise.
It is salient to state that the autobiography is deceptive as the best form of evidence documenting a life, a fallacy promoted by the fact that the author and subject are one. Although validity is discussed further in Chapter three, it is fair to note that to assume validity just because the author is writing about their own life would be erroneous. The presentation of an autobiography, like biography and narrative writing in general, is configured by its focus. Common examples of factors obscuring an autobiography include event selection and the impact of excluded or missing information. In the latter case such data may be subconsciously or erroneously excluded, or consciously excluded. In either case the result is the same, what is created is an ontologically defective life-narrative of limited use in exploring the educative. The contribution the biographical life- narrative makes in terms of exploring the educative is further discussed in Chapter three. In short, this study does not contend that the life-narrative is defective in its current form as validity in the broader sense may be achieved methodologically or otherwise. However, what is postulated is that in terms of the epochal development of the educative and for research in education generally, such a life-narrative may lack ontological enlightenment in education research because of its common aim, objective or purpose – something discussed fully in Chapter three.
Löffler (1960, translated in 1982) provides a substantive account of Dix’s life from youth (eighteen) through to his death and Bröhan provides a short but insightful version of the same. In contrast, Teissier (2010) provides an
51 interesting account in Otto Dix: Letters et Dessins (Otto Dix: Letters and Drawings) that includes a series of letters Dix wrote to, amongst other, his beloved (and later wife) Martha from 1921 onwards. Like the others Gutbrod (2010) also shies away from exploring the maternal and paternal influences on Dix’s work, perhaps by reason of originality (discussed anon), Löffler (1960) however is not so reluctant in suggesting that Dix’s Saxon-Thuringian roots reveal the origins of his art without which
[some knowledge of Dix’s] … Saxon-Thuringian background … the origins of his art can never be understood (Löffler 1960, p.7).
Examples of this include his mother Louise Dix’s love for music and poetry, her artist nephew Fritz Amman. Unfortunately Löffler does not discuss these adequately, like Gutbrod (2010) this part of Dix’s life is marginalised through context-focus. Further Löffler does not explore the connection of these influences on Dix and his educational trajectory, and the strategies he used to educate others.
In contrast, Gutbrod (2010) conveys a rather descriptive but interesting biographical account of Dix’s life with the objective of presenting Dix throughout his artistic phases addressing the cultural environment and some of the historical factors affecting him. Although the data and hypothesis is well informed it does not fully consider how Dix’s adolescent years affected his educational trajectory for example living in a multi-family home and having a father who achieved far more than others in a similar employment position (Gutbrod 2010, p.17). Further the impact of this on the artist’s educational development and how that affected his later life and works is not considered, although it is fair to point out that this was not the focus of the work. It is obvious right from the outset that the intention of this biography is to account less for Dix’s raison d'être and more for his artistry, inspiration and style of painting (see Gutbrod 2010, pp.20, 53 and 57).
52 In parts Gutbrod (2010) seems to ignore the obvious connection between the opportunities, and often lack of opportunity, in Dix’s life and how that affected his ‘working’ as an individual, artist and the many other positions of life that he occupied during his lifetime. The term positions of life is preferred here over other terms to reference the many and varied positions that individuals occupy during their lifetime i.e. son, father, politician and grandfather. Examples of this include Dix’s family not being able to finance his art studies, him securing a conditional scholarship from Prince Heinrich XXVIII of Reuss (Heinrich XXVII Fürst Reuß jüngere Linie) the last reigning Prince Reuss Younger Line (1913 – 1918) and how this resulted in Dix serving an apprenticeship with the Master decorative painter Carl Senff in Gera (1907 – 1910) (Gutbrod 2010, p.20), and Dix attending the Dresden School of Arts and Crafts rather than the Dresden Academy of Art (Gutbrod 2001, p.21).
Furthermore, Gutbrod’s (2010, p.20) interpretation of Master Senff’s comments to Dix, where he suggests that Dix buy a velvet jacket, a dachshund and become an ‘artiste’ are subjectively-emotive. Senff was a Master decorative painter belonging to a profession producing art to occupy functional and non-functional spaces, traditionally folk art, focusing on craftsmanship and discipline rather than self-expression. Thus, real art to Senff would have been decorative painting, perhaps something the Master sensed Dix was not committed and suited to. In addition, Senff’s comments may be imbued with ego perhaps because his profession was not given the credence it, in his opinion, deserved. Decorative painting, although highly respected, was not necessarily perceived as being glamorous instead it was financially stable, secure and probably less rewarding in terms of accolade. As a result Gutbrod (2010, p.20) does not present a contextualised account of the student-teacher relationship.
Further questions that arise from this work centre on Dix’s fascination for the explicit form including innocence, murder and sex (see appendix one, figures 7, 8 and 9) and subconscious representation (see appendix one, figure 2). These are amongst some of the themes that Chapter four explores, develops further and relates to the development of educative thought to Dix’s situatednesses. To this
53 endeavour reference will also be made to other sources of data including extracts from Dix’s War Diary (obtained from the Galerie Albstadt, Germany) but only contains few reflective remarks (see generally: Schubert 1980), (private) and letters (private and public) authenticated and published by the Otto Dix Stiftung (Foundation, www.otto-dix.de), the documentary Otto Dix: The Painter is the Eyes of the World (1996), the catalogue accompanying the Kunstmuseum Stuttgart exhibition in 2007 on Dix’s work titled Getroffen. Otto Dix und die Kunst des Porträts (Taken: Otto Dix and the Art of Portraiture) by Ackermann and Spanke (2009), and the following, amongst other, textbooks; Artists for the Reich: Culture, Weimar Culture: The Outsider as Insider (Gay 1968) and Race from Weimar to Nazi Germany (Clinefelter 2005) and Otto Dix (Peters 2010). German literature on Dix is far more extensive than that available in English much of which is utilised in this study – other notable data sources that are not utilised mainly because of their irrelevancy to the focus of this work, although they were explored, include the audio book: Otto Dix. Ich folge lieber meinem Dämon: Orginaltonaufnahmen (Otto Dix. I follow my dear Demon: Original recordings) by Eikmeyer et al (2009) which is in short an audio book of radio extracts of Dix from the second world war until the time of his demise.
These are some of themes that will be explored in Chapter four connecting the epochal educative with Dix’s development, the situatednesses of the time (social, personal and political) and his work (see appendix one, figure 6). This will be examined using a range of approaches including the social-semiotic and iconographic (discussed anon).
It should be noted that the Otto Dix Stiftung (Foundation) was set-up by Martha Dix (the widow of the artist) in 1983 with the purpose of preserving the copyrights and management of the archive and extensive collection of evidence. The Foundation has connection with eminent scholars on Dix including Professor Dr. Rainer Beck, Dr. Suse Pfäffle and Dr. Ulrike Lorenz, hence there is little question as to its authenticity.
54 The three notable movements and styles in which Dix’s work was firmly located, namely: Dada, Neue Sachlichkeit and Verism, and Futurism. The most notorious of his artwork was produced during the artists Neue Sachlichkeit phase in the verist style and therefore the other two are not discussed here save in mention, however these are fully discussed in Chapter four.
Verism, as an art style, had an activist quality and the political and social militancy of the works, and life, of Otto Dix is clearly apparent. The term derived from the Latin versus that means true, and the style was firmly located within the Neue Sachlichkeit (New Objectivity) art movement. It was a form of realism that sought to embrace reality and much of this work can be regarded as vulgar, unconventionally beautiful or aesthetically pleasing (see appendix one, figures 1 and 2). Artists within the Neue Sachlichkeit (New Objectivity) can be defined as either verists (as above) or magical realists (classically- orientated/classicists/neo-classicists). The style rejected, amongst other things, the heroic and the legendary. What is particularly strange about this movement is the fact that it was nurtured by the Berlin metropolis during the 1920’s where
the free and applied arts [were] outstripping Paris and London for more than a decade (Staatliche Museum 1974, p177 in Michalski 1994, p.23).
Verism became the defining art style for the Weimer Republic where artists such as Otto Dix expressed and exposed their experiences as a form of social criticism of bourgeois culture, and the First and Second World Wars through their works of art. It can be stated that the educative in their artwork and styles expressed itself through their experiences. The result of this was to smash the imaginary utopian worlds created by expressionism that distorted reality where subjugation acted as a conduit through which the inner-self could be communicated. Verist works are notably distinguishable because of the meticulousness in detail that captured ontological reality in a way that is discernibly detached and often contrasted by the circumstances of existence for example culture, socio-economics, morality, politics, revolution and sexuality.
55
Dada was a European movement in art and literature in 1916 – 1923 that flouted traditional aesthetic and culture adopting, amongst other things, nonsense and travesty. Although there was variation in the art produced by the Dadaists the Dadaist movements in Berlin, Paris and Zürich subscribed to the ethos that social and political radicalism should be bound up with artistic innovation (Hopkins 2004, p.3) which is why the Cabaret Voltaire suggested, in Ball’s view, that humanity required liberation by mankind from the shackles of religion (see Lewer 2009, p.19 – 20). Hence, the birthplace of the Dada movement is often attributed to the Cabaret Voltaire even though Ball himself left the movement circa August 1916 and only returned to this symbiotic relationship for another year on the persuasion of Tristan Tzara (1896 – 1963) a Franco-Romanian writer and performer. Tzara himself had written the first Dada texts and manifestos; La Première Aventure céleste de Monsieur Antipyrine (The First Heavenly Adventure of Mr. Antipyrine) in 1916, Vingt-cinq poèmes (Twenty-Five Poems) in 1918 and Sept Manifestes Dada (Seven Dada Manifestos) in 1924. He too was essentially an anti-bourgeois nihilist and revolutionary seeking to repudiate bourgeois morals and values, and religion with its accompanying theories as baseless, and that future improvement required the destruction of existing cultural, political and social systems. In 1929 Tzara left Dadaism and joined the Surrealists who sought to express the workings of the subconscious through weird and wonderful imagery and effect a change in the life of those consuming their art – it should be noted that the Dadaist message was one of social criticism whereas the surrealist work was individualistic.
The Dadaists sought to educate people so as to make them see and experience things differently. The style adopted owes its origin to three main art movements namely; Cubism a twentieth century Parisian art movement that fragmented and reduced the form of natural objects to the abstract, Expressionism originally a German literary movement circa 1910 which focussed on emphasising the subjective expression of the artist’s inner experience, and Futurism an Italian art and social movement originating in the twentieth century in Italy with parallel movements in England and Russia which expressed the dynamic, energetic and
56 often violent elements of contemporary life especially in the form of mechanisation (machinery) and the art of the Parisian Dadaist Francis Picabia (1879 – 1953) a French painter, illustrator, writer and editor also involved in the Cubist and Surrealist art movements.
Employing a narrative (quasi-philological) approach to research raises a number of validity issues and although the in-depth and effective response to these is discussed in Chapter three they are presented here with the relevant data that will be used to formulate the reply. The narrative research approach raises, amongst other things, issues in terms of scientific validity (rigour) and truth. These issues are important when investigating the educative. Riessman’s seminal work, and there are many contemporary reassertions of the same, points out that
there is no canonical validation to interpretative work, no recipes [and] no formulas (Riessman 2002, p.695 – 710).
Although this is positive in terms of the life-narratives ontological richness as being a truthful account of human existence and the educational trajectory, the same undermines its perceived ‘scientific’ validity. As a result, it was almost automatically considered to be less relevant in exploring contemporary notions of the educative (see supra p.81 and generally Roberts 2002, p.4).
The scientific validity of the biographical life-narrative can be further impeded by the biography of the researcher and obvious methodological issues such as verification. This is the position of the human sciences, an act in justification for the refusal to engage with narrative research as a natural science. Riessman admits that her personal narrative is implicated because she too has
a point of view, and a network of relationships that influences the ideas presented (Riessman 1993: vii).
57 Thus, in terms of visual analysis, the biography of the painter undoubtedly affects the work produced (see generally Clandinin & Connolley 2000; Riessman 1993 and appendix one, figures 9 and 10). Additionally, in narrative research the biography of the author is implicated. Bourdieu deals with this by placing the researcher in the position of the ‘knowing subject’ (see supra p.89). Further validity and verification through objectification rely heavily on realist assumptions when presenting the familiar, universal or typical – these are often considered to be irrelevant to the biographical life-narrative because they assume a point of view rather than validating a historical truth. In contrast to other strategies this type of research evidences that individuals
construct very different narratives about the same event (Chafe 1980; Schostak 2002, p.3)
Rich evidence (data) can be harnessed from these life-narratives when extrapolated against one another revealing themes that provide additional context and therefore more ontologically sound alterative views of how a life (see Stivers 1993, p.421) exists within the broader notion of the educative as presented in this study.
The impact on the life-narrative of past, present and future personal and general (or universal) experiences of, amongst other things, art, culture, literature, socio- economics, psychology, politics, relationships (family and other) and sexuality cannot be removed but can, as this study postulates, be accounted for where it is used to contextually inform the life thus providing an alternative perspective to a lived-life. Therefore, this study is a meta-biographical account of Otto Dix’s life. The meta-biography can be defined as a form of hermeneutics because biography facilitates an individual living more than one life (see generally Shapin 2006).
The term meta-biography is used in this study to denote two things. First, the meta-biography is an account of a life that takes the biographical life-narrative beyond or transcends the contemporary biographical accounts of Dix’s life that
58 may exist in a variety of forms. Second, this genre of life writing does not restrict itself to the presentation of a ‘truer’ version of a life (as above), it also analyses earlier versions of biographical data to make a critical appraisal of writing that exists about a particular life. For instance, where the life of an individual is fragmented in a variety of data including autobiographies, biographies, correspondence (private) and letters (public) then the bringing together of that data refracts that same evidence to provide an alternative perspective on the lived life. Often this may be due to new evidence coming to light or as is the case in this study, the fragmented data is brought together for the first time to provide a holistic account of Dix’s life as at July 2012. This is an account of this artist’s life that will inform, as have previous accounts of this life, future biographies on Otto Dix. Additionally, the relationship between Dix’s biographical life-narratives is critically analysed for example Löffler’s biography of Dix (see supra p.50).
This account of Dix’s life is also self-reflexive because it is my account of Dix’s biography that explores his life, its remnants (evidence), the analysis of those remnants and my translation of them.
In short, this helps explore the educational influences in Dix’s life and educational messages in his artwork. The discussion in Chapter three (philosophical and theoretical framework) focuses on how the biographical life- narrative can lend further insights into contemporary notions of the educative.
59 2.4 Art History, Method and Theory
Having discussed the educative and the narrative research method it now becomes necessary to focus the elements that can further enhance these biographical life-narratives so that a context-driven explanation can be formed of the educative, the artist’s educational trajectory, his reflexive-self and the strategies Dix used to educate others. For purposes of extrapolation, reconciliation and verification both a formal and contextual analysis is utilised to enhance explanations of the visual data collected, the latter refers to understanding a work of art within a particular cultural moment and the former to an analysis and interpretation of the visual image itself (D’Alleva 2006, pp.27 – 68). The analysis of the works of art is undertaken in the following stages; iconographic analysis, iconological exploration, social-semiotic examination, content analysis and then a full neurobiological colour investigation (see appendix one, figure 16), the first three are widely used by art historians.
Visual analysis is of great value in exploring the educative because it provides a further coherent mechanism for comprehension of human experience by helping explore why images are so constructed.
Van Leeuwan and Jewitt (2008, p.59) argue, visual data
serve[s] as [a] record of reality … [this is in essence] documentary evidence of [the] people, places, things, actions and events [it] depict[s] … [it can be] therapeutic [and revelatory, bringing out] family relations [and experiences] … [it can also be] a source of [reliable and verifiable] factual information [and evidence] … over the [very often] deceptive world of words.
Ontologically (and philosophically) visual analysis can aid understanding of the terms in which the conscious, unconscious or existential are woven together, this is because artwork often reflects personal vision which makes it valuable evidence through which humanity may be investigated (see generally Gombrich
60 1977). One issue with analysis in art history, when used in isolation from any other strategy of inquiry, concerns its reliance on the stereotype of originality, with the latter referring to the avant-garde, challenging, independent, innovative, novel and often unorthodox. Harrison and Wood (2003, p.1016) state this can result in unresponsiveness to those that may challenge it and its authority, this does not account for its contextual-location for example its lien-sociale (social connection) and the impact of past factors. Furthermore, definition-based isolation often runs the risk of reconstituting any work, whether it is visual or epistolary data, the result of which is often to make it self-contradictory.
With this in mind the following discussion centres on some of the literature utilised to analyse this data. D’Alleva (2006, p.27 – 68) provides a good discussion on the methods art historians use to conduct formal and contextual analysis of the vast variety of art that exists, and for the purposes of this exploration; paintings including self-portraits and those using mixed-material, photographs and sketches (multi-material). For a full list of the visual data that has been utilised as part of this study in reconstruction of the biographical life- narrative see appendix one.
Formal analysis of visual data goes beyond mere description so as to understand what the artist intended to visually convey. D’Alleva (2006, p.27) states that there is no real distinction between a formal and contextual analysis because it is the viewer that is positioned to provide context, shape and interpretation themselves. The issue of how the biographies of the art historian and biographer affect the validity of any formal analysis is discussed in Chapter three.
Formal analysis has been used to focus on characteristics including colour, line, space, mass and scale to ascribe visual and physical characteristics and give them a historical (time and space) context, this can also lend insight to contemporary notions of the educative. D’Alleva (2006, p.28) provides a good example of how important such context is, for who would have imagined that the austere Parthenon structure was once donned in blue, red and yellow paint with ornate and decorative bronze plates. Similar analysis has been undertaken for each
61 verist by a range of art historians, biographers and journalists alike. Löffler’s (1977, pp.29 - 30) explanation of the Dix’s paintings of his parents (see appendix one, figures 11 and 12) also provides a relative example. The above explanations are extrapolated with the findings of the analysis undertaken in this exploration and original knowledge is produced through, amongst other things, reinterpretation for example the choice of a full colour analysis (acuity, luminance, equiluminance and spatiality, see Livingstone 2002, pp.12 – 99), material utilised in the work, its availability at the time and its popular use are amongst some of the themes examined to investigate and evidence the educative and paradigmatic constraints within which the artist operated. Further original formal analysis, where appropriate and possible, is undertaken in terms of the differences between pre-painting sketches and the final artworks; these are mapped for the purpose of exploring alternative explanations (see also Goodman 1976, p.193).
In this study such formal analysis is informed by traditional approaches in content, iconographic (symbols and their significance), iconological (analysis, description and interpretation of iconic representations), social-semiotic and full-colour (neurobiological) analysis which act to test various art historical interpretations but to provide evidence that corroborates how the educative and paradigmatic constraints within which the artist operated impacted on his educational trajectory, his reflexive-self and the strategies he then chose with which to educate others.
Barthes (1973, 1977) visual semiotics poses two fundamental questions in terms of what is represented and the method by which it is represented (how), and what ideas and values are depicted. Barthian visual social-semiotics focuses on the image as a result of which cultural meaning is taken as
a given currency, which is shared by everyone who is at all acculturated to contemporary popular culture … activated by style and content (Van Leeuwan and Jewitt 2008, p.93).
62 Barthian visual semiotics concerns itself with layered meaning and includes denotation (what (people, places and things) and who is depicted) as the first layer, this often carries a literal and often personal rather than symbolic message (see generally Barthes 1977, p.36). Denotative considerations explore categorization for example labeling the individual with the purpose of extracting typified characteristics, and the reasons underlying captioning for instance Grosz’s Pillars of Society (appendix one, figure 3) a journalist is depicted holding a quill and specifically a bunch of evening newspapers. Other factors analysed here include the depiction of groups of people rather than individuals to explore action, similarity and synchronization and universalizing the individual thereby typecasting them through distancing. The second layer is referred to as connotation, this explores the
ideas or values [that] are expressed through what is represented [and the method by which is represented] (Van Leeuwan and Jewitt 2008, p.94).
In terms of drawings, paintings and sketches the style in which the artist has worked provides a message itself albeit the content will still be analogical to reality (see generally Van Leeuwan and Jewitt 2008, p.94). Connotation explores the hidden language of poses and objects; Dix’s painting of Anita Berber (see appendix one, figure 2; supra p.168) is a good example of the former; pout, hips thrust forward-left and hand on right hip whilst the left cups the flowing drapery of the dress.
In contrast iconography focuses on the context of the image’s production, subsequent circulation, how and why cultural meanings and their visual expressions are historically ascribed (Van Leeuwan and Jewitt 2008, p.93). Arguably, this approach does not neatly fit into the formal or contextual analysis outlined earlier, it is discussed as a type of formal analysis because its primary emphasis is on pictorial meaning in relation to which culture is assumed.
63 This approach centres on three layers of pictorial meaning; representational, iconographical and iconological symbolism (Van Leeuwan and Jewitt 2008, p.100). Here representational meaning relates to recognition of what practical experience underpins the representation (Panofsky 1970, pp.53 – 60). Iconographical symbolism uses object-signs to denote people, places or things and the concept or idea to which that is attached. In contrast, iconological symbolism refers to meaning to reveal the basic set of attitudes belonging to an epoch (class, philosophical and religious). Panofsky (1970, pp.55 – 56) argues that art carries more than a purely visual meaning which facilitates a move away from conventional and traditional identification to an interpretation of which even the artist was not consciously aware. This subconscious meaning can help reveal the educative paradigm/field within which the artist existed. One issue arises here is that the age of an artwork often makes it more difficult to understand the shared meaning of the object-signs depicted making the need for inter-textual analysis far greater. This issue is avoided by this study because the same inter-textual analysis is provided through the use of a number of approaches to assess the same item. Furthermore, this is then extrapolated against traditional art historian explanations. One of the benefits of this is to evidence the conflation of historical and contemporary explanations.
The explanations from this data can be further strengthened by the use of the social-semiotic approach or the interpretation of visual data through resource including, amongst other things, any
rules, from laws and mandatory prescriptions to best practice, the influence of role models, expert advice, common habits [and viewpoint] (Jewitt and Oyama 2001, pp.134 – 5).
Analysis here concentrates on representational, interactive and compositional meaning thereby revealing the paradigmatic imposition of a relationship (power, detachment or involvement) between the people, places or things within an image and between the image and the viewer. Such constructions are symbolic relations within the semiotic resource and are therefore not real
64 relations hence can be illusionary or imaginary (see Van Leeuwan and Jewitt 2008, p.135). Furthermore, advances in terms of perspective by the Masters during the Renaissance led angular representation to become more important to the form in which the symbolic relation presents itself.
Representational meaning in social-semiotic analysis concentrates on narrative and conceptual (definition of identity) structures, the former of which relates to the connection between the people, places of things within an image; a good example of this is the sexual imagery in Grosz’s watercolours (see appendix one, figure 15). It should be noted that in this instance the term conceptual is not used as earlier defined, here the term refers to the symbolic structure that acts to define the identity of the people, places or things in visual data.
In addition, interactive meaning in social-semiotic analysis examines the relationship between the image and the viewer. Traditionally, applies to contemporary viewers – within this study (wherever possible) this principle is also applied within a historical perspective. Here factors such as contact, distance and point of view are akin to those discussed in terms of modality in content analysis later, it is however salient to state that these factors (where discussed) relate both to social-semiotic and content analysis. Compositional meaning is the final element of the social-semiotic examination centering on information value (positioning), framing (separation of identity), modality (reality value) and salience (prominence) for instance in appendix one, figure 2 the meaning of Berber’s central position, her represented on her own without reference to people, places, things or general paraphernalia and the exaggerated use of the colour red. Here the term modality does not differ from its use in relation to content analysis, in this instance the term is also used to denote the extent to which the data represents that which is termed real by the naked eye. The key difference is that modality in social-semiotic analysis is not concerned with the effect where the level of modality achieved is too low or exact.
Salience when extrapolated against a content analysis and the full colour neurobiological analysis (FCNA from now) can reveal a number of hidden truths.
65 Content analysis allows art to be coded for purposes of qualitative analysis and can be described as
[the] empirical (observational) and objective procedure for quantifying recorded audio-visual [and verbal] representation using reliable, explicitly defined [values and independent variables to form a] precise hypothesis (Van Leeuwan and Jewitt 2008, p.13).
Meaningful conclusions can be drawn here where comparatives are evaluated, for example exploring the self-portrait and the form in which the artist appears (for Dix see appendix one, figures 13, 14 and for one of Grosz, Dix’s contemporary see appendix one, figure 15) and perhaps why Dix who by the age of twenty-three had painted one hundred and sixty of these. This type of analysis is usual in media studies for the analysis of cinema, newspapers and television (see generally Bell et al 1982). To begin with categories of content must be stated and this requires a precise definition of the variables of representation. This allows the values on these to be distinguished to yield categories of content for observation and quantification (see Van Leeuwan and Jewitt 2008, p15).
Visual data (representation) varies for example in dimension and quality, thus in formal content analysis a content variable is taken as such a dimension and includes size, colour, position and posture. Alternatively, the participant may be utilised as the content variable exposing the analysis to age, gender, sexuality and race. Here content is manifestly judged because the representation takes precedence over and above its location in reality. Appendix one, figure 14 is a good example here Grosz allegedly acts out his sexual desires but the positioning of the participants reveals the artist’s own insignificance, social distance, power and equality. The artworks of Otto Dix are analysed according to the variables of social distance, behaviour and visual modality (size, role and gender).
As a variable the representation of social distance is related to the notion of proxemics (Hall 1966), which explores the psychology that underpins the use of space (spatial differences) between individuals revealing
66
everyday interaction [because it is] social relations [that often] determine distance (literally and figuratively) [that] we keep from one another (Hall 1966, pp.110 – 120).
Six distances are identified, these are; (a) the intimate distance where only the face is visible, (b) a close personal distance which visibly only reveals only the head and shoulders, (c) the far personal distance results in visibility from the waist up, (d) a close social distance is depicted through the entire figure being visible, (e) a far social distance is represented through the depiction of the complete figure and the space that surrounds them and finally (f) a public distance results in the visible revelation of the torso of at least four or five figures (Van Leeuwan and Jewitt 2008, p.29). Thus, in terms of appendix one, figure 13 Dix exposes the close personal distance he holds from German society through an adopted Nietzschean pose. Perhaps this also reveals how he discords with contemporary German culture at the time he considered not to be in concordance with his Nietzschean drive.
Behaviour as a variable in formal visual analysis concerns the interaction between the viewer and the gaze of the figure on that basis Kress and van Leeuwan argue that
[there is] a fundamental difference between pictures from which represented participants look directly at the viewers eyes [and those where this is not the case] ... where represented [figures] look directly at the viewer, vectors formed by participants eye lines connect [participant and viewer] (1996, p.122 – 3).
These play two functional roles; the formation of visual address and the figure is used to do something. Goffman (1979) observes that the representation of gendered bodies for example in Dix’s portraits of his parents (appendix one, figures 11 and 12 painted in 1922 and 1921 respectively) the artist’s father avoids direct eye contact representing displeasure. Bell et al (1982) identifies a
67 number of behaviours; the offer/ideal where the figure offers their self as an ideal or exemplar and looks away from the viewer, demand/affiliation/equality in which the figure makes direct eye contact with the viewer and smiles, demand submission here the figure looks down at the viewer and does not smile, demand seduction in which the figure looks at the viewer with their head tilted, smiling or canting and finally nil, this is where the figure does not engage with the viewer either through direct eye contact and behaviour.
Visual modality, as a variable, relates to pictorial expression in terms of colour, representational detail, depth and tonal shades amongst other things (see Van Leeuwan and Jewitt 2008, p.146). Dimensional reductions result in an abstract utopian image whereas amplification of the dimension produces the photo-real. This is then related to sensory coding orientation that emphasises pleasure and disgust, this is considered as the ultimate attempt to produce an image that involves all the senses. Taking appendix one, figure 2 this time, what is revealed is Berber’s far social distance and through colour, dimension and tonal amplification Dix exaggerates it. In terms of symbolism the use of red for Berber’s clothing and immediate space reveals how Dix perceives this character to be aggressive, exciting, intense, passionate, strong and powerful, all factors that are verifiable truths. The use of the colour red also reveals the artists preoccupation with death and destruction, violence and war, themes that run consistently through both the lives of Berber and Dix.
In this exploration visual modality in terms of colour is extended producing further original knowledge, this time in terms of methodological analysis. Current literature focuses on either style that may include elements of colour analysis or cortical processing of colour. An example of this is sensory coding orientation in formal (social-semiotic) analysis (see Van Leeuwan and Jewitt 2008; D’Alleva 2006). However this fails to go far enough. Thus, to further the reliability of such analysis, this study includes the neurobiological processing of colour in terms of acuity, luminance, equiluminance and spatiality (see supra p.68 – 73; Livingstone 2002, pp.12 – 99) – these can be referred to as the
68 quantum mechanics of colour processing and also form part of contextual analysis.
Visual acuity is reduced in relation to anything that is not the centre of gaze and thus focused upon a good example of this is appendix one, figure 17, where the focal point is the face of the child. This is because the fovea (part of the retina) is specifically designed to have the highest possible acuity. Foveal vision is used to scrutinise high levels of fine detail, peripheral vision is used to organise the spatial scene, view large objects and detect, by taking in coarser information, where to direct foveal vision (Livingstone 2002, pp.68 – 69). Appendix one, figures 11, 17, 18 and 19 are valid instances in which peripheral vision becomes less obviously important and very often Dix (and his contemporaries Grosz and Schad) used single or multi-area focal points in their paintings with the backgrounds being subjugated to a mere collateral state perhaps because it is the subject that requires immediate attention in ‘their’ personal reality(ies) rather than the surroundings. This issue is explored in relation to his artworks in chapter four.
Taking appendix one, figure 17 again but this time with a different focal point, for argument sake, the face of the doll hanging in the background; the eye is forced to return to the child’s face. From this it can be deduced that Schad intended all else to be subjugated, this striking central focus achieved through white-light produced through technique (style) and colour manages to manipulate the way in which the viewer views and therefore perceives the image – this reveals the importance Schad placed on his subjects albeit this happens to be his son. It is evidence such as this that lends support and helps map the educative constraints in which Dix existed. It is also revelatory in terms of his educational trajectory, his reflexive-self and the strategies he used to educate those around him.
Luminance is the use of colour to consume and emit or reflect light in order to create organic representation of the intensity created by natural light in a real scene for example gradual shifts in background luminance result in greater foreground luminance simply because the human visual system analyses a scene in parts (see generally Livingstone 2002, p.61 – 63).
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There are three stages in the processing of visual information by the human visual system first the ‘centre/surround cells in the retina and midbrain are excited by inputs from some photoreceptors and suppressed by adjacent ones’ second the ‘centre: in primary visual cortex (in the brain), groups of several centre/surround cells with aligned receptive fields create orientation-selective cells that respond to oriented contours, or edges’ and third the ‘bottom: at the subsequent processing stages, inputs from several orientated cells are integrated to generate responsivity to extended contours, or to discontinuous or occluded contours’ (Livingstone 2002, p.63).
Another good example of how the selective sensitivity of the visual system is manipulated is works of art that contain artificial lines denoting boundaries or borders between two regions promoting an arbitrary segregation of the object or subject from the real world (in terms of colour), and arguably the real world from itself. In contrast, equiluminance concerns the use of particular colours to generate a sense of motion, vibration or eerie quality – the artworks of the French artist Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (1869 – 1954) were particularly successful in this respect. This is achieved by equalizing luminance values of the colours so that the part of the visual system that deals with depth, figure ground segregation, motion, position, and space is unable to distinguish between them but the part of the brain that deals with recognition of colour, objects, people and detail still can. The equiluminance of an artwork will be affected by its physical location, hence works of art that were produced to adorn particular physical localities must be viewed within them or at least in an arena where the lighting conditions are the same otherwise the effect is lost. Both are important and related concepts; at the very basic they evidence the processes/operations in the way that the brain manages vision, and where analysis is concerned understanding the importance and irrelevance of colour in terms of visual perception. Often, analysis and discussion of colour in art disregards the neurobiology of colour therefore lagging behind other forms of historical criticism for example the recognition of faces and objects and perceiving colour depends on colour and vision, in contrast depth, motion, figure/ground
70 segregation and positional information do not (see generally Livingstone 2002, p.46). Thus, the effect or perception created through the use and non-use of colour are very important, the issue is further confounded by how visually acute the work of art is. Livingstone argues that scientifically
vision is information processing and not image transmission [because the action of neurons in calculating or operating what there is out there in the world is based upon input signals] (2002, p.53).
Subjective experience evidences the educative when harnessed through the life- narrative and specifically within this study the life of this verist. Livingstone argues that
experience is simply a manifestation of a particular combination of neurons within the brain signaling or not signaling (2002, p.33).
Then it must be taken that this neurological response, which structures action or inaction, has a structured and structuring paradigmatic relationship with the ontological and outside worlds; for instance the use of a particular colour to represent emotion, here the colour red is a good example; Chinese people use this colour as a symbol of good luck and prosperity whereas in western culture the same colour often denotes, amongst other things, anger, danger and lust. Neurological responses, which are based upon memories from the frontal lobes of the brain, are initiated and the result of which is to structure practice and that in turn structures the paradigms that form the ontological and outside worlds. Thus, a universal universality (as per Jean-Paul Satre; context through realist assumption) when extrapolated with neurobiological explanations of practice (action or inaction) presents a more reliable argument that aids understanding of human behaviour for ontological purposes. In terms of this study it helps explore the influences on Otto Dix’s educational trajectory and the relationship of these with the strategies he used to navigate through the milieu of his life.
The final element in the analysis of colour, where relevant, is spatiality. Images that contain far more coarse information for example items are presented peripherally or transiently, this allows the brain to complete the image through
71 a process referred to as illusory conjunction. It is the peripheral and not central vision (foveal vision) that deals with the coarser information and organizing the spatial scene, this includes viewing large objects and directing the centre of gaze (foveal vision). Analysis of the spatial scene can aid a humanistic interpretation of an artwork because it targets the psychology that accompanies or underpins the image under scrutiny.
Spatial precision results in the loss of transience because of its incompatibility with a single glance or fleeting moment. Livingstone (2002, p.76) discusses spatial imprecision and the resultant effect on the human visual system but only in terms of mass detail with examples from the works of the French painters Nicolas Poussin (1594 – 1665) (appendix one, figure 20) and Claude Monet (1840 – 1926) (appendix one, figure 21). Similar examples of this are easily found in Dix’s artworks (see appendix one, figures 13 and 14). However Livingstone fails to distinguish those images that are less spatially precise for example they contain less objects/subjects, and the effect of the same. An image that is quasi spatially precise retains a level of delayed-transience and therefore also reveals an additional visual effect for instance in appendix one, figure 22 the viewers foveal vision is directed first towards the open wound whilst the peripheral vision directs the foveal vision towards the medical staff and finally towards the instruments, this delay in experiencing transience allows a more lengthy preservation or experience of the fleeting moment and allows the viewer to determine that the scene depicts what was termed an operation albeit this has been subsequently questioned (see Singh Landa 2012, p.94 - 109).
The brief discussion surrounding figure 22 (appendix one) centred on spatial- distraction as an element of the effect spatiality as part of the neurobiological colour investigation has on, amongst other things, the meanings ascribed to works of art. Deep analysis such as this reveals the paradigmatic connection between the works of art and the ideologies of the artist. This is of great relevance to the explanation of the educative in Germany during Dix’s life, his educational trajectory, reflexive-self and the strategies he used to educate others, because he reveals its state from the perception of the learner.
72 This analysis is then extrapolated against the connection with the relative physical location in which the work would have been, or was intended to have been, displayed. This allows the intended perception to be harnessed. For example the Mona Lisa is thought to be a painting of wife (Lisa Gherardini Giocondo) of a wealthy Folorentine Merchant Francesco del Giocondo, was perhaps never intended to have been displayed and thus viewed in Napoléon Bonaparte’s bedroom nor the Louvre Museum. It is known that Leonardo De Vinci began painting this in 1503 in Florence, he continued to work on the Mona Lisa through 1506 and retained it until his demise in 1519. Contrary to the thoughts of Thomas Young (1773 – 1829) the nature of light is important to understanding life and the practice of the arts because of the ontological lessons imbued within the narrative (see generally: Young 1845 p.359).
Furthermore, the physical location of the painting affects luminant and equiluminant qualities, and therefore its focal point, its spatiality and therefore its acuity. Essentially, how light creates vastly different perceptions which may result in explanations through perception different to that which that artist may have intended even where formally and contextually analysed, thus in this study original knowledge is also produced in relation to this wherever possible.
Formal and contextual analysis (see D’Alleva 2006, pp.47 – 68) are important in aiding further insight into the educative because of the way in which they highlight the connection between social contexts as mutually constituting fields and bundles of relations to the artworks grounding them within their cultural, social, spiritual and historical epoch, thus questions relating to the production of the works for instance whether it was commissioned, the time and place it was produced, whether it was published under the responsibility of the artist or posthumously for instance analyzing the reasons why an artist may have purposefully withheld the work from publication, and the messages being conveyed for example the allegorical, social or political, and its compositional unity (see Berger 1972, p.13) are posed in order to reveal how the artist’s location also shaped their actions.
73 If, as it is postulated in this study, the biographical life-narrative can facilitate an alternative exploration of the contemporary notion of the educative and its effect within a particular cultural or epochal setting then it is also contended that the use of these approaches aids the creation of context driven ontologically sound and educationally relevant biographical life-narratives because the analysis is far more in depth than has been previously undertaken thereby covering all aspects of visual data analysis.
This when related to the sociology of individual or communal practice lends significant understanding of the epochal educative through artist’s life but also how his life, both private and professional, was a product of the educative at the time. The theories of Pierre Bourdieu (1930 – 2002), a French sociologist and philosopher who in Actes de la recherché en sciences sociales (1986), l’illusion biographique took exception to conventional biographies and their language (see generally Grenfell 2008, pp.11 – 12), can be used to facilitate this. Bourdieu’s theories; capital, field and habitus when applied to the biographical life-narrative can help explain the actions and strategies used by artists in reflexivity (learning and educating others). The use of Bourdieu in this study is discussed in depth in Chapter three, what follows is an outline discussion in terms of literature.
Bourdieu’s notion of habitus concerns itself with the regulation of behaviour where behaviour is not the product of obedience to rules (1994, p.65) in an act of reconciliation between social structure and individual agency or as Grenfell (2008, p.50) argues how the conscious, social and subconscious shape each other. In short, the habitus is structured by the past and present circumstances, it is structuring because it shapes present and future practices and it is structured because it is systematic in its order and therefore it is not random or un-patterned.
As Maton suggests (Grenfell, 2008, p.51) the habitus does not simply act alone, Bourdieu does not promulgate that we act as pre-programmed automatons that simply act out everything they have learnt. Instead practices (the acting out) are the result of an obscure, perhaps unconscious, and double relation[ship]
74 between the habitus and field (see Bourdieu and Wacquant 1992, p.126; Bourdieu, 1993, p.76).
For Bourdieu the field, first used by him in Champ intellectual et projet créateur (1966) and translated as: Intellectual field and the Creative Project, gives habitus its meaning and location, it is the sphere in which the habitus works, or those spaces of play that exist to the extent to which social agents that believe in and actively pursue the prises it offers enter them (see Bourdieu and Wacquant 1992, p.19). Thus, one can be considered without the other but only in the abstract, however that may result in obscuring the very essence of the habitus and a staunch move away from the ideals underpinning Bourdieu’s theories and their outward denunciation of abstractification – an injustice to his work. Two points should be noted here first, each field has its own set of rules or norms which the dominant players sustain through symbolic violence (censored or euphemised generally unrecognizable socially recognizable violence) (see Bourdieu 1977, p.191) and second, fields are those spaces of play that exist to the extent to which players (here the artist) that believe in and actively pursue the prises it offers them to enter it, hence fields require social agents (Bourdieu and Wacquant 1992, p.19).
Within the field is capital, this consists of the process within it and is essentially a product of it. Bourdieu argues that capital is accumulated and relates, directly, to position. Capital comes in four forms, namely economic (money and assets), cultural (aesthetic, culture, knowledge, narrative and voice), social (culture, family, friends, networks and religion) and symbolic (anything that denotes other forms of capital which can be exchanged for example qualifications). Thus, in accordance with this there exists disequilibrium in distribution of capital from the outset. This study takes from this concept this notion that the accumulation of capital aids the artist to move from a field where the artist has little autonomy/dominance because they are subject to the symbolic violence of others and of their situatednesses for instance a lack of commercial success, into a field where they are in effect in greater control of their own professional and private life.
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The application of this to the biographical life-narrative can aid the researcher to locate the artist in terms of the educative in their specific historical and relational context, and interrogate the ways in which the knowledge about them was generated and whether the generation of that knowledge served their interests. Therefore, this method takes on board the implication for the field in terms of dimensionality and modality suggesting interplay within a field at three levels; local, national and international, all of which carry a historical and relational context and when coupled with analysis of previous knowledge this dictates a thoroughly in-depth initial analysis. This method takes us one step further by contextualizing the habitus of the subject under investigation (Dix) through the habituses surrounding him i.e. acquaintances (including employers), family, friends and lovers. In addition, the mixture of method used here allows a richer biographical exploration in terms of biography’s Bourdieusian deficiencies in the often-objective element of a subject decision, structure and agency a dualist choice/coercion and symbolic violence.
In such form the analysis can only serve to enhance ontologically the evidence relating to the events and people, places and things depicted in artwork exposing more than just family relations and experiences, acting as a reliable and verifiable source of factual information. In terms of biographical or narrative research these methods of art historical analysis, when used separately, each have their own deficiencies for instance iconographical analysis (and biography) often avoids the question of politics (D’Alleva 2006, p.11) and therefore symbolic violence in terms of coercive, dominant or ruling power – they are thus combined with Pierre Bourdieu’s the concepts of capital, field and habitus. Furthermore, iconographic analysis assumes no tacit knowledge on part of the viewer the effect of which is to divorce object or subject from its contextual location in terms of culture, history and politics for instance the use of a particular colour to represent emotion, here the previous example of variation in cultural use of the colour red is a good illustration. The point is that it is through the interpretation of a biographical life that can ultimately alter the accepted meaning attributed to a broader notion of the educative and the ‘educational’.
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2.5 The German Educative
The German term ‘bildung’ describes effectively the notion of the educative as explored in this study (see generally Watson 2010). The term has no equivalent in any European language and is more comprehensive and holistic than the term ‘education’, and implies the totality of learning and teaching. It includes notions of authenticity, ethics, humanity, personality and values, environmentally connected growth and intentionality (for the origins of the latter see generally Aquinas 1981; Heidegger 1988). It is important to explore the connection between bildung and intentionality which includes the sense of the pragmatist who argues that individuals unconsciously change and assimilate their ‘self’ to their environment as it is sensed and that knowledge, meaning and value are tested through practical consequences. Freeman (1995) has described this as the circular process of generalisation and abstraction of input, and the specification and concretisation of output. Freeman also argues that the brain achieves an understanding of its environments through a cycle that includes action, assimilation, perception and prediction by learning. By this definition the premise is to meet the needs of ‘ones own brain’. Furthermore, individuals cannot want something without wanting it first (see generally Dennet and Haugeland 1987) and even then it may not exist, in other words it is possible to want the impossible. Broadly, intentionality is considered to be the hallmark of the mental (see generally Brentano 1973) and can therefore be described as the relationship between mental acts and meaning in the external world. One of the problems with this concerns intentional relations. This includes the reconciliation between differences in individual generalisations and material world engagement and the effect of mutual connections. In terms of the latter this is the relationship between an individual and group experiences (past, present, learnt and shared), and their connection to that individual’s reaction to the milieu of their life and the external world in its reality. Therefore, from this perspective the mental state can be taken as being partially relational to any psychological response.
77 In contrast, bildung is the process of formation (humanistic) concentrating on the development of aptitudes through environmental contents that include ethics, humanity, learning, teaching and values. It centres on both individual and communal needs in the sense of the greater ‘world’ and ‘society’ (local, national or even international). Therefore, whilst intentionality focuses purely on the individual and their agency in terms of their individual psychology, bildung centres on the relationship between a reflexive self (of which the individual, mutual, spiritual, physical and psychological are part) and the external world. Thus, bildung accepts human agency as playing a role in the development of the self but as not being the sole contributor to it, it is part of many factors that lead to a holistic education of an individual.
The effect that German political history, in particular the Weimar culture and the Republic, had on shaping the educative is also explored thus creating further original knowledge. For instance this period is chosen because it coincides with Dix’s realist or verist phase, the period in which this artist was most revered as representing German culture. In terms of paradigmatic influences on the life of Otto Dix there are three notable periods of direct interest and relevancy to this study which are interwoven in the analysis presented in Chapters four – six of this thesis, these are the Wilhelmine-era (1888 – 1918), the Weimar Republic (1919 – 1933) by reason of the effect of the contemporary climate for example culture, economics and politics on the artists, their friends and families. The rule of the Third Reich under the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (National Socialist German Workers' Party, or Nazi Party), the Deutsche Demokratische Republik (GDR or East Germany) and the Bundesrepublik Deutschland (Federal Republic or West Germany).
Scholars of the Weimar Republic have long appreciated the development between the left-wing avant-garde and right-wing cultural production as being in conflict (see generally Clinefelter 2005, p.25). Gay argues that culturally bipartite Germany existed
78 [one of a] military swagger, abject submission to authority, aggressive foreign adventure and obsessive preoccupation with form … [and the other of] lyrical poetry, humanist philosophy and pacific cosmopolitanism (1968, p.1).
This reflects the transition in art from the bourgeois to the popular (impressionism to expressionism) (see Kessler 1919, p.91), which during this Wilhelmine-era prompted much disgust from the bourgeoisie ruling class. This was however still, to an extent at least, democratic because it was not a dictatorship where, politically, movement fed opposition. Expressionism (1900 – 1930) originated in Dresden and Munich (Germany) and Paris (France) prior to the First World War. Notable elements of expressionism from Dresden were the Die Brücke (The Bridge) (1905 – 1913), a group of painters who shared a common studio and experimented with flatness, linearity, rhythmical expression and simplicity in colour and form, artists include Karl Schmidt-Rottluff (1884 – 1938) and Max Pechstein (1881 – 1955). Then from Munich came the Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider) (1911 – 1914) who experimented with the psychological effects of colour, horses and primitivism, notable artists include Wassily Kandinsky (1866 – 1944) and August Munter (1877 – 1962).
Expressionist art often depicted the outrageous and inflammatory something that would have stood solidly against the empire’s völkisch movement because expressionism concerned itself with the artist’s feelings and state of mind rather than objective observation and manifested itself through exaggerated distortion and colour schemes. The term völkisch means ethnic or folkore, with völk (akin to the English folk) referring to German-folk or the indigenous people and thus racial purity. The link here was between nationalism and culture a sort of Kulturnation, in short a nation defined by a collective cultural heritage (see generally Clinefelter 2005, p.10). The movement was not united and centred on romanticised nationalism, originating in 1800’s through to the end of world-war- two (see generally Stern 1965; neo-völkisch).
79 During this same period organisations such as the German Art Society (Dresden circa 1920) emerged with the purpose of promoting pure-German art or art distinguished on the basis of racial origin, anything considered contrary to this school of thought was targeted (see Feistel-Rohmeder (2005), pp.3 – 4 and 7) as degenerate and perverse; the works of Dix and Grosz fell into this category and the artists were subjected to vicious attack by the German Art Correspondence a publication of the German Art Society (Clinefelter 2005, p.34). Furthermore, Society membership including many Dresden art professors who did not wish to share their studio space with modernists such as Dix (Clinefelter 2005, p.41) something that would have no doubt contributed to Dix later losing his professorial role at the Dresden Academy of Art the extent of this contribution is not presently explored by current literature. This and similar contemporary events evidence parts of the cultural dynamics of society that existed at the time and in which Dix would have operated within, the opposite of course being tolerant. It is salient to state that the term tolerant is used here purely for explanation, and not by way of an attempt to explore prejudice and its manifestation as racism. Much of the literature concentrates on the social mood at the time but fails to discuss the impact of this on the artists’ educational development.
Gay argues that the Weimar style developed prior to the creation of the Republic (1968, p.5) and an example of this is the distinctive style in the buildings of Walter Gropius. What Gay terms style is the essence of culture, it is the knowledge and values of a society at a given time and for the purposes of this study Weimar style is taken as Weimar culture. This was a culture that surpassed geographical boundaries; both in the German Empire and the Republic itself
German painters, poets, playwrights, psychologists, philosophers, composers, architects … were engaged in a free international commerce of ideas … [as] part of western community on which they drew and which, in turn, they fed [they were cosmopolitan] (Gay 1968, p.6).
80 Berlin became the cultural capital and even Dada (an art movement flouting aesthetic and culture) made it its headquarters (Gay 1968, p.7). Like other European cultural movements the prevalent issues in the Wilhelmine Empire centred on the breakdown of religion, mechanization and an apathetic bourgeoisie, the Weimar was perceived as the solution through which civilization could possibly be restored (see generally Gay 1968, p.8) and later the first world war offered a much needed
purification, liberation … [and] hope … to give life meaning … [uniting Germans] … as truthful, authentic, manly and objective (Gay 1968, p.11).
Gay (1968) at times supposes a monist singularity in Weimar culture when groups such as the German Art Society suggest paradigmatic conflict. These shifts in Weimar culture must be contextualised through the misery effected by the post-first world war peace treaty of Versailles (1919) which resulted in high rates of inflation leading to a negative affect on artistic, cultural and intellectual institutions (see Clinefelter 2005, p.28) thus levying a direct attack on German culture and therefore the very essence of Germanic identity. In short, the treaty was considered to be harsh and purposefully revengeful (Gay 1968, p.14). Increases in the basic cost of living and working had a profound effect on the art market and artists (Clinefelter 2005, pp.26 – 27 and 40), something the International Art Exhibition Dresden 1926 was designed to alleviate.
Dix found it extremely difficult to produce art whist the Nazi party was in power, the educative at the time was one in which the despots took to burning books on bonfires in acts of purification and stabilization, where artistic, creative and spiritual freedom were severely limited. This is evidenced by, amongst other things, the classification of his artworks as degenerate (see Peters 2010, p.25) and letters between the artist and his close friends. In terms of this study, much of Dix’s artwork was produced during these culturally and politically bipartite periods. This gives justification to an exploration via contextual analysis the paradigmatic connection between this epoch and the educative.
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2.6 Summary
This chapter has examined how the arbitrary distinction between formal and contextual analysis in art history exists because this time the art historian has sought methodological value in the form of scientific validity and verifiable truth. This study exemplifies that if form (colour, material and light), location and manner in which an image is constructed are extrapolated against the evidence- of-life (culture, economics, education, society, politics) and are cross-examined against historic and contemporaneous interpretations of visual data then valuable original educational knowledge can be produced. This knowledge can aid the understanding of the educative within an epoch by highlighting, from a Bourdieusian perspective, how and why practices are undertaken in the educational, reflexive and strategic lives of the actors that existed within it.
82 CHAPTER THREE ANALYTICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK
3.1 Introduction
This chapter explores the research study, its aims and purposes, and the philosophical and theoretical framework underpinning the research methodology employed for data collection and Bourdieusian analysis. The approach in this research is narrative and it applies Bourdieu’s understanding of habitus, conatus, capital, doxa and field to the artistic creations, life and work of the case study (Wilhelm Heinrich Otto Dix). The discussion in this chapter centres on how these notions, and other appropriate concepts such as Kuhn’s (1953) views on paradigms, can be successfully brought together to provide insight into a broader notion of the educative in Germany during the period 1890 – 1969. This facilitates an exploration of how practices aid certain individuals to educate those around them in an attempt to democratise and instigate cultural change, and why those individuals pursue a particular course of action in terms of their educational trajectory helping educators understand how the self is formed through a much broader notion of the educative. The notion of the self in this study is a storied self that interacts with significant others for instance acquaintances, family, friends and the army. It is sense making and operates in the bildung as an educated self.
3.2 The Study, the Question and its Purpose
The educational influences in the life and artwork of Otto Dix are interrogated through a broader notion of the educative that is informed by the German concept of the bildung using biography. More specifically, the purpose is to interrogate the notion of the educative from a formal and informal educational perspective. This includes how the informal education in Dix’s life provided an experiment in self-reflexive learning and how he shared his experiences with others to promote debate and instigate cultural change through his art.
83 More specifically, the purpose is to evidence the changes in his educative space itself. It is postulated that an alternative insight into the symbiotic relationship between the educative in Germany and the educational trajectory, the reflexive- self and the strategies the actors at the time used to educate others (the educational life) can be evidenced through a biographical life-narrative; here through the life of the man considered as the then German culture’s defining artist Wilhelm Heinrich Otto Dix (1891 – 1969).
If, as is postulated, an epochal educative and its relationship with the educational life (as above) can be explored through a biographical life-narrative (identity), narratives that were affected by the dynamics that existed within their lives for example amongst other things war, Weimer culture, economics, education, opportunity, politics and power. Furthermore, biographical life-narratives can inform contemporary understanding of the educative because of the manner in which they facilitate the exposure of relations that are often hidden and are difficult to factually discern other than in the abstract. It is contended that the educative, in this study as broadly defined, is a dynamically organised phenomenon that mediates to structure learning as an emergent consequence.
The purpose here is to explore and evidence, through the combination of a number of methods and strategies, what it means to be educated in the world at large thus facilitating an alternative explanation of the interrelationship between the educative and the structures within which the educated-self creates and recreates itself. This will inform conventional educational questions relating to a broader concept of education. To achieve this, the educative as defined in this study (see supra pp.40 – 41) will be related directly to the educational life (educational trajectory, reflexive-self and the strategies used by Otto Dix to share his educational experiences with others. In a Durkheimian sense this is analyzing the choseité (the thing) so as to break with an often-methodological singularity with theoretical knowledge (including method and strategy) that can result in an abstraction of reality diluting its relation with factual existence. In a Bourdieusian sense
84 the unanalysed element in any theoretical analysis is the … relation [of theoretical knowledge] to the social [or real] world, and the … conditions upon which it is founded … [leading to] ‘’intellectual- centrism’’ … it is therefore necessary to subordinate one’s scientific practice to a knowledge of the ‘knowing subject’, as an essentially critical knowledge of the limits inherent in all theoretical knowledge [which allows for its real-world application] (1990, p.27; see Grenfell 2008, p.46)).
From this it can also be stated that contemporary notions of the educative discount or at the very least marginalise education outside of the traditional settings and are therefore inherently inadequate in their practical or real-world application. Both Bourdieu and Durkheim connect their approaches to human action because it has the character of the choseité as against the character of the individual, thus facilitating visible the real-world application of the theoretical knowledge they produced.
Thus, this study interrogates a broader notion of the educative and evidences this through a biographical exploration of the art, educational trajectory and life of the German artist Otto Dix (see supra p.77).
3.3 Situating the Study: Education Research, Reality and Narratives
The chosen philosophical and theoretical framework, and relevant research methodology is contextualised by situating and grounding the study within education research.
Comprehension of human behaviour derives from the belief that we inherently seek to make sense, through the creative imaginative process rather than abstract thought (see generally Dilthey 1867 – 1868, in Makkreel and Rodi 1996, p.229), our past actions (or practices) and similarly to understand those of others; the explicit assumption here is that the understanding of the world and the way in which it works influences the form in which it exists and thus the
85 implicit purpose of this must be to inform in an act of self-reflection any future actions (or practices) that one undertakes. These notions can inform education research because one of its many purposes is to understand the educative and effect a transformational change in the educational trajectories and the educational (culture, identity, politics, social integration, self and religion) evolution of human beings because, we adapt (voluntarily and involuntarily) to the world in which we are educated namely the world at large because the converse is simply not viable (see generally Shaw 1903; and Grenfell 2009, p.33 for an insightful account of Bourdieu’s desire for school level learning to become a mechanism for social integration).
For instance an example of this was given in Chapter two where Otto Dix failed to secure a scholarship from Prince Heinrich XXVIII of Reuss (Heinrich XXVII Fürst Reuß jüngere Linie), this coupled with the inability of his proletarian parents to finance his art studies could have led him in an alternative career path, it almost did when one contrasts the difference between his training towards the demand-led profession of decorative painting under Master Senff (Gera circa 1907 – 1920) and his studies at the Dresden School of Arts and Crafts with his later more personal, philosophical and socially critical artworks.
Therefore this notion of the educative, where considered from an auto/biographical perspective, brings a wealth of therapeutic information on the formal and informal spheres in which one is educated so that the creation of new educational strategies may be informed on the extent and impact of education outside of conventional settings.
The Educative and Narrative Research
The biographical, autobiographical and auto/biographical life-narrative, perhaps because of the remnants of their methodological roots in the literary domain, are not widely accepted as being historically accurate or reference documentaries. This is contrary to the fact that the way in which the nature of scientific knowledge is perceived and the methods used to achieve them have changed in
86 the last thirty years (Roberts 2002: p.4) and that narratives (in general) add the concepts of ‘story’ and ‘time’ to the research process. Biography has been used to explore the lives of artists for many years (see generally Junod 2011, p.15 – 50). The life of the artist is now considered to be a literary genre in itself and is recognised for the creative, cultural, educational, imaginative and intellectual biographical insights it lends to understanding humanity. Artist biographies have also emerged as a dialogue between art and education, and have come a long way since the historiographic model (see generally Vasari 2007). Clarke (2006; 2012) provides a good example of this, using data similar to that used in this study, in examining the lives of two notable English artists; Evelyn Dunbar and Randolph Schwabe.
The terms scientific knowledge, in this context, refers to the body of knowledge produced through systematic study that is organised by general principles. There is still considerable debate as to whether narrative study can be regarded as a strategy of inquiry (see Riessman 1993: 17 – 18; Roberts 2002: 118).
Erben (2000, p.384) says, of Ricoeur, that
[if] time is the universal defining structure of human existence [then] that is made intelligible in terms of narratives.
The assumption here relates to the purpose of a narrative, for Ricoeur at least, as being to make human existence far more understandable. In life-narratives this Ricoeurian formulation falls pray to the issue of universalisation or objectification for purposes of measurement (the scope of human existence), although the form of measurement referred to is intelligibility. Scope here denotes; dimension and the literal (informal), metaphorical and philosophical instrument through which human existence can be viewed and thus examined or investigated. The argument holds weight, however in terms of the life-narrative the extent to which this encompasses the evidence and legacies that exist subsequent to that life is unclear. This is because the biographies are stories about lives at particular moments in time. Thus, the intelligibility (context or
87 historicity) that time and narratives lend to the lived-life must be viewed within this constraint. In short, time as the universal defining structure of human existence can further enhance the biography when explored from a meta- biographical perspective (see supra p.58). Similarly, the educative as a universal can be similarly deficient if it does not account for the substantive ordering (or structuring) role that micro-level influences play. A study using narrative research can ground the educative in its micro and macro level historicity far more easily than other strategies of research.
Even autobiographical and biographical life-narratives are often presented through a narrow particularism by reason of the requirement for methodological coherence and reliability (discussed in-depth anon). Support for this contention is most profound in the sentiments implicit within academic debate that frequently focus on the creation or recreation of life-narratives and the impact of excessively reified concepts including the location of both the author and the narrator, the limitation of validity, objectivity and bias thus suggesting that life- narratives simply represent how reality ‘appears to be’ from varying perspectives rather than ‘how or what [reality] really is’ (see also Deutsche 1998, pp.73-141). The same criticism is levied on the art historian and the perspectives from which work is presented i.e. feminist critiques of art, and the originating language of the evidence used for example translations of foreign language catalogues, letters and texts. When the same reasoning is applied to reality then what emerges is a world of multiple realities or habituses (see supra p.26), each of which is in some way connected to and structured by the other whether in their current or previous form (this also accounts for the legacies discussed in relation to Heidegger’s treatise in Chapter one). These habituses are the key to evidencing the educative within a particular epoch, in this study Germany.
Gadamer suggests that data must be placed within a variety of contexts that can evidence the many interrelationships. Scott suggests, in relation to epistemic paradigms and relativism that knowledge produced could be considered as
88 transitive and therefore context-dependent knowledge of relatively unchanging objects … [but of which there is no] neutral way of [negating the impact of ideological value [in the universals identified thereof]] (2000, p.20).
It is accepted that data (Gadamer) and context-dependence (Scott) create transitive knowledge. The educative is in continuous evolution and therefore constantly changing as are the actors that exist within it – therefore this symbiotic relationship can be explored more effectively through the biographical life-narrative.
Kuhn (1996, p.43) states, in relation to inductive testing theories, that
to discover [or investigate] the relation between paradigms … consider … the [isolation of] the particular loci … described as accepted [from the global paradigms].
This is a challenge to the traditional image of science (see Hacking (1981) and Popper (1976)) presenting a mediated and shaped set of socio-historic processes (see Usher 1996, p.15). Wittgenstein and Kuhn say almost nothing on how global paradigms and the particular ‘loci’ they discuss come to exist. It seems that for them these ‘characteristics or attributes’ are but abstract concepts intuitively or subconsciously accepted. Pierre Bourdieu broke with theoretical knowledge precisely because it tended to ‘abstract reality’. The problem is that abstract concepts often imitate and represent themselves as external reality in reified form, at the very basic through an act or omission (see Grenfell 2008, p.46; see supra p.85 for Bourdieu).
An effective exploration of the relationship between the educative and dynamics in which it exists can also be facilitated through the biographical life-narrative. An example relevant to this study is Nazi propaganda; here socially critical art, including that of Otto Dix that sought to educate others as to the dangers of warfare, was classed as degenerate. Such political policy altered the entire
89 nature of the educative in this epoch and therefore the educational trajectory, reflexive-self and the strategies Otto Dix then used to share his experiences with those around him. He chose to remain in Germany but participate, like other artists, in inner-migration. His physical presence held a strong political message; Dix was a committed German, at one point he epitomised German culture, and he did not agree with the ideals of the Third Reich because in his opinion they led to nothing but destruction – experience had taught him (reflexivity) that change could be achieved in alternative ways. Dix placed himself, from a Bourdieusian perspective, in the position of the knowing subject to spread humanistic messages. Thus, a more insightful exploration of the relationship between the educative and the state, society and the individual is facilitated. What follows is a discussion on the variables that require consideration to aid this.
3.4 The Variables for Exploration
In this study the following variables have been selected as the basis of exploring the relationship between the educative and the state, society and the individual:
- Art Movements and styles (Dada, Neue Sachlichkeit and Verism); - Artistic and Creative Production - German Culture (Wilhelmine, Weimar, GDR and FDR); - Economics; - Education; - Employment; - Experiences, epiphanies and events (childhood, adolescence and youth/adulthood); - Family; - Politics; - Race and religion; - Relationships (social, personal and political); and - The First and Second World Wars.
90 The selection of these factors or variables are informed by the vast array of literature on the life-narrative and narrative studies; these are issues that are commonly featured in life-narratives; Tamboukou’s work on Rosa Bonheur is a good example (see below). Each of these factors or variables contains elements of the others. When analysed in terms of their relationship with the educative what emerges is mutual dependence. In terms of this research each of these variables is explored through a variety of evidence including traditional literature (texts), the epistolary and visual (see Chapter two), the reasoning underpinning the choice for which is discussed anon.
The factors that this study addresses in exploring the strategic-self of Otto Dix are as follows:
- Why did Otto Dix produce such a polarised spectrum of artwork? o What is the extent of the polarisation and how can it be defined? - What does this spectrum reveal about the educative in Germany? o What factors from the life of Otto Dix affected his educational trajectory, reflexive-self and the strategies he used to educate others? § What did he learn? § What impact did his experiences (factors inside and outside of his control including the first world war), cultural, educational, familial, political, relational and racial backgrounds have on his strategic-self? • Was this hierarchically ordered? • What factors had greater or lesser impact? • How was this reflected by the choices he made? • How did this affect his art? • How revelatory is the evidence in terms of revealing the limits in which he was operating? § What did others learn from him? § What have I learned from his life?
91 o What does the knowledge that currently evidences his life tell me about the educative in Germany? - What does the exploration of the educative using a biographical approach teach us in terms of our conventional definitions of it?
3.5 Life-Narratives, Reliability and Truthfulness
The factors discussed so far lead to questions of justification and are evidence of the reason why scientific rigour achieved through objectivity in educational research has been elevated to a level of importance that adds to further confuse the definition of the educative. This part of the chapter focuses on how scientific rigour can be achieved in the biographical life-narrative when exploring the educative (and its effects) within a particular epoch. The concepts of objectivity and validity, although different (Denzin and Lincoln, 2005, p.205), have a considerable overlap by reason of a similar purpose in lending greater confidence to research.
Kirk and Miller in their seminal work identify three types of validity of relevance to this discussion; apparent, instrumental and theoretical validity. Apparent validity concerns the creation of ‘obviously’ valid data for example the use of an instrument closely linked to a phenomenon – such validity is often illusory (1986, p.22). In contrast, instrumental validity occurs where the results of one instrument exactly match those generated by another already accepted valid instrument. Finally, theoretical validity is generated where the paradigmatic use of theory corresponds to themes obtained from data. It is the latter of these that would seem the most appropriate method of attaining reliability and trustworthiness in narrative research – mainly because it is unconstrained. However, the issue lies with the difficulty in testing the hypothesis against alternatives and thus guarding against unforeseeable sources of invalidity. Further, such validity cannot prevent the making of errors for example belief in the truth of a false principle, rejection of something that is true or posing an incorrect question. Webb et al (1966, p.174) argue that the most fertile validity
92 comes from a combined series of different measures – it is this method that is accepted in this study.
No discussion of validity is complete without reference to objectivity which can be taken to be a
heuristic assumption, common in the natural sciences, that everything in the universe can, in principle, be explained in terms of causality (Kirk and Miller, 1986: 10).
Thus, if knowledge is but a consequence of
some mechanistic cause and effect, [then] its logical status would seem to be compromised (Kirk and Miller, 1986: 10).
On that basis objectivity can be divided into validity and reliability (Kirk and Miller, 1986, p.18), the former concerns independence and measurement procedures that yield the same outcomes and the latter the extent to which the outcome is correct or true, or how it is interpreted. Here the argument is as follows; if objectivity includes reliability that is achieved through the evidence utilised for interpretation then that is achieved through the extent to which the evidence is individually explored. Salient to state that objectification where considered as a form of reliability and trustworthiness is much preferred to the traditional scientific definition of the term because experiences are not atomistic (see also Denzin 1970; Lincoln and Guba 1989, p240 on triangulation, and Laurel Richardson 1994/1997 on crystallization).
Scientific rigour as objectivity in narrative research and in general in the past- life-trajectory refers to the valid (truthful), unbiased (reliable) and therefore accurate descriptions of world or synonyms for reality. If the purpose of objectivity is to lend confidence to the research then without that readers have no reason to accept, that which is researched because to them it will lack authoritarian belief. Often science achieves this through the process of collective-
93 subjugation (human sciences versus natural sciences) that promotes the acceptance of a problem-solution without questioning its ratio. The effect of this is to make insignificant the insecurities that lie within it. Hence, egos, rules or universals become far more important and often those ‘discoveries’, regardless of their veracity end up directing future research (see also Kuhn 1996, p.48).
Reliability and trustworthiness (objectivity) can exist independently of one another but their existence is co-dependent. Achieving this form of objectivity (reliability) in narrative research should not lead to the subject matter itself being objectified for purposes of measurement, which often results in over- measurement, this only stifles the richness of the data itself.
Academic debate rarely focuses solely on restrictive word or time limits, politics, security, ethics and even less on sensationalism as a tool promoting commercial viability. These are all factors that affect the creation or recreation of a biographical life-narrative. What is presented are some of the current debates that provide impetus for the creation of life-narratives that are reliable and trustworthy representations of individual reality. In exploring the educative in Dix’s life and artwork the educational events that influenced his educative-self are investigated from a range of perspectives.
In this study biography is utilised as a storied truth about the elements of a life and its educational influences. Thus, the educative is explored through biography as a storied truth about the elements of a life to produce a plausible meta- biographical (see supra p.58) account. Thus, the biographical life-narrative in this study is a reliable and truthful representation of the educative by reason of the depth and breadth of the evidence combined to reveal the structural interrelationship between the formal and informal education in Dix’s life. The methodology in this study acts to investigate and reframe the notion of the educative in Dix’s life and work through his biographical life-narrative.
What follows is an example of how some of the inherent flaws in the biographical life-narrative can be mitigated and what this strategy lends to an investigation of
94 the educative. The most prevalent argument centres on the inadequacy of biographical life-narratives to account for those factors that impact on the formation of the educational trajectory, the reflexive-self and the strategies used in pursuance of the life-course. For instance the educative and the educational trajectory are in continual evolution from the outset, which includes a history prior to and at the time of the birth of a nation, society, religion or individual, right through, to their demise and beyond. It is the meaningful interrogation of the events that take place, the fields of play (or paradigms) and the actors and those connected to them within that field etcetera that can provide greater insight into the educative and Dix’s strategic-self in the period(s) under scrutiny.
Tamboukou (2010: p.172) provides a good example of a limited narrative in her critique of the auto/biography from a feminist perspective of Rosa Bonheur: Her Life and Work. The work documented the life and work of Rosa Bonheur (1822 – 1899) by a fellow artist and lover Anna Klumpke (1856 – 1942). Tamboukou states that Bonheur’s and Klumpke’s lives should have been considered within the context of the European and North American historical, personal, political, social and cultural milieus. She states
Bonheur [defied and ridiculed social conventions and] expectations about how women should behave … she lived with a woman; she dressed in men’s clothes and would publically smoke cigars.
Within the auto/biography the insinuated question of sexuality is again indirectly posed with Klumpke (2001: p.13) writing
They’re wrong to think I despise women’s clothes … for work I prefer men’s.
Tamboukou argues
[that the message Klumpke seeks to send her readers is] the author revisits Bonheur’s unconventional gendered practices by looking at them in the light or the everyday and the ordinary … women’s
95 clothes may be the mere effect of practical necessities … [paying] attention to the micro-practices of everyday life the veil that covers people practices and ideas can be removed and truth can emerge in its splendour simplicity … later on in the document the question of clothes becomes more complicated.
Although the truth of the life document is interwoven by the ‘minutiae and mundane’ but often, like the complex, the simple is not necessarily reliable either for example the issue of sexuality addressed from the perspective of sexual psychology or art history raises a number of additional considerations. Hence that which is presented, as simple truth, can be further explored through the evidence of similar gendered practice by other female artists for instance the Parisian artist Tamara de Lempicka (1898 – 1980) to name but one. Although these two artists lived almost one hundred years apart the similarity in the fact that both are known to have had homosexual relations (see Britta et al (2002); Claridge 2001; Lampela 2001; Van Slyke 1998) must be accounted for (see also Erben 1998, p.13).
Without questioning the potential link between the patriarchal structures of the society in which they existed and their sexuality for example a redefinition of the female self through the rhetoric of costume (see Van Slyke 1998), Klumpke’s account because it is not broader has missed the opportunity to evidence an epochal attribute and its affect of the politics of sexuality. In terms of this study an analysis of the following factors would have provided further insight into the educative that existed in that epoch and Bonheur and Klumke’s life at that time; economics, politics and sexuality. Thus, inherent flaws in representations that adhere to strict forms become evident when tacit (implied) knowledge (see Polyani 1958) is juxtaposed against the conclusions drawn. This can reveal methodological deficiencies in accounting for the dynamic structures that influence an educational-life, individual realities and worlds. In this study, it is postulated that tacit knowledge does not need to be extensive because each part (field or paradigm, habitus, factor or variable) should be subject to in-depth exploration. This would be an attempt to account for alternative possibilities
96 including the hypothesis of others, allowing these interrelationships to be extensively documented.
Tamboukou poses another interesting question;
how is it possible to go on telling and writing the stories we were entrusted with, in ways that are both transparent and meaningful, not in terms of how they represent ‘reality’ or reconstruct the past – which they can’t – but of how they allow lives [to] ‘be looked upon in the end, like a design that has a meaning’ (2010, p.179).
This question, although posed in connection to relational narratives from a feminist perspective, has much broader an application and consequence. The contention here lies in the fact that the implication of the biographical life- narrative is that in education it does exactly that which Tamboukou states it cannot; narratives as educational projects seek to represent reality and reconstruct the past. The biographical life-narrative can inform education research because lives act to further knowledge and understanding of the educative in respect of learning (formal and informal), reasoning and reflection, the strategies the actors’ used where they were limited by economic, legal, political or social control. For example, Dix was most explicitly socially critical of the political-bourgeoisie and their failings up-to-and-until the Third Reich gained political control of Germany after which he progressed into silent protest and inner-migration. A politically instituted ideological change in what the educative should be is highlighted; social criticism is politically gagged as being anti- German whether it is constructive (the outlining of the reality of war by Otto Dix himself a war veteran who had survived to tell the tale, see appendix one, figure 46) or otherwise (Dix’s paintings of bourgeois excess and proletarian plight; opulence and starvation, appendix one, figure 44 and 45).
In this study, it is postulated that the biographical life-narrative is reliable and trustworthy where it is extrapolated with other theories and strategies of
97 research. Cavarero (2000, p.13) argues that narration in biographical life- narratives
… [can be] define[d] as the confrontation between two registers, which manifest opposite characteristics. One, that of philosophy, has the form of a definite knowledge [that] regards the universality of Man. The other, that of narration [which] has the form of a biographical knowledge [that] regards the unrepeatable identity of someone. The questions [that] sustain the two discursive styles are equally diverse. The first asks ‘what is Man?’ The second asks instead of someone who he or she is.
Therefore, it can be equally argued that such stories, whether or not considered transparent and meaningful, are by their very nature philosophical in at least their rationality. Kuhn argues that
rationality [is] mediated and shaped by factors such as socialisation, conformity, faith and processes very much akin to religious conversion (Usher 1996, p.15).
The biographical life-narrative can act as a historical record and a mirror of reality in the outside world because the way
individual[s] perceive the world is never a simple matter of just opening the eyes and looking – the data of the senses are always pre- organised [in amongst other ways] culturally and psychologically (Schostak 2002, p. 3).
The biographical life-narrative in this study covers both the events and omissions in the life of Otto Dix (see Bruner 1987 on omissions) employing coherent and persuasive arguments evidencing reliability and trustworthiness (see also: Riessman 1993, pp.64 – 68; Riessman 2002; Lieblich et al 1998, p.173). Stories or biographical life-narratives (here the term is being used
98 interchangeably) represent reality, reconstruct the past and provide rich material for analysis and study of the educative and what it means to be educated in the world at large because they reveal the complexity in many intricately hidden layers of human practice.
3.6 The Philosophical and Theoretical Perspective
The philosophical and theoretical perspective underpinning the analysis in this study is informed by elements from the theories of Pierre Bourdieu (1930 – 2002) a French philosopher and sociologist (habitus, capital, conatus, doxa and field) and supported where appropriate with other data.
This part of the chapter explores the rationale behind this selection and the respective philosophies and theories that locate this study. The title of this part of the chapter begins by distinguishing between the philosophical and theoretical perspective, the former deals with the investigation of aesthetics, causes, epistemology, ethics, knowledge, metaphysics, nature, reality and values based on logical reasoning rather than empirical methods, and the latter with abstract, explanatory and systematic judgments, reasoning or statements relating to phenomena, principles and methods rather than practice.
In this study education is regarding as being a trajectorial process. The term educative is taken by association to relate to education because it subsumes the facets of education that contemporaneously define it. Literature relating to the educative centres on the purpose, process and educative benefit of knowledge; this when applied to an epoch (Germany) can provide further insight on the strategies used by the actors within it to manage change as learners and share knowledge (or teach) in an attempt to democratise and instigate cultural change in those around them as educators.
Biography is used in this study to investigate a wider notion of the educative exploring what it means to be educated outside of the traditional or orthodox modes of teaching and learning. Thus, the educative process is method
99 (procedure or action) whether formal or informal through which individuals are educated. Within this research, like the educative, education is also widely defined so that it includes, amongst other things, the absorption of culture, ethics, experience, morality, politics, techniques and values. Perhaps actions (practices) are best understood as being formulated by self-reflection through which understanding and thus critical inquiry is developed (Dewey 1933, pp.3 – 34; Brunner 1994, p.16) and that the strategic-self (see supra p.23) is in fact a product of it. The educative in Germany, more specifically in this study during the period 1890 – 1969 can be discerned through an exploration of the lives of the actors that existed within it.
The educated reflexive-self develops through trajectorial experiences including the formal for example educational, cultural, economic, social and political, and informal that includes cultural, personal, political and social. Both these categories include a number of variables which for narrative flow are not listed in their entirety for example the informal also includes economic hierarchy. Thus, in order to understand the educative in Germany it is important to comprehend the functioning of the actors’ that existed within it from their early years so that the significant experiences (epiphanies) that structured their intuitive perceptions can be identified. This study utilises the theories of Pierre Bourdieu because of their perspectives on human existence and practice – the discussion that follows seeks to highlight this.
3.6.1 Pierre Bourdieu
Pierre Bourdieu (1930 – 2002) was a French sociologist and philosopher who took exception to conventional biographies and their language in Actes de la recherché en sciences sociales (1986) (The Act of Social Science Research) writes of l’illusion biographique (The Biographical Illusion), although Grenfell points out that
Bourdieu spent most of his [own] life avoiding reference to his personal life and, even now, we only have the most basic of
100 information … nevertheless, at the very end of his career, Bourdieu seemingly became more open to questions about the way his work was shaped by his own life experience (2008, pp.11 – 12; see generally Grenfell 2004).
Gadamer (2004) argued that language and not time or culture determines consciousness, similarly Bourdieu accepted the constraints imposed upon the life by language and its effect in marring the reasons behind social action. What is interesting to note about Bourdieu’s biography is how his educational trajectory was ruptured from his origins a small village (Denguin in Bearn, France) to his accession into the Lycee Louis Le Grand in Paris (an elite Parisian training school). What follows is a discussion of those Bourdieusian concepts that are relevant to this study; bundles of relations, capital, conatus, doxa, field and habitus.
3.6.1.1 Habitus, Field designate Bundles of Relations and Capital
Bourdieu’s notion of habitus concerns itself with the regulation of behaviour where behaviour is not the product of obedience to rules (1994, p.65) in an act of reconciliation between social structure and individual agency. Grenfell (2008, p.50) argues that Bourdieu seeks to discover how the conscious, social and subconscious shape each other.
Grenfell describes the origins of habitus as
an experiential and sociological conundrum (2008, p.50).
Bourdieu defines habitus as a
structured and structuring structure (1994, p.170).
In summary the habitus is structured by the past and present circumstances (conditions of existence including education). It is structuring because the
101 habitus shapes the present and future practices. Finally, it is structured because it is systematic in its order and therefore not random or un-patterned. Furthermore, Bourdieu argues that the structure is made up of a system of dispositions that generate appreciations, feelings, perceptions and practices (1990, p.53), he defines disposition as
[an] expression of the result of an organizing action, with a meaning close to that of words such as structure; … it designates a way of being, a habitual state (especially of the body) and, in particular, a predisposition, tendency, propensity or inclination (1977, p.214) … a socialised subjectivity (Bourdieu and Wacquant 1992, p.127).
Grenfell provides an insightful summary of the habitus when he states that it conceptualises the relation between the outer and the inner through a description of how social facts such as these become internalised (2008, p.53). Basically, the collective is individuated (given individual form) either through embodiment (giving the abstract form) or through the biological individual becoming collectivised through socialisation. Thus, habitus becomes intention in action (Searle 1983) or deep structure (Chomsky) (see Bourdieu and Wacquant 1992, p.19 on the historical constitution and institutional grounding of unvarying social relations). Thus, habitus is socially variable as a generative matrix (Bourdieu and Wacquant 1992, p.19) in that it has the ability to reproduce or originate.
Furthermore, Bourdieu states that
these dispositions or tendencies are durable in that they last over time, and transposable in being capable of becoming active within a variety of theatres of social action [as and when you need them] (1993, p.87).
102 The implication here is that the structure(s) in which the habitus operates allows for a controlled improvisation by social agents, more basically social agency is required (see generally Giddens 1984; Archer 1990). Bourdieu states
the strategy generating principle enabling agents to cope with unforeseen and ever-changing situations … a system of lasting and transposable dispositions which, integrating past experiences, functions at every moment as a matrix of perceptions, appreciations and actions and makes possible the achievement of infinitely diversified tasks (Bourdieu 1977a, 2: pp72, 95).
Like Bourdieu, the German philosopher and psychologist Wilhelm Christian Ludwig Dilthey (1833 – 1911) states that
individuality is neither ready made nor merely a product of conditioning by the milieu … biologically we are endowed with certain impulses with which to react to stimuli so that we can adapt to our milieu and survive in it (Makreel 1939, p.217).
Maton argues that numerous studies in educational research have misunderstood Bourdieu’s notion of the habitus and sought to link educational trajectories by using it as
a synonym for social background or socialization (Grenfell, 2008, p.63).
In other words, the process through which personal identity is acquired which includes learning the rules that accord to a particular social position. The result of this would be to eschew its
relational construction of the object of study that Bourdieu emphasised as essential to his approach.
103 This argument centres on the violence done to Bourdieu’s theory of practice. Vast literature supports the notion that socialization (as above) does affect the educational trajectory however this issue should be considered within an entirety of circumstances; something easily facilitated by narrative research. In this study Bourdieu’s notion of habitus is applied as follows; the habitus is structured by dispositions that dictate practice. These dispositions are themselves subject to the circumstances of existence and not rules. Thus, the individual habitus exists as a result of dispositions that are brought about by circumstances. In other words Dix responded to the milieu in which he existed.
As Maton suggests (Grenfell, 2008, p.51) the habitus does not simply act alone, Bourdieu does not promulgate that we act as pre-programmed automatons that simply act out everything we have learnt. Instead practices (the acting out) are the result of an obscure, perhaps unconscious, and double relation[ship] between the habitus and field. In terms of the relationship between habitus and field Bourdieu and Wacquant argue that it is two-fold, one of conditioning so that the field structures the habitus and the other of knowledge or cognitive construction where the habitus contributes to the creation of (or constitution) of the field as a meaningful world (see Bourdieu and Wacquant 1992, pp.126 - 127; Bourdieu, 1993, p.76). Bourdieu’s (1986, p.101) original formulation centres on the habitus and field, in the style of the theory of computation (a branch of mathematics and computing that grapples with how easily an issue can be resolved through a model of computation or algorithm), he summarised this in the form of the following formula: habitus + field/paradigm [(capital)] = practice.
For Bourdieu the field gives habitus its meaning and location, it is the sphere in which the habitus works. The notion of field was first used by Bourdieu in Champ intellectual et projet créateur (1966) (translated: Intellectual field and the creative project). Fields are those spaces of play that exist to the extent to which players that believe in and actively pursue the prises it offers enter them, hence fields require social agents (Bourdieu and Wacquant 1992, p.19). The field and habitus can be considered independently but only in the abstract which may result in obscuring the very essence of the habitus and a staunch move away
104 from the ideals underpinning Bourdieu’s theories and their outward denunciation of abstractification – a further injustice to his work. Thomson states that
according to Bourdieu (1993; 1994; 2001), an analysis of social space meant not only locating the object of investigation in its specific historical and local/national/international and relational context, but also interrogating the ways in which previous knowledge about the object under investigation had been generated, by whom, and whose interests were served by those knowledge-generation practices (2008, p.67).
A number of points arise from this and that are taken on board in this study, the most prevalent relates to the existence of the field. The implication for the field here exists in terms of dimensionality and modality, suggesting interplay within a field at three levels; local, national and international, all of which carry a historical and relational context and when coupled with analysis of previous knowledge this dictates a thoroughly in-depth initial analysis. This research goes one step further by contextualizing the habitus of the subject under investigation (Otto Dix) by contextualizing the practices of those surrounding him i.e. acquaintances (including employers), family, friends and lovers too. This is in distinction to Eyal’s (2010) argument that Bourdieusian thought fails to account for the individuality of the field, its boundaries and its modality (the mode in which it exists). Although it is clear that Eyal seeks to understand the inner working of the field and its relation with other fields’ the arbitrary distinction between fields to find ‘space’ marginalises their interrelationship because this creates the barriers that Bourdieu sought not to. Thus, I do not deploy this line of argument here. Furthermore, from current literature it is not clear exactly how many fields (designate bundles of relations) are necessary for a wholesome analysis in terms of the life-narrative – thus this study builds on this horizontally in the extent and method of analysis (depth) rather than vertically by adding to the list of considerations.
105 Within the field is capital, this consists of the process within it and is essentially a product of it. Bourdieu argues that capital is accumulated and relates, directly, to position. Capital comes in four forms, namely economic (money and assets), cultural (aesthetic, culture, knowledge, narrative and voice), social (culture, family, friends, networks and religion) and symbolic (anything that denotes other forms of capital which can be exchanged for example qualifications). Thus, in accordance with this there exists disequilibrium in distribution of capital from the outset. This study takes from this concept this notion of disequilibrium and explores the impact of this on the strategic-self (educational-life and reflexive- self) and the strategies he used to educate (teach) others that which he had learnt.
Bourdieu goes on to state that practice is a result of the relationship between the individual habitus (disposition), the current state of play within the particular field and the agent’s place within a field (capital) – the latter includes reality. The habitus manages systematic strategies that are triggered when it encounters a particular field (Bourdieu and Wacquant 1992, p.19). It is creative and inventive but remains within the limits of its own structures (fields) and the residue of the structures that actually produced it in the first place. Thus, habitus and field are relational because they only fully function in relation to one another (Bourdieu and Wacquant 1992, p.19). This study takes from these Bourdieusian theories that an analysis of field-based practices for example the field of creative production, can help lend further insight into the educational influences in Dix’s life. This would also substantiate a broader notion of the educative in Dix’s life; through the choices Dix made and practices he undertook. In short, the artist’s educational trajectory was affected by his actions, as influenced by his experiences.
3.6.1.2 Conatus and Doxa
The discussion is incomplete without consideration of two further Bourdieusian concepts; conatus and doxa. The conatus (or life-trajectory) is defined by Bourdieu in Homo Academicus as
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the combination of dispositions and interests associated with a particular class of social position which inclines social agents to strive to reproduce at a constant or an increasing rate the properties constituting their social identity, without even needing to do this deliberately or consciously (1988, p.176).
Grenfell et al (2008, p.175) argue that conatus treats agency as pure process, thus the conatus is the force that endows individuals with certain propensities via their habitus and the latter is then characterised by these propensities. For the purposes of this study the conatus is taken as an integral facet informing the habitus and the manner in which it operates within a field. Thus, it must be taken as a constituent factor when analysing the impact of particular actions on Dix’s education. In contrast, doxa is defined by Grenfell et al (2008, p.121) as the
pre-reflexive intuitive knowledge shaped by experience, to unconscious inherited physical and relational predispositions.
In this study, doxa is utilised as that which is taken for granted including actions that possess legitimacy. The individual does not always subject such actions to any level of inquiry. This includes significant events in which the individual reinforces their identity whether that is on an individual or collective basis.
Therefore, the exploration in this thesis centres on how practices (as brought around by circumstances) in terms of a broader notion of the educative affected Otto Dix’s strategic-self and the strategies he used to share his experiences with others.
3.7. Summary
The purpose of this study is to explore the educational influences in the life and artwork of Otto Dix through a broader notion of the educative, and to investigate its relationship with the development of his self as a creative practitioner.
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I have chosen Dix as the case study for a number of reasons that range from his work epitomizing German culture right through to his socially critical art being classed as degenerate. In addition to this, the relationship between his educational background, proletarian origins and the significant events in his life; participation in two world wars all provide impetus for an exploration of how his educated-self developed. The literature review in Chapter two identified a series of sources of data that will be utilised for the study, this discussion focuses on evidence classification, choice, use and limitations. The evidence in this study ranges from published literature, historical and epistolary documents, photographs and paintings.
This is a qualitative study in which the biographical life-narrative will be created though the visual analysis of a range of the art (paintings and drawings) produced by Dix between the years 1890 – 1969 and a range of other documentary evidence for example biographies, correspondence and letters. This period is contextually relevant as it encompasses political and social changes in Germany, the First and Second World Wars (1914 – 1918; 1939 – 1945). In summary, the study explores the ways through which Dix’s education was constituted and coordinated.
108 CHAPTER FOUR WILHELM HEINRICH OTTO DIX, 1891 – 1969
4.1 Introduction
The next three chapters explore the educational influences in the life of Wilhelm Heinrich Otto Dix during the period 1890 – 1969 through his biographical life- narrative; this specifically includes his various artistic phases. For instance in his verist phase, like other artists working within the same style, Dix’s work sought to embrace reality and therefore much of his work is regarded as vulgar, unconventionally beautiful or aesthetically pleasing (see appendix one, figures 1 and 2). This also includes reference to literature prior to 1890 and post-1969 for instance data on Germanic culture and politics or comments from his children.
The aim and purpose of these chapters is to explore, in relation to a broader notion of the educative, the educational influences in Dix’s life and how he strategically navigated through significant events. The former also includes how he was educated, and how his artwork contained educational messages that educated those around him. Evidence of the bildung and intentionality (drive) in Dix’s work will be evidenced using letters and other epistolary data, including opinions about the artist as presented by his friends and colleagues. The analysis will identify how exploring the artist’s life has affected my own education as a creator of the biography and what can be learnt from this study in terms of Dix’s educated-self. This is achieved by means of an exploration of his life, his situatednesses and the artworks (paintings, sculptures and sketches) that he produced during his life, through an active, dialogical and socially critical perspective.
This exploration of Dix’s life is meta-biographical (see supra p.58), and the analysis employed is double hermeneutic in nature because the data that is used includes Dix’s artwork, epistolary evidence such as letters, sketches and his diary from the First World War but also written text (letters) by Dix about himself and his artwork and by his friends and companions. The exploration employs a
109 narrative research approach underpinned by the Bourdieusian constructs of habitus, conatus, capital, doxa and field. This informs the life-narrative helping to reveal alternative insights into the dynamics that Dix had to strategically negotiate.
Additionally, this allows the educational influences in his to be analyzed from the perspective of a creative and sense-making practitioner. This part of the study joins the work of other researchers and art historians who have sought to interrogate the actuality or historicity of Dix’s life through his artwork and his historical, material, political and social location.
4.2 The Evidence and the Rationale Underpinning its Use
The many biographies, artworks, and correspondence (private) and letters (private and public), the latter authenticated and published by the Otto Dix Stiftung (Foundation, www.otto-dix.de), highlight a range of significant events (epiphanies) in Dix’s life, and for the purposes of this study from 1890 – 1969 a period of seventy-nine years. The analysis of this period in his life is divided into five parts exploring Dix’s experience and production:
- Dix’s childhood and formative years (pre-1914) - First World War period (1914 – 1919) - Weimar era (1919 – 1933) - Period of the Third Reich (Nazi era) and the Second World War (1932 – 1945) - Post Second World War and until his death (1945 – 1969).
The first two of these are discussed in Chapter five and the latter three in Chapter six.
Time is a significant defining characteristic of the life-narrative, which can make it more comprehensible when viewed meta-biographically (see supra pp.58 and 88). There are always issues involved in the periodisation of a life such as
110 that of an artist and it is unlikely that every single event in the life could be fully explored; therefore choices have to be made. Here, the biographical life- narrative and artwork are contextually explored in terms of educational influences and significant events (epiphanies) – these make the reality within the life-narrative comprehensible in the defined period because they often reveal the reasons that underpin a particular course of action. Additionally, these are events in relation to which the artist commented for instance in his war diary, correspondence or letters and through his artwork.
Otto Dix was an extraordinarily prescient artist. There are a number of distinct and significant factors linked to turning points (epiphanies) in Dix’s life that help reveal how (and why) his strategic-self navigated through life these are; exposure to art as a child and to the discipline of study, art for purposes of financial gain, notoriety and success, and his roles in the First and Second World Wars (see supra pp.76 – 77 in terms of intentionality). These significant factors, events and epiphanies are juxtaposed against Dix’s artworks and the other evidence of his life that is available. In summary, artistic, personal and professional themes relative to the strategic-self are explored through narrative research, these include; the influences of his parents Ernst Franz Dix and Pauline Louise Dix (for example Pauline’s former poet self, her possible connection with the Mazdaznan way of life and the influence of her artist nephew Fritz Amann). The nurturing relationship between Dix and Professor Ernst Schunke during his study at the Dresden School of Arts and Crafts, and apprenticeship under Master Senff is also investigated, as are the early influences on his artistic and strategic- self (cubism, expressionism, Fauvism, impressionism (including that of Van Gogh), post-impressionism and the philosophies of Frederick Nietzsche). The support of his girlfriend Helen Jakob (during the war) and then Martha Dix (originally Martha Elisabeth Lindner and then Koch from her previous marriage) and the short period between his marriage to the latter and the birth of their first daughter are also analysed. Dix’s time as professor at the Dresden Academy of Art and his training and constriction in World War I are analysed, as is the effect on the artist of becoming a prisoner during the Second World War.
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In relation to this the following artworks are subjected to colour and visual analysis
- Bust of Nietzsche, 1904 and 19141 (location unknown) - Selbstbildnis Mit Nelke (Self-portrait with Carnation), 1912 (formerly Kunstmuseum Düsseldorf until confiscated in 1937, now Detroit Institute of Art) - Self-portrait as a Soldier, 1914 (Kunstmuseum Stuttgart) - Ein Schones Grab (A Beautiful Grave), 1916 (Kunstammlung Gera) - Flare, 1917 (Stadtische Galerie Albstadt, Stifrung Sammlung Walther Groz) - Scene II (Murder), 1922 (Otto Dix Stifrung, Vaduz) - Trench, 1923 (location unknown) - Bildnis der Eltern 1 (Portrait of Artists Parents I), 1921 (formerly Wallraf- Richartz-Museum, Cologne, confiscated in 1937; now in the collection of the Kunstmuseum, Basel) - Bildnis der Eltern 2 (Portrait of Artists Parents II), 1924 (Sprengel Museum, Hanover) - The Dancer Anita Berber, 1925 (Kunstmuseum Stuttgart) - Bildnis der Journalistin Sylvia von Harden (Portrait of the Journalist Sylvia von Harden), 1926 (Musée National d'Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris) - Der Krieg (The War), 1932 (Galarie Neue Meister, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen, Dresden) - Selbstbildnis als Kriegsgefangener (Self-portrait as a Prisoner of War), 1947 (Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart) - Ecce Homo III (Behold the Man), 1949 (Germany (Munich): Gunzenhauser Gallery)
1 There is some dispute as to whether the bust in 1904 was ever produced and whether the second bust was produced in 1912 or 1914 (on the dates see generally Lorenz 2000).
112 - Krieg und Frieden (War and Peace), 1960 (Mural in the meeting room at the Archaeological Museum Hegau, Singen: Germany).
The literature identified in Chapter two is used to support this analysis. To recapitulate, this includes Löffler’s (1960, translated in 1982), Gutbrod (2010), Bröhan’s and Peter’s (2010) accounts of Dix’s life and work – the latter of which includes discussion of some of the three-hundred postcard correspondences between Dix and his girlfriend Helen Jakob, Teissier’s (2010) Otto Dix: Letters et Dessins (Otto Dix: Letters and Drawings) that includes a series of letters Dix wrote to, amongst other, his beloved (and later wife) Martha, Dix’s World War I Diary, Gay’s (1968) Weimar Culture: The Outsider as Insider and Watson’s (2010) German Genius: Europe's Third Renaissance, the Second Scientific Revolution, and the Twentieth Century.
The analysis of this evidence will first address the visual in terms of exploring its content, iconographic and semiotic value, after which a colour analysis will be undertaken (contextual and formal analysis). These results will then be juxtaposed against, amongst other things, current literature (art historical, biographical and documentarian explanations of his life and work), and epistolary evidence in the form of Dix’s war diary, correspondence (private) and letters (private and public), and extracts from letters.
Dix refrained, for most of his life from discussing much about his personal life and the theory underpinning his artwork (on the latter see Gutbrod 2010, p.15). This fact is evidenced by the distinct lack of an autobiography – whether this was a coincidence or lack of opportunity is a topic that the artist has taken with him to the grave. The likelihood is, and this accords with his character, that he was not really concerned with the production of such texts and more engrossed with navigating the tumultuous course his life was taking and educating others through his artwork. There are two biographical accounts on the artist’s life albeit differing in degree (depth and length) (see Löffler 1960; Gutbrod 2010). Neither of these two accounts discusses the German educative or Dix’s strategic- self. The Otto Dix Stiftung has proven a valuable resource in evidencing Dix’s
113 early childhood memories, in the Memoirs for the Cultural Office (at the request of his native Gera), in response to an exhibition of the contemporary art scene in 1947 the artist wrote
Ich schrieb Ihnen schon neulich daß ich nicht gewillt bin meine Bilder “zur Diskussion zu stellen“! … Jeder glaubt zu wissen wie Kunst sein sollte. Die wenigsten haben aber den Sinn, der zum Erleben von Malerei gehört, nämlich den Augensinn. Und zwar ein Augensinn der Farben und Formen als lebendige Wirklichkeiten im Bilde sieht Denn nicht die Gegenstände sondern die persönliche Aussage des Künstlers über die Gegenstände ist wichtig im Bild. Translated as; I have previously written to you and told you that I am not willing to discuss my paintings … Everyone thinks they know what art is. Few however, know the meaning that is part of the experience of painting, namely the sense of sight. Indeed a sense of sight of the colours and shapes in the paintings as living realities, it is the object and not that which is personal to the artist about the object that is important in the image. (Gera City Museums, 1947).
For a solo exhibition celebrating his seventy-fifth birthday, he wrote about seventy years of his life. He begins with a very informative sentence, stating that
Es ist schwierig für mich, nach 70 Jahren noch Vergangenes zu beschreiben, auch habe ich eigentlich das Gefühl, daß es niemand interessiert und daß alles zu prätentiös aussieht. Translated as; it is difficult for me to describe the past seventy years, I’ve felt that no one is interested and that everything looks too pretentious) (Gera City Museums, 1966).
It is quite clear that Dix is referring to what he considered to be the state of the contemporary art scene in 1966. This would have included conceptual, new realism and perfomative art. The avant-garde at this time sought to question the notion of art being static and thus much of the art at the time promoted audience
114 participation – contemporary art is also a good example of this. Thus, it would not have been unusual for someone with Dix’s stature and life experience taking into account the fact that he had survived two world wars and lived through various academic, artistic, cultural, economic, political and social revolutions to feel discontent. These latter terms are used to represent the various art movements for instance impressionism, Verism and Fauvism, the world wars, poverty, the move towards Nazism and for Dix, the prevention of art being destroyed by shifts in contemporary culture and mood.
Dix’s early thoughts about his own art and social position are evidenced in his letter to Kurt Günther (circa 1912) where he states
Lieber Günther! … Da Richter Scheiße in den Hosen hat und mich nicht ausstellen will, da überhaupt kein Kunsthändler in Dresden Mut hat, mich auszustellen ... Ich bin auch nicht mehr allzu scharf drauf, als Dresdner Spießer-schreck aufzutreten. Meine Bilder existieren und werden wahrscheinlich bis auf weiteres das böse Gewissen aller Kunsthändler, Ästeten, Expressionisten ... Bei dem Künstlerfest war ich nicht, ich bin froh, wenn ich von diesen Banausen nichts sehe. – Ich habe einstweilen wieder neue Sachen gemacht ... Ich rate Ihnen, nicht nach Leipzig ... Ihr Freund Dressler hat mir Radierungen geschickt. Ich habe sie der Sezession vorgelegt, aber man fand die Sachen nicht radikal genug … Besten Gruß Dix. Translated as; Lieber Günther! Finally a letter from you! A judge has shit his pants and the show does not want me there at all, there is not one art dealer in Dresden who has the courage to exhibit my work ... I'm not too keen on acting on it as the Dresden bourgeoisie are terrifying. My images exist and are likely to be until further notice, the bad conscience of all art dealers, aesthetical values, and other Expressionists … I'm happy if I do not see anything from these philistines. I have temporarily re-done new things for the faint of heart … I advise you not to go to Leipzig ... Your friend has sent me Dressler etchings. I have submitted to the secession, but they found
115 the stuff is not radical enough … Best regards Dix) (Schmidt 1981, p.201).
Such evidence begins to highlight the influential factors bearing on him and ultimately his educational trajectory. It is issues such as these that are explored by the discussion in the following chapters.
116 CHAPTER 5 BIOGRAPHY OF WILHELM HEINRICH OTTO DIX
5.1 Introduction
This chapter presents Dix’s life during the period 1890 – 1918; this period includes the artist’s birth and the First World War.
5.2 Childhood and Formative Years (1890 – 1914)
Otto Dix was born Wilhelm Heinrich Otto Dix in 1891 in Untermhaus a village near Gera in Germany, he died in Singen (Germany) in 1969 after having suffered a stroke. Dix was the second of six children. The artist’s other siblings were born after him and all outlived him, they are known as Toni (1893 – 1984), Fritz (1896 – 1976) and Hedwig (1898 – 1980). His eldest brother Fritz died in 1890 and his sister Elisa died shortly after her birth in 1899 (Gutbrod 2010, p.17).
At the time the artist was born his parents were residing in the modest accommodation of a working house which housed several families, the house is now a museum dedicated to Otto Dix. Shortly after his birth the Dix family moved into a number of other lodgings and finally settled in a purpose built home on land acquired by the artist’s father on the fringe of Untermhaus. His father, Ernst Franz Dix was an iron foundry worker earning more than the average wage at the time, he received significant pay increases during the early 1900’s (Bröhan 2007, p.11) and was a politically active social democrat. Otto Dix’s mother Pauline Louise Dix (Amann before marriage) was a seamstress and retired poet with a love for music, although during Dix’s early childhood she also worked in a porcelain factory leaving the artist with a babysitter whom he later felt first exposed him to the wonder of women. Dix was a sickly child often suffering from bouts of pneumonia, fever and a recurring dream in which he escaped the scythe of two farmers harvesting their corn by keeping ahead of them (Gera City Museums, 1966). The artist wrote a description of his parents in what has been described as a self-deprecating curriculum vitae. The document, the leaves of
117 which are now privately owned, was written for an unknown recipient circa 1924, in the following terms
Mein Vater ist Eisengießer ... Daß meine Mutter sehr genial and fantasievoll ist, beweist die Tatsache, daß sie neulich einen Kuchen anstatt aus Mehl aus Bleiweiß gebacken hat, wovon dann meine Eltern einige Tage Kolik hatten. My father is an iron-founder … [the fact] that my mother is ingenious and imaginative is proven by the fact she baked a cake from flour instead of white lead, [which still resulted in us] having colic for a few days (Lorenz 2000, p.16).
Gutbrod (2010, p.17) argues that because of the social environment, and this is given a broad definition, in which Dix grew up the artist had first-hand exposure to the contemporary issues in the class struggle and worker solidarity.
However, there is a distinct lack of direct evidence relating to such exposure, Dix himself never spoke of this influence. Although Dix’s later artworks can be said to be revelatory in this respect, the circumstantial evidence that does exist cannot without direct corroboration substantiate this, for instance such evidence would include the social and political activity of his father Ernst. Whilst it is accepted that both parents contributed to Dix’s cultural, social and political dispositions and his strategic-self (or in Bourdieusian terms his conatus, doxa and therefore his habitus) it is postulated in this study, contrary to the literature on the influences in Dix’s life and creative-being, that his mother Pauline can be attributed to have perhaps had a greater impact on the artist’s cultural and creative-self than his father Ernst because of her own pursuits (poetry and spirituality) and family ties which are discussed later. Further insight can be lent to Otto Dix’s strategic-self by setting it in his cultural, social and political experiences.
Both Löffler (1960) and Gutbrod (2010) shy away from discussing how far the artist’s parents influenced the milieu in which Dix later found himself located, neither do they discuss the effect this had on the strategic choices he
118 subsequently made and therefore his learning. Löffler (1960, p.7) suggests that Dix’s father was the dominant inspiration in the artist’s life. The effect of this is to marginalise, amongst other things, the creativity Pauline brought into Dix’s life. Gutbrod (2010, p.19) touches on this, the fact that Dix’s cousin (from the artist’s mothers side of the family) and painter Fritz Amann introduced the artist to art; Dix posed as a model for him and the artist recalls the creative atmosphere. Amann, from Naumberg, trained in the academies of Weimar and Munich instilling in Dix, and setting him on the road in pursuit of technical perfection (Gutbrod 2010, p.19). This is the earliest recorded direct exposure to art as a professional discipline that the artist recalls to have experienced. This early childhood experience inspired Dix. It is plausible that this experience led him to entertain the possibility of pursuing a creative career, something that an individual from his proletarian or working class background would not necessarily have considered as viable – as the discussion later reveals.
In terms of the educative at the time, this period of German history heralded the Wilhelmine era, still a politically turbulent environment however economically far better than that which was due to come in later years. Art prospered in Wilhelmine Germany because of its positive relationship with the state, stylistic changes and subject matter all of which possessed a logic and dynamic of their own continuing to enjoy independence from official and ideological pressures – unlike other totalitarian regimes. This is clear from the literature available that highlights the important role played by the Prussian Art Commission, consisting of artists, museum officials and government representatives in deciding expenditure for state funds on fine arts, and the fact that Wilhelm II (after 1888) was personally involved in the purchase of art for the National Gallery (Berlin) (see generally Kaes 1995; Lenman 1989, p.109-140). Art (and artists) formed an integrative part of the creative and emotional life of German society. The fact that art was so important in Germany illustrates its educative value to German citizens; perhaps it can also serve as an example of the German focus on holistic education (bildung).
119 From a religious or spiritual perspective Dix along with his friends Kurt Lohse and Otto Baumgärtel and the well-known abstract Swiss artist Johannes Itten (1888 – 1967) (in relation to the latter see Rowland 2011) followed the teachings of Mazdaznan. This was religious health movement that combined the teachings of many religions; it advocated the practise meditation and breathing exercises whilst strictly avoiding meat and alcohol (Gutbrod 2010, p.27). The latter is also confirmed and later defended by Dix in a letter the artist wrote circa 1911 to his friend Hans Bretschneider where he stated:
Lieber Hans! … Ich pflege jetzt meinen Körper mehr als sonst, weil ich in einem gesunden Körper den Träger eines gesunden Wissens sehe … Ich bin Vegetarier, wenn auch noch nicht ganz rein. Auch genieße ich kein[en] Alkohol. Nur das Rauchen muß ich mir noch abgewöhnen. Translated as; Dear Hans! … I care for my body now more than usual, because I have a healthy body [which supports] healthy knowledge … I am a vegetarian; though not quite pure [as] I enjoy alcohol. I am still to wean myself off smoking (Lorenz 2000, p.267).
Johannes Itten was very well known in Germany. He went on to teach at the infamous Bauhaus in the Weimar by invitation from Walter Gropius an architect and the founder of the School. Itten was a strict follower of Mazdaznan and thus advocated the fundamental Mazdaznan practices of shaving the head, colonic irrigation and the wearing of crimson robes. Similar influences are revealed in Dix’s self-portrait titled Selbstbildnis als Soldat (Self-Portrait as a Soldier, see appendix one, figure 13) produced in 1914. This explanation is explored for the first time in this thesis.
Further a letter between Dix and Bretschneider evidences the artist justifying his spiritual persuasion or defending his implied faddishness. In a response dated circa 1912 Dix writes
Das ist das erste Anzeichen des gesunden Vegetarismus. My vegetarianism is not forced (Lorenz 2000, p.267).
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The Mazdaznan movement originated in Leizpig (Germany) through the Californian farmers David and Frieda Amann in 1907. There are two interesting issues that warrant further exploration first, Dresden and Gera the two places where Dix spent much of his early childhood and youth, and Leizpig where Mazdaznan originated in Germany share a close geographical proximity. Second, the two farmers that introduced Mazdaznan to Germany share Dix’s mother Pauline’s maiden name. Thus, circumstantially it is possible that Dix may well have been introduced to the movement through Pauline far earlier in his youth than is documented because so little is known about his mother. The artist remarked how for him the movement was an attempt to reform (Bröhan 2007, p.18). The movement was banned by the Nazi party in 1935 and remained so until the late 1940’s. It is clear that those that surrounded him including his parents, fellow artists and religious companions also greatly influenced Dix’s art and his education. This influence was played out in his artwork thus adding weight to the contention that his self and the educative in his work can be understood through an exploration of the art he produced at various stages in his life.
For instance a number of interesting observations can be made and conclusions drawn in respect of how the artist perceived each of his parents. Dix’s comments suggest that he held his mother in far greater esteem than he did his father. The artist regarded his father as being responsible for a number of things including the family’s often-meagre existence, the fact that his mother had given up her career to take on the role of matriarch and how hard she worked within the constraints presented to her. These themes are also explored later in this chapter in relation to Dix’s two iconic portraits of his parents titled; Die Eltern des Künstlers I (1921) (Portrait of My Parents I) and Die Eltern des Künstlers II (1922) (Portrait of My Parents II) (see appendix one, figures 11 and 12).
The artist was born during the reign of Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albrecht von Preußen (Frederick William Victor Albert of Prussia or Kaiser Wilhelm II) during a period of socialist rule that was heightened by militarism, authoritarianism and
121 grand economic growth. Dix attended the grammar school in Untermhaus where he met Ernst Schunke, who took the budding young artist on trips to the countryside so that he could learn to draw and paint in the open air. Schunke also encouraged Dix to perfect his sketches whilst experimenting with the precise details of nature (Gutbrod 2010, p.19; Löffler 1960, p.7). It is from this point the artist’s strategic-self begins to emerge. It is likely that this took shape through Dix’s initial exposure to art and his creative-self through his mother and his cousin Fritz, and the encouragement, guidance and opportunity provided through tutelage by his teacher Schunke up-and-until his entry to the polytechnic. This clearly exists within the broader notion of the educative in an interesting mix of both formal and informal education.
Otto Dix is considered to be a self-taught portrait and landscape painter, some of which was in a verist or realist style. Artists including Vincent Van Gogh, Edvard Munch and Francisco Goya influenced him. It is arguable that this led to his works of art being located in the movements of expressionism and neue sachlichkeit (new objectivity). Dix’s education (formal and informal) and artistic influences are sedimented throughout his life. In 1912 he visited the exhibition of the impressionist Vincent Van Gogh (1854 – 1890); the exhibition was organised by Paul Cassirer at the Galerie Ernst Arnold in Dresden (Schubert 2010, p.34). This particular exhibition is one of the earliest recorded direct and informal educational influences on the then impressionable young artist because it was at this point that he discovered French expressionism. Evidence of this educational influence can be found in the series of landscapes and portraits that followed (Löffler 1960, p.14) for example the painting titled Sonnenaufgang (1913) (Sunrise) (see appendix one, figure 23). Furthermore, evidence of Munch’s influence on Dix can be found in the series of landscapes prior to 1914 (Gutbrod 2010, p.24).
Dix’s parents were unable and perhaps even unwilling to finance his art studies, albeit they were more affluent and upwardly mobile (advancing in economic and social standing) than those in a similar socio-economic class. However, with the help of Professor Ernst Schunke he managed to secure a conditional scholarship
122 from Prince Heinrich XXVIII of Reuss (Heinrich XXVII Fürst Reuß jüngere Linie) the last reigning Prince Reuss Younger Line (1913 – 1918). This resulted in Dix serving a four-year apprenticeship and instruction in craft with the Master decorative painter Carl Senff in Gera (1905 – 1909) (Löffler 1960, p.8).
Gutbrod (2010) and Löffler (1960) disagree on the dates during which Dix attended instruction under Senff, the former argues the dates were 1907 – 1910 and the latter 1905 – 1909. There is some evidence to suggest that Löffler’s (1960) dates are substantiated because they are confirmed by, amongst others, Bröhan, (2007). Furthermore, Gutbrod (2010) and Löffler (1960) provide conflicting accounts in relation to Dix obtaining the scholarship. The former suggests that Dix’s application was rejected and thus he ended up having to undertake the apprenticeship with Senff. The latter suggests that the scholarship was awarded but on condition that Dix undertake an apprenticeship first. The issue is interesting as the outcome clearly affects the artist’s education and the relative effect this would have had on the way in which his strategic-self navigated through this period. In any respect Dix would still have had to go through the apprenticeship and experience the learning that came with it. A discussion from the Gerald Giesecke in a magazine review for the programme ‘Aspects’ (re-issued 29th November 1991) confirms (see Jena 2000, p.41) Löffler’s version
Kurz und gut – wie ich 14 Jahre alt war, dachte ich, ich könnte dann Kunstmaler werden, studieren. Natürlich hat der Vater nicht genug Geld gehabt. Also hat sich der Zeichenlehrer an unseren Fürsten, Heinrich XXVII von Reuß … Und der Fürst hat dann gesagt: „Ja, das ist schon ganz gut, aber er soll erst mal‘n Handwerk erlernen.“ Also mußte ich erstmal vier Jahre Dekorationsmaler lernen und dann bekam ich von dem Fürsten ein Stipendium für die Dauer meiner Studienzeit … und bin dann an die Kunstgewerbeschule Dresden gegangen, wo ich dann bis zum Anfang des Krieges studiert habe – zuerst mal Ornament, Dekorationsmaler, Ornamente und plastisch malen, Stuck malen und Gipsköppe malen, dann später Akte zeichnen. Translated as: In short -
123 as I was 14 years old, I thought I could then study to become a painter. Of course the father has not had enough money. So the drawing teacher turns to our prince, Heinrich XXVII of Reuss … And the Prince then said: "Yes, that's quite good, but he should learn [a trade] first." So I had to learn [decorative painting] first [for] four years and then I got a scholarship for the duration of my study time ... [I] went to art school in Dresden, where I studied until the beginning of the war - first time ornament, decorative painter, ornaments and plastic, paint, paint stucco and plaster to paint Koeppe, then later file draw.
Master Senff was most unimpressed by the young Dix and remarked that he should buy a dachshund and a velvet jacket, and become an artiste (Gutbrod 2010, p.20). There are two plausible explanations for this response; Gutbrod suggests that Senff was merely misguided thereby failing to recognise Dix’s talent. If Dix were undertaking the apprenticeship as a means to qualify for a scholarship, then the resultant responses of his strategic-self would be affected. An alternative argument is that Senff simply did not see a decorative painter in the artist, something that is probably true for Dix himself too.
At this stage in Dix’s educational life what is clear is that his formal and informal exposure as a child to the disequilibrium that existed in the then Wilhelmine Empire between the proletarian and bourgeois societies (whether or not limited) coupled with the fact that his parents could not afford to finance his art studies and the experience of having to undertake an apprenticeship before he would be able to study at the polytechnic meant that he was far more prescient, in a Bourdieusian sense, of the dynamics and therefore the reality in which his life was situated perhaps strengthened his resilience to pursue an artistic career. The awareness of such barriers would aid Dix’s strategic-self to make conscious choices later in his life that affected the trajectory of his education, life and work (for an example see supra p.152). This also pushed him to share his experiences with others, his artwork often highlighted the inequality and hardships faced by someone of his socio-economic class in comparison to the bourgeoisie (see appendix one, figure 31).
124
Finally in 1909, in an atmosphere of high late-bourgeoisie culture, Dix joined the polytechnic with a stipend from the Prince of forty marks a month, just enough to live on (Löffler 1960, p.10). Dix, under the tutelage of Richard Guhr at the Dresden School of Arts and Crafts explored the traditional subjects of painting and portraiture (Schubert 2010, p.33).
Around 1910, Dix started his self-portrait titled Selbstportrait mit Nelke (Self Portrait with Carnation (1912) (see appendix one, figure 24). The artwork consists of quasi-frontal (diagonal towards the left space) half-length figure looking to the right, wearing a dark brown corduroy jacket set against the background of a plain blue sky. In the painting Dix clutches tenderly onto a pink and white dianthus caryophyllus (carnation), but his facial expression is one of a severe gaze. Schubert (2010, p.33) argues that this is an adaption of the Northern Renaissance style of Master Hans Holbein (1497 – 1543) and the more contemporary Renaissance style of Master Joos van Cleve (1484 – 1541) in the sixteenth century, something that is not contentious across the literature available. However, as this discussion reveals often messages can be literal too – rather than just symbolic (Barthes 1977, p.36).
In terms of Bourdieusian theory, as a trainee Dix would have been located within the field of creative education and thus would not have been susceptible to issues of authenticity and market value because he was in the early stages of his training and had not yet gained the notoriety he would later achieve. However, he would have been subject to power exercised by his professors (educators) over the direction of his training. This would almost certainly have raised a conflict in terms of Dix’s strategic-self (bildung) balancing his own propensities with those requirements or rules under which he was required to operate. This could be regarded as an educational conflict.
In terms of the visual semiotics of Roland Barthes (1973, 1977) and iconographically (see generally, Van Leeuwan and Jewitt 2008, p.100; Panofsky 1970, p53 – 60) the artwork represents a conservative Otto Dix (see generally
125 Karcher 2010, p.10 on Dix’s attitude). Gutbrod (2010, p.22) argues that the carnation represents the symbol of the passion of Christ; however this is technically incorrect. The history of such symbolism is vast; in summary the Church had a vested interest in the potential to save souls through the story of the passion of Christ. Christian theology suggests that the first carnations grew when the Virgin Mary shed tears on the plight of Jesus Christ. For the millions that were illiterate floral symbolism was used to convey a Christian message, for instance the violet represented humility whereas the blood red carnation, the passionflower and the white lily each represent the crucifixion, purity of faith and the tears of the Virgin Mary. There have been some interesting cases where floral symbolism has been added to a painting after the demise of the artist; the addition of the passionflower in Joos van Cleve’s painting of the Madonna and Child (circa 1535) is a good example of this. Hence, it is the blood red carnation, and not white and pink as in this painting, that represents the passion of Christ and his crucifixion. Interestingly, the white carnation is actually associated with purity and luck, and the pink with gratitude.
It is postulated that floral symbolism in this self-portrait has a number of non- religious meanings. The pink and white carnation represents Dix’s awareness or realization of how lucky he had been to be able to pursue a career as an artist. Furthermore, it highlights his wish to retain the purity in his artwork by producing the kind of art imbued with the qualities of that created by the Masters of the Renaissance. Thus, the carnation denotes purity in his own work and homage to the objective purity in the works and techniques of the Masters of the Renaissance. It also represents gratitude towards those that had helped and inspired him educationally for instance Master Schunke (see supra p.116). This painting is early evidence of the satirical that was to become more prominent in Dix’s later work. For instance the facial expression is one that levies discontent perhaps at the time in relation to the way in which he was being schooled away from the traditional works and techniques of the Masters of the Renaissance.
At this stage in his life Dix’s work evidences his prescience, one could go as far as to state that even whilst training Otto Dix sought to rupture the bundles of
126 relations within the field of creative education and realign the cultural capital available to him in the embodied state (mind and body, rather than objectified in the form of goods and institutionalised by way of qualifications. He was working towards the latter as means of giving himself a voice in any regard. As a result the artist began to move away from generally accepted conventions in art. This reveals two things; foresight in the artist’s desire to learn, and to further develop the forms of expression and techniques of the Masters from the Renaissance. This latter point is confirmed by the artist’s sentiments later in his life (as discussed). With this in mind, Dix’s actions directly challenge the formal educational setting within which he found himself, utilizing quite ‘safe’ strategies to reconfigure the direction in which he was being forced to head. This attitude or characteristic defines this artist and his ability to bring together elements of formal and informal education, as evidenced by his later actions.
As a social semiotic resource, the artwork visually communicates through a number of ways (see generally Jewitt and Oyama 2001, pp134 – 5). The interactive meaning in this artwork defines Dix’s identity and his educational influences as being not solely gained from a formal setting. The artist makes direct contact with viewers through his gaze; in so doing he establishes a relationship with them (see generally Van Leeuwan and Jewitt 2008, p145), albeit an imaginary one. Dix represents himself as a half-length figure suggesting a social relationship with a fair personal distance between himself and the viewer (see generally Hall 1966; Kress and van Leeuwan 1996; Van Leeuwan and Jewitt 2008, p29). The fact that Dix looks away from the viewer suggests that he presents himself as an ideal or exemplar (see generally Bell et al 1982; Goffman 1979). From an educational perspective this artwork promotes debate that relates to the symbiotic relationship between the old (traditional) and the new (modern). The effect of this image is to require the audience to question what is presented to them often through luring them into an uncomfortable or comfortable educational space.
Van Leeuwan and Jewitt (2008, p94) argue that although the style of an artist provides a supplementary message the content is still analogical to reality. The
127 work itself is detailed; naïve explanations of this would suggest that the artist was merely attempting to replicate the Masters. However, the degree of detail (colour, depth and tonal shades) provides further support for the postulation that this self-portrait is one of the few artworks in which the artist reveals his ideals rather than his often-depicted public persona. This is because Dix was later in his career contractually bound to the Nierendorf’s – the influence of which is discussed anon, they commissioned and perhaps even dictated much of his early work.
In terms of colour analysis the foveal vision is directed initially to Dix’s face and then to the carnation he so tenderly holds. This purposeful direction of the foveal vision (centre of the viewers gaze) renders the peripheral vision less obviously important. The use of such multi-focal points in paintings generally acts to subjugate the background to a mere collateral state because the artist requires the viewer to focus on the subject and its immediate reality rather than that which surrounds it. This accords with much of the earlier analysis on this painting. Dix utilises luminance to force the human visual system to analyse the artwork in two regions (on the visual system see generally Livingstone 2002, p.61 – 63) namely the subject and then the background. Although not as prominent as in other works of art, the artist uses artificial lines to denote boundaries or borders between the two regions thereby purposefully separating the subject (himself) from the world and therefore the world from himself.
By this Otto Dix separates his own ideals (proletariat) and that which he had learnt informally from those that surround him (bourgeoisie); this reassured self-awareness allows the artist to make his message far clearer. What is interesting from an education perspective is the fact that it is at this point that Dix begins to question formal education forthrightly thereby confronting matters of class structures, economics, equity and fairness.
In a letter to his friend Hans Bretschneider the artist wrote
128 What is individual? [Inserting ego into nature]. Our times are egocentric … [right from the] most insignificant student to the most famous master … you deem my pursuit of nature … a style? It is … nobler … to restrain oneself and to just see nature without forcing one’s own ego onto everything? … Of course, very nature study that I make becomes a personal experience … one should not experience too much … [copy nature like an amateur to lay a solid foundation on which you can later build a house] (Gutbrod 2010, p.22).
Gutbrod argues that Dix did not seek to express his inner-self. However, the artist’s representation of nature (reality) is in essence a statement of his inner- self and that which he perceives as universal. This becomes metaphoric (symbolic) for his discontent with contemporary cultural, economic and social values and the constraints of formal education. What is clear is that Dix accepts how his past formal and informal education has aided him to acquire and cultivate the skills necessary to become a skilled and successful artist. Therefore, this letter substantiates the acceptance of his own naivety in not realizing the value of the education he received during his four-year apprenticeship with the decorative painter Master Senff. The artist through his strategic-self effects a systematic change in the future dynamics of his life by actively shaping the trajectory of his education. Here, reflection has led to a sense of empowerment that may not necessarily lead to commercial success but a sense of achievement and individual responsibility; and perhaps a subconscious desire to educate others.
In 1912 Dix became the student of Professor Richard Guhr a successful painter and sculptor. The professor was an exaggerated conservative with an old fashioned style of teaching (Gutbrod 2010, p.22). Dix completed his training in figurative drawing under Guhr, who later went on to take a pro-Nazi stance, attacking modern art and artists, including Dix, as being degenerate. Contrary to its premise this formal schooling reaffirms Dix’s confidence in his artistic abilities and beliefs; something that is supported by a letter between the artist and Hans Bretschneider circa 1912
129
Lieber Hans! … Ich muß kämpfen, hungern und entsagen. Und gerade das alles macht mich fest und widerstandsfähig. Du denkst vielleicht, ich habe guten Stand bei den Herren Professoren. Einige Urteile über mich … Professor Mebert: Es liegt viel Persönliches in Ihrer Arbeit, die Farbstimmung ist gut, aber besser zeichnen, besser zeichnen. Professor Türk: Es hat Rasse, aber schmieren Sie bitte nicht so. Das heißt alles mit anderen Worten. Seien Sie brav und nicht außergewöhnlich, Sie sind jedoch nich Handwerker und da müssen Sie den Leuten gefallen! … Aber merkst Du, daß ich deswegen klage. Nee das macht mich nur noch fester. Translated as; Dear Hans! … I have to fight hunger and the temptation to give up. All this makes me [more] determined and resilient. You may think that I have good conditions with my Professors, but they have judgments about me … Professor Mebert stated; there is much personal in your work, the use of colour is good however you must learn to draw better. Professor Turk; to be honest you are not an exceptional craftsman … you have to please the people! … Although you may think I complain about it … but these comments only make me stronger (Lorenz 2000, p.267).
From an educational perspective, what becomes evident is the intricate relationship between constructive criticism and individual confidence, determination and continual self-reflection. The evidence this far shows these educational influences were impacting on the development of Dix’s self and how his strategic-self was navigating through the milieu of life. Interestingly the artist responded to negative feedback with even greater determination in his chosen path.
It is postulated that Dix’s home and educational life was insecure and therefore he sought order and structure. Circumstantially at least, current documentary evidence suggests a distinct lack of parental, more so paternal, structure and support for the profession the artist had chosen to enter. This led him to seek this externally – philosophically and spiritually. Perhaps this is why the philosopher
130 Frederick Nietzsche had such a profound and guiding effect on the young resilient yet insecure Dix. The artist, like many of his contemporaries, studied Nietzsche’s works especially Die Fröhliche Wissenschaft (The Gay Science) and Also Sprach Zarathustra (Thus Spoke Zarathustra) both of which he (and his friends) owned and annotated (Schubert 1981 – 1982; Schubert 2010, p.33, and Conzelmann 1983, p.211 – 51); letter between Dix and his friend Hans Bretschnieder evidences this fact.
In an interview with Maria Wetzel in 1965 Dix restated his sentiments that the Nazi’s had misinterpreted Nietzschean drive (Bröhan 2007, p.18) because they stood for liberation of ideology through individual creativity and stood vehemently against and not for militarism between the classes. Gutbrod (2010, p.26) attributes this to Nietzsche’s sister, Elisabeth Förster-Nietzsche, who distorted and forged the writings creating a chauvinistic, nationalist and racist ideology. In The Birth of Tragedy (1872) Nietzsche in his aesthetic explores and juxtaposes the relationship between Apollonian and Dionysian states of tragedy against the position of the artist. From Nietzsche’s perspective the artist can only ever attempt to order (Apollonian) their unjust (Dionysian) fate through kunsttrieben (artistic impulses) however with little subsequent success. Nietzsche argued that the result of this was to allow the viewer to sense the underlying essence of the representation, in other words this was the closest one could get to experience something without having to factually experience it, even though he later acknowledged that such a position is, for various reasons, untenable. Nietzsche argued that Apollonian ideals act to promote critical distance and it is that which separates the individual from their innermost emotions. In contrast, he argued that Dionysian ideals embrace the chaos of life with the highest regard given to experience. Dix seemed to relate with this, something that is evidenced by, amongst other things, his letter to Otto Baumgärtel where he wrote
In disharmony with the infinite (Schubert 2010, p.33).
At this stage Dix began to perceive the world as an irreconcilable monster force that went beyond good and evil in an eternal cycle of life and death (Bröhan 2007,
131 p.18). Kurt Lohse, a friend of Dix, portrayed him as someone with an ardent Nietzschean drive (Schubert 2010, p.35). Lohse later became Lieutenant and survived the war (Schubert 2010, p.35). The influence of Nietzsche on Dix’s life including his education is evident from comments made by the artist during his lifetime in an attempt to contextualise his life, Dix states
I am a realist. I must see everything. I must experience all of life’s abysses for myself [therefore] … I am not a pacifist (Otto Dix 1963 in Gutbrod, 2010, pp.34 and 74).
Further proof of Dix’s Nietzschean drive comes in the form of his actions for example in relation to the outbreak of World War I. In 1914 Germany had violated International law by invading Belgium without a declaration or war. Kaiser Wilhelm II believed Germany to be surrounded by imminent threat (Gutbrod 2010, p.31). Following conscription as a replacement reservist Dix, armed with the works of Frederick Nietzsche, volunteered for the German army and joined the field artillery regiment in Dresden. It is argued that those that volunteered for the army did so because they believed that self-defence, here it was the defence of the Wilhelmine Empire from England, France and Russia, was legitimate and this was very much in line with the popular Nietzschean concepts of will to power (wille zur macht), die and become (stirb und werde) and self- transcendence. Whether the latter can be said for Dix is pure speculation. However, he had produced in that same year the second of the only two sculptures Dix is recorded as ever having produced; two busts of Frederick Nietzsche (see appendix one, figure 25). This provides some evidence of the ideals that may have encouraged Dix to join the army.
Ulfers, and Cohen (2007, p.6) suggest that Dix created two busts of the philosopher Frederick Nietzsche, Löffler (1960, p.) suggests that only one was ever produced. Ulfers and Cohen state that the first bust was produced in 1904. The second, of which there is more evidence was produced in 1912 and was originally bought by Paul Ferdinand Schmidt for the Dresden Stadtmuseum but was seized by the Nazi’s in 1937 as being degenerate, it was auctioned in 1939 at
132 the Fischer Auction House in Lucerne at an anti-Nazi art auction. The bust has never been seen since. The two most likely outcomes are that it was either destroyed in the war or it is in the hands of a private collector. Peters also confirms the auction dates in his article (2010, p.17).
Bröhan (2007, p.16) describes Dix’s Nietzschean bust as being two feet high (sixty centimeters) and dark green whilst Gutrbod (2010) states it was sixty-eight centimetres (2.2 feet) high and green tinted. The statue bears striking resemblance to Nietzsche but also to Ernst Franz Dix the artist’s father. Some parallels can be drawn between the bust and Otto Dix’s self-portrait; Selbstbildnis als Soldat (Self-Portrait as a Soldier) (1914) (see appendix one, figure 13). It is postulated that the bust actually represents far more than the explanations currently attributed to it.
The visual semiotics of Barthes (1973, 1977), although primarily used for the interpretation of the two-dimensional image (paintings) can also lend further insight into the three-dimensional object (statues). Iconologically, the bust purports to represent the German philosopher Frederick Nietzsche. However, the ideals and values represented through it are not completely connected to Nietzsche. Dix cleverly combines three distinct dimensions in this bust or three facets of his strategic-self. The bust can be considered as a three-dimensional self- portrait. The first dimension is the immortalization of his Nietzschean-self (Dionysian drive), the second is the denunciation of ideals resulting in conflict at many levels (idealism – adoption of Nietzsche as the paternal figure, his father’s ideals or even perhaps those of the German bourgeoisie and the International community) and the third is Dix as the Mazdaznanite – a representation of his spiritual-self. Iconography forces the questioning of the cultural and historical context in which the object was produced; the bust was created at a time when Nietzschean philosophy was popular amongst German society even with the Nazi’s, as discussed earlier – Nietzsche’s The Gay Science, Thus Spoke Zarathustra and Human, All Too Human were very popular at around the same time the war broke out (Van Dyke 2010, pp.183 – 184; Gutbrod 2010, p.27). At
133 around the same time the artist was also studying the plastic arts (Jena 2000, p.41).
The denoted symbolic message in this artwork relates to the combination of an image that represents Nietzschean philosophy and acceptance of the philosopher in a paternal role because the parallel between the physical features of the two men for instance the defined facial structure, prominent nose and moustache as depicted in Die Eltern des Künstlers I (Portrait of My Parents I) (1921) and Die Eltern des Künstlers II (Portrait of My Parents II) (1922) (see appendix one, figures 11 and 12). Furthermore, the bust lunges forward, this denotes a move, at least spiritually, towards the future and the artist’s inner connection with Nietzsche an argument originally only posed in relation to Dix’s Selbstbildnis als Soldat (Self- Portrait as a Soldier) (1914) (Schubert 2012, p.35). From a social semiotic perspective the bust is a full frontal sculpture of the head, which is thrusting forward and looking directly at the viewer – this represents affiliation, demand and equality (Goffman 1979; Bell et al 1982). This also denotes purification, power, truth and German hegemony. The philosopher engages directly with the viewer forcing them to question their ideals or the manner in which such general ideals are presented to them; both at a domestic (Germany) and international level. In so doing the artist assumes the position of the idealist – demanding debate on issues such as equality, the imposition of ideals and socio-economic restraints. The bust was green, or tinted green, this makes the sculpture more real by giving it additional dimension. Perhaps, the bust was unfinished – it is a common practice to undercoat what will later become human flesh with green paint before real flesh-like tones can be achieved. If the latter is the case then the artist is merely following established principles of painting but reapplying them to sculpture. It was a sizeable piece of artwork and thus its impact even more acute. Gay provides an insightful description of Germany in August 1914; this supports the analysis just presented, where he states that
the Western world had experienced a war psychosis: the war seemed a release from boredom, an invitation to heroism, a remedy for decadence … in Germany … this psychosis reached heights of
134 absurdity … the overage, the adolescent [and] the unfit volunteered with pure joy … [they] went to death filled with their mission [because] the war offered purification, liberation and enormous hope … [where] only victory at any price could give life a meaning … Germans alone were truthful, authentic, manly [and] objective (2001, p.11).
One question that still remains unanswered, and will probably remain so without any direct evidence, is whether Dix’s decision was in fact a completely altruistic act in the defence of the Empire, whether it was selfishly motivated by perhaps, amongst other things, his desire promoted by Nietzschean influenced German philosophy to rebel against the contemporary social order imposed by the bourgeoisie, or a central requirement because men of his age were being readily called up for national service. The most likely outcome is that it was in fact a combination of all these issues. Current documentary evidence suggests that one of the reasons underpinning this action was to simply a desire to experience the full spectrum of human action; from love right through to depravity. However, this must be contextualised in terms of the choices that were realistically available to him at that time. Educationally, this would also have been an extreme forum in which informal learning took place.
5.3 First World War (1914 – 1918)
Dix’s painting; Selbstbildnis als Soldat (Self-Portrait as a Soldier) (1914) (see appendix one, figure 13), is interesting not only for its manic brush strokes and the use of vivid colours but also because this reveals Dix’s naivety. The artwork was created just before the First World War. The self-portrait is often contrasted with Dix’s self-portrait Selbstbildnis mit Artillerie-Helm (Self-Portrait Wearing Gunner's Helmet) (1914) (see appendix one, figure 14), painted around the same time but entirely different. What is presented is a Dix prepared for war, more aware and fearful of the potential outcomes. Both images were painted on the same piece of paper (front and reverse) – perhaps more to do with the fact that the artist’s material was limited. An alternative explanation is that the Dix did
135 this purposefully, or even unwittingly, in an attempt to show viewers the different facets of war for instance vulnerability and depravity. This is something that is also revealed by his drawings, etchings and his almost prophetic Selbstbildnis als Mars (1915) (Self-portrait as Mars) the god of war. Thus, it cannot simply be a Dix deformed through fever as Schubert (2010, p.35) suggests. In any respect the self-portrait has much to reveal about the artist in terms of his educational influences and about him as an artist-educator. A parallel is often drawn between this artwork and the bust of Nietzsche discussed earlier in this chapter.
The artwork consists of quasi-frontal (diagonal towards the left space) quarter- length figure (head and shoulders) lunging forward with the eyes looking to the right. The figure is set against a black, red and white background featuring a large version of the artist’s signature ’14 Dix’ which is taken as meaning ‘Dix 1914’.
Visually the painting is a representation of Otto Dix as a soldier; however a number of anomalies exist in this respect. In his Selbstbildnis mit Artillerie-Helm (Self-Portrait Wearing Gunner's Helmet) (1914) Dix wears the traditional German military uniform; black with red shoulder straps (waffenfarben or service colours), the latter denoted the anti-aircraft artillery regiment. However, in Selbstbildnis als Soldat (Self-Portrait as a Soldier) the artist dons what can be interpreted to be a crimson coloured cloak. This lends an alternative view to the method of the representation; here Dix’s message contrasts two roles he played; the normal everyday man and the soldier. The shaved head and red cloak are clearly Mazdaznan traits; these were promoted by orthodox or strict followers of the movement including the practices of shaving the head, colonic irrigation and the wearing of crimson robes (see supra p.114). Thus, these features can be said to represent Dix’s spiritual side. Furthermore, parallels can be drawn from the craned head as it lunges forward as if to see something, symbolic of the unknown future – in essence this represents the artist’s Nietzschean drive. Coupled together these images carry a powerful educational message even though they were produced one year apart. It is postulated that this is why both self-portraits
136 appear on the same sheet of paper (front and reverse) as a play on the outside (soldier) and the inside (normal man).
The artwork was produced at the start of the First World War and therefore no one, not even a prescient Dix, knew what was in store for him. However, the image is revelatory in this respect too. From a social semiotic perspective the character seems to have an intimate personal relationship with us; ‘the viewers’ – for he could be one of us is the educational message here. Unlike Dix’s bust of Nietzsche, which looks directly at the viewer this figure faces away from the viewer, what is visible is a side-profile of the artist gazing to the viewers’ right perhaps even looking right past them thus presenting himself as an exemplar or ideal. This image accords with Dix’s level of experience and education at that point in time.
In terms of visual acuity, the subject is positioned at the centre of the viewers’ gaze and thus the background is subjugated to a mere collateral state. Dix uses some artificial lines to promote an arbitrary segregation of himself as subject from the real world – once again reinforcing his original educational message. When analysing the artwork’s spatiality, humanistic interpretation can be lent to this artwork; here the sizeable signature of the artist. It is postulated that the signature and its size denote a gregarious and outgoing personality. The fact that the artist signs ‘Dix’ rather than ‘Otto Dix’ also suggests that he found it difficult to survive outside of the protective guided environment perhaps away from his mentors – something that does accord with the experiences from his informal education.
In 1915 Dix was transferred to Bautzen where he undertook training as a machine gunner. In the autumn of that same year the artist was sent to the Western front as a lance corporal – his experience of the war served from the French region of Champagne, Flanders right through to the Somme. Later that same year he was promoted to officer and awarded an iron cross second class (Schubert 2010, p.35). Correspondence between Dix and Helen Jakob reveals some of the experiences of war he had up to this point
137
Dear kindred spirit, many thanks for your kind parcel. The most important issue for a corporal is money. Forty marks a month is very nice … the Great Baumgärtel is alive … slightly wounded … I have been in the reserve regiment between St-Martin, Aubérive, and St-Souplet … twenty-four men are living in our cave … it looks like this [drawings] (Otto Dix to Helen Jakob November 13, 1915).
In addition, in this letter Otto Dix highlights his relief at knowing that one of his best friends Otto H. Baumgärtel is still alive despite the death and destruction that must have surrounded him at this time. There were two individuals in Dix’s life that often saw little mention in the texts on the artist, his life and artwork namely the lawyer Hugo Simons (see Peters 2010, pp.9 – 10) and his girlfriend Helen Jakob.
Schubert (2010) explores Dix’s wartime experience and portraiture through, amongst other things, the artist’s correspondence with Jakob however he does not question her correspondence with Dix and the supportive role she played in Dix’s education. Interestingly both Simons and Jakob supported Dix through his wartime experiences, the latter during the First World War and the former during the Second World War – suggesting that communicative support with those not engaged directly in warfare was important for the artist amidst the chaos he was encountering so as to preserve the notion of normality and hope that one-day he will return to the life he had left behind with the knowledge that it would be significantly different artistically, culturally and politically. From an educational perspective this is the period in Dix’s life where he would have been able to test his beliefs or that which he had been taught and had learned. Although, a hierarchy existed within the German army, in human terms each and every man was equally vulnerable and needed to do their utmost to survive – this allows the artist to experience the most basic need of self-preservation in situations of finality where there is literally no other choice but to ‘do or die’.
138 Even though Dix shared his First World War experience with Jakob through letters and drawings (postcards) the majority of texts on his life concentrate on his later relationship with Martha Koch. Helen Jakob was the daughter of the caretaker Herman Jakob at the School of Arts and Crafts in Dresden. She shared with him many interests including a love for Nietzsche and Esperanto a constructed International auxiliary (second) language (Gutbrod 2010, p.36) conceived by Ludwig Lazarus Zamenhof, a Polish linguist. The term ‘esperanto’ derives from Doktoro Esperanto and is literally translated to mean ‘one who hopes’. Jakob provides two other things to the artist at this tumultuous time; a sense of relief in sharing his wartime experience and art materials as correspondence between them dated January the 1st 1916 reveals. Here Dix writes to Jakob thanking her for the Christmas package
Naturally I was captivated by the magnificent graphite pencil … I will draw a lot with this new pencil … I can send you a sketched card now and then for your album (Rüdiger 1991, p.10).
On 7th January 1916 correspondence to Jakob regarding the enemy position reads
a giant map … only the labyrinthine trenches and paths stand out white against the grey-green earth … [not able to draw much when in position] yesterday afternoon enemy artillery visited us with an armed attack which lasted three full hours; sometimes the fire rose to a constant barrage … we crouched in our dugouts … great readiness … attack expected … but the French do not attack … the result [is] a few wounded, buried [and] shot-up trenches. Right next to our dugout lays a covered artillery observation stand; protected by a thirty-centimetre slab of reinforced concrete … a direct hit would split the railroad tracks. The air pressure would of course rip us to shreds … the trench would … be strewn with iron fragments (Otto Dix to Helen Jakob, undated).
139 Contrary to the sentiments of Schubert, this is not ego-resilience in the face of potential death but in keeping with the Nietzschean ideals of will to power (wille zur macht) and die and become (stirb und werde) for ultimately Dix had no choice but to participate; to do or die. From an educational perspective this evidences the desire and strength for survival in the face of adversity something the artist had learnt from his struggle in art from an early age. Dix’s will to document his experience in written correspondence and field drawings suggest realization of the flaw in his Nietzschean ideals because the fear of death changed his actions, again at this point in his life there was a very real chance that he too would die in warfare like those around him. Dix’s self-portrait Selbportrait als Schießscheibe (Self-Portrait as Shooting Target) (1915) where he appears in the form of a shooting target (see appendix one, figure 26) substantiates this train of thought.
In terms of his education, it is the verism in Dix’s art that evidences a process of the re-evaluation of the social values to which he was a subscriber. The artist seems to have made a choice to document as much as he could and continue with the task required of him almost in the form of an automaton (in subordination). His strategic-self delicately balances the changes in his ideals, artistic and creative-self brought about by his contemporary environment through education. Here the notion of education includes the formal (army training), the experiential and informal (the battle-field). He tries to educate others through various channels (including correspondence and field drawings) with an exposé of what is a faux notion of reality promoted by those in power (the bourgeoisie and Nazi’s) – something that would later mould his educational trajectory, his career and attract him much criticism.
To this endeavour Dix also informs Jakob, in other similar correspondence, that he will send her one mark so that she can send him a sketchbook. Jakob duly sends him this along with cigarettes and a fruit-loaf. On January 17th 1916 Dix writes to Jakob and sends her drawings of the trenches describing how the ones near Marie-à-Py were filled with bodies designed to detract attention from the troops and act as a shield against small arms fire, and how unsightly it was to see
140 a dead man’s head craning into the trench itself (Schubert 2010, p.36). Dix must have found the commodification of the human state (physicality) in warfare revelatory where real men were recycled with an alternative purpose, here the mass were brought together in terms of some abstract collective ideal and individuality marginalised so that independent thought had little room to prosper. These are early signs of Otto Dix’s independence of thought, something promoted more so by his informal education up-to-and-until this point in his life. Anyone who went against this notion of collectivity or common cause would surely have been considered degenerate, as later would be the case for Dix himself.
Jakob had also sent Dix copies of Arthur Schopenhauer’s (1788 – 1860) work. Schopenhauer was a German philosopher who was famous for his sentiments of how the world is nothing more than ‘human will’ and thus emotional, physical and sexual desires can never be fulfilled by promoting a lifestyle that negates rather than embraces these emotions in a form of ideal selflessness for the greater good. A few weeks later Dix writes to Jakob
I think I cannot exhibit anything before the end of the war … it is so difficult when you cannot get the things themselves. Moreover, I can see no financial advantages, no more than moral ones … the weather was nasty – snow and wind … I had to lie in a dugout for two days with stomach and intestinal ulcers … living on … zwieback and water … the French have been firing into the village something serious … so that the art runs right out of you. You see gruesome things. In various sectors there is a constant barrage against the French lines, I think it is a matter of the grand style in progress. For all I care! Best regards to you and your dear parents. Yours, Dix. (Otto Dix to Helen Jakob, February 13, 1916).
Schubert (2010, p.49 note 15) is surprised that Dix does not mention Nietzsche in this letter but fails to realise that Schopenhauer influenced many other German philosophers including Nietzsche and thus Dix in isolation of his Nietzschean
141 ideals begins to explore their construction. It is clear from the text of this correspondence that Jakob’s letter to Dix may have intimated the possibility of exhibiting his work whilst he was at war something that would have no doubt been avant-garde in its own right and a politically volatile thing to do, almost akin to a live broadcast of the horror that was taking form or reality at its most raw (verist reality). This hypothesis fits with the artist’s personality when mapped against the contemporaneously opportunistic fashion (strategic) in which he, whether or not influenced by Nierendorf as later postulated, often released his work.
From an educational perspective this suggests that the artist was questioning his ideals in an attempt to rationalise his actions; his strategic-self was in transformation through the informal education he was being exposed to. Dix was also reading Kleiner buddhistischer Katechismus: Zum Gebrauch für Eltern und Lehrer, an abridged version of the teachings in Buddhism by Walter Markgraf – a fact confirmed by his war diary. He thanked Jakob for this in an undated letter of April 1916 (Schubert 2010, p.50 note 17). Dix clearly understands and therefore highlights that an exhibition at this stage would have a moral purpose but not a financial one. Here his hesitation suggests an inner conflict between, in his mind, inherently flawed reified Nietzschean ideals and the reality of war that he was witnessing because he had been reduced to an automaton in perhaps what was now, compulsory participation war with no choice or power. The field/paradigm of artistic production within which he was located at this point was overshadowed by the field/paradigm of power, thus he had little influence over his life trajectory – providing him with the impetus necessary to move forward into the field/paradigm of creative production as evidenced by his artwork and unwillingness to participate in the Second World War (discussed later). The artist explicitly grapples with the notion of exposing the horrors of war for purpose of doing common good without realizing commercial success; however he seems strategically to opt for the former.
Dix wrote to Jakob again later that year
142 Our position was to the right of the oft-mentioned Monacu farm. Our company was deployed there for three weeks … I was lying with five other machine gunners in the position ‘brown soil’ … the French, who are located on the hill and can observe everything splendidly, began to hammer us with 28’s on the third day, with 15’s and smaller calibers in between. It was horrible! The b position was so plowed up that you could not see the trenches anymore … corpses were lying around, arms and legs flew … Now we are way behind this hell, in the village of Mauvois (Otto Dix to Helen Jakob, Undated August 1916; Löffler 1989; Schubert 2010, p.41).
That same year sixteen of Dix’s war watercolors’ were exhibited as part of an exhibition titled Zweite Austellung Dresdner Künstler, die im Heeresdienst Stehen (Second Exhibition of Dresden Artists in Military Service) (see generally Gutbrod 2010, p.35). Exhibitions such as this were commonplace and intended to create a bond between civilians and soldiers; no doubt they also later served as news vehicles through which Nazi propaganda could be spread, hence even the Nazi’s acknowledged there is education in art.
In early 1917 the artist fell sick and spent some time in military hospital in Hénin from where he sent more picture postcards this time to both Jakob and Bäumgartel (Schubert 2010, p.36). That same year he was stationed in Artois (near Arras and Lens (Angres)) and on the eastern front in Belarus. During this period Dix sketched an allegory of peace named Finale (Schubert 2010, p.36), perhaps evidencing the shifting will of the supposed automatons (soldiers).
In February 1918 Otto Dix fell ill again and was in a military hospital in Gera until March. By October he had been promoted to the rank of vice-sergeant major and began pilot training, although Löffler (1989, p.15) suggests he was merely observing – the latter lends some weight to the argument that this explains why he went through some of the war physically unharmed. Peters (2010 p.16) suggests Dix did this as a method of escaping dying on the front line, something
143 that would contradict the artist’s Nietzschean drive but perhaps more in line with his changing sentiments. Dix wrote to Jakob shortly after his promotion stating
I have a happy occasion to tell you about today … I was promoted to vice-sergeant. We are only retreating. All indications are that it will soon be over … I think I will be able to go on leave again in the coming weeks. The mail is probably being held back; I have had not mail from you in a very long time. Although it is extremely boring here, I do not get any work done – for sheer boredom ... Best regards, Your Dix. (Otto Dix to Helen Jakob, circa October 8, 1918).
It is unclear why Jakob stopped writing to Dix or whether in fact she did. What became of Helen Jakob also remains a mystery. The Dresden Archives Office (Birth, Death and Marriage Records) could not locate an entry for her death or marriage. Although it did confirm the entry of her father Herman Jakob and his employment as a caretaker with the School of Arts and Crafts. The German National Museum in (Nuremberg) and the City Archives in Gera also had no information in this respect. Additionally, neither stated that any such records had ever existed. In terms of the documentary evidence from Dresden there stands the greater possibility that it may have been destroyed. This is because Dresden suffered heavy bombing from the allied forces during the Second World War as it housed the factories that were producing weapons for the Nazi war effort. It is thought that over one hundred and thirty five thousand people perished during these strikes including residents and refugees. The Dresden Academy of Fine Arts proved more fruitful in terms of reference to documentary evidence available on Jakob for example the discussion of the friendship between the two in the French newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche (November 2007). However, the question still remains as to why Jakob lost contact with Dix shortly before the conclusion of the First World War and what became of her. There were no records of Jakob having emigrated for instance to the United States of America unlike many other German citizens.
144 Dix’s relationships with women were certainly not atypical; his marriage to Martha is but one example as discussed later. It is postulated that Dix was keen to avoid the kind of relationship his parents had and therefore the women in his life were far more independent in their existence than his mother Pauline. Although this notion sits uncomfortably with his later Lustmord artworks (discussed later) that seem to perpetuate the potential misogyny he had learnt during childhood. In a letter written by Dix to his friend Kurt Günther circa 1919 he states
Fräulein Lehnert lässt Sie grüßen. Sie ist eigentlich der erste weibliche Mensch, der mich interessiert ... Sie ist sehr geistreich. Translated as: Miss Lehnert can greet you. She is actually the first female that interests me … she is very witty (Schmidt 1981, p.200).
The comments are interesting because they confirm that Dix had not been interested in anyone since he returned from war and because they lend some support to the fact his experience may have impacted on his ability to relate to people (see generally Sherman 2011). It is possible that these are simply the comments of a scorned Dix maybe because Jakob had moved on with her life? The latter cannot be substantiated, as the evidence is not available. Miss Lehnert’s identity is unknown as there is little reference to her in the data available about Dix. From an educational perspective it is salient to note that Dix’s experiences with the women in his life affected his education and strategic-self, these ranged from the creative and positive influence of his mother right through to the support and disappearance of Jakob; because change is a powerful educational motivator (see generally Rogers 2007, pp.18 – 24). The effect of these influences, as educational motivators, was to strengthen his resilience and the will to continue fighting and painting (including drawing/sketching). Educationally, support is very important to guide the learner through the ladder of competence (to which many authors lay claim) and for them to be able to manage change. Furthermore, it may well have acted to lend the artist a sense of direction, purpose and self-worth and without which he may well have been far more reckless. These positive influences do not seem to accord with the artworks Dix later produced that concentrated on the theme of sex murders, explicable partly
145 in the terms that they may have been connected to the hypothesis that Jakob betrayed Dix or simply that these reflect contemporary popular culture that Dix sought to represent.
Dix arrived at a training camp in Schneidemühl just as the war ended and remained there in guard duty until his discharge (Löffler 1989, p.15). Unlike his friend Kurt Lohse, Otto Dix was unable to achieve the rank of Lieutenant of the Reserve because of his working class background (Schubert 2010, p.37). Educationally, the experience would have reinforced, in at least Dix’s mind, the apparent inequality that existed between the proletarian and bourgeoisie even in an extreme situation such as war where death discriminated against no one.
During his four years (1914 – 1918) at war the artist was a prolific producer of postcard field sketches, these he sent to Helen Jakob. Much of this work was in the cubo-futuristic, expressionst and verist styles. He also created a diary during the war (published by the Albstadt Gallery) although it too contained more visual rather than documentary data. The diary generally serves as a reasonable representation of his war experience in which, on reflection of the capitalist premise of the First World War he stated
Once people fought for wars for the sake of religion; today it is for the sake of business and industry – a step backward.
His sentiments suggest that such capitalist wars, if it can be cast as such for the purposes of context in relation to Dix’s comments, are pointless however on the same token he seems to suggest that some battles are worth fighting. Even though on page thirty of his war diary he notes after Isaiah 13:12
I will make a man more precious than fine gold (see Schubert 2010, p.38).
146 Having witnessed the death, destruction and devastation war wreaked it is no wonder that it became one of the major themes in the artwork Dix produced. His view on the war (circa 1930) was that
[it] is something so animal-like: hunger, lice, slime, these crazy sounds [and those] insane odors … Everything is completely different … standing in front of earlier paintings, I had the feeling that one side of reality was not being depicted at all: the ugly. War was something horrible, but nonetheless something powerful … under no circumstances could I miss it! It is necessary to see people in this unchained condition in order to know something about man (Kinkel 1961; Schubert 2010; see generally Bröhan 2007, p.19)2.
There are two notable images the artist produced during the war Ein Schones Grab (A Beautiful Grave) (1916) and Lichtsignale (Flare) (1917). The first of these was a sepia-coloured postcard pencil sketch of a grave in a crater that has been caused by a bomb, a crucifix as a tombstone signifies the burial place. The image is less gruesome than much of his field sketches that capture death and the physically maiming effects of warfare for instance in the form of poisoned flesh and rotting skulls. The title of the image is metaphoric and reveals the education behind it namely the destruction of nature and humanity. In addition, the image represents that which is left whence the bodies no longer litter the ground – nothing, and thus a return to the essence of humanity and natural order. The landscape is barren, burnt and poisoned by warfare; nothing lives – a small tree trunk stands in the background where once perhaps stood a beautiful green valley.
The second image is very different – here the artist presents something fantastic in a colourful glory – a firework display pitched against a deep night sky. Often portrayed as graphically violent – this image depicts the light of a flare revealing the truth hidden on the ground in the form of a mound of dead people the identity of whom is not decipherable but are likely to have been soldiers and/or
2 My version of Dix’s sentiments is text taken both from Kinkel and Schubert.
147 civilians. The image is highly intense by reason of the brush strokes and colours used.
From the perspective of visual semiotics the image presents nightfall as a veil that disguises (temporarily) the horrors of death and destruction, only to be revealed by a night sky lit up by colourful flares used for purposes of signaling, illumination and defensive counter measures – the latter of which was to keep a watch on enemy movement. The irony was the revelation of the effect of war illuminated by its own processes parodying itself. Here Dix seeks to educate people on war as being something ridiculous that deserves to be intentionally mocked. Iconographically, the image was produced during the war perhaps when the artist was on night watch or in a state of insomnia being deprived of sleep. Dix’s style provides a supplementary educational message; the reality of warfare.
The image depicts the ground littered with dead bodies in white outlines, the distinct lack of detail, unlike his other artworks, promotes the imagination into constructing notions of perhaps their actual physical state and the circumstances in which they died; was it death through a bayonet, were they shot or did a bomb hit the site. Symbolically, the bodies are connected through their fraught physicality. The levels of visibility, in terms of the physical body, represent our connection to them. Here, we have a range of levels of visibility from the full body, which represents no connection through to a headshot which evidences a close and personal relationship. The educational message here, once again, would be that death does not discriminate against the man – the bodies may well be of a relative or a father, son or lover.
Visual acuity is purposefully reduced so that the bodies are at the centre of gaze. The background (night sky and colourful light from the flares) is subjugated to a mere collateral state because the dead bodies require our immediate attention and not the surroundings as such. Thus, the educational message is exaggerated. The use of white lines to determine what is visible of the bodies also acts to separate the dead from the world denoting the fact that of the many dead a great
148 number of them probably did not really understand why they were there or perhaps even they did not want to be there at all. The equiluminant quality in the work lends motion and an eerie quality to it – Dix has successfully manipulated the way that the brain manages vision of this image so that a particular emotion is achieved. Here, it is the fantastic exuberance of warfare set against its reality. Spatially this is achieved through the presentation of coarse information, which allows the brain to complete the image through a process referred to as illusory conjunction. This allows viewers to lend a humanistic interpretation to this artwork.
Dix continued to draw and paint during the war perhaps amidst all the very natural stresses and strains of warfare coupled with the fact that he must have killed many soldiers from the allied forces, this was something that brought some normality to his life in the form of cathartic relief. It would be difficult to postulate the exact educational impact this would have had in his life however one can be sure that justification for his actions would have presented itself in the form of ‘do or die’. At the time the artist would have had little choice but follow orders.
Although Dix’s field sketches are mostly pictorial representations of fact, the same sketches can be taken as realistic records of his Nietzschean drive. Although, it is unlikely that Dix’s primary purpose of producing these images was not the attainment of the notoriety he craved – there can be no doubt they later served as an inspiration for his infamous artwork on the war. Gutbrod (2010, p.37) suggests that the war heightened Dix’s artistic drive and thus he produced much during it – this seems unlikely given his later comments (see below). It is more plausible that the artist’s primary purpose was to keep an accurate record of the things he saw and experienced so that he may then later share these with others through his art and educate them of its horrors. It is difficult to determine Dix’s exact sentiments on the war as much of what he said was with the benefit of hindsight. He did however depict the First World War as an ethnographic experience where the oneness of the researcher and subject are objectified through art in a parody-like fashion, he states
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I studied the war closely. It must be represented realistically, so that it is understood. The artist works so that others can see that such a thing existed (Kinkel 1962, p.13).
It is also stated that he told his friend and fellow Dresden artist Conrad Felixmüller that the feeling of thrusting a bayonet into the enemy’s body was indescribable (Barth 1983, p.16 – 18). This accords perhaps more with a sadomasochistic ideology but is also exemplary of natural (primeval) human emotions or the very basics of man. In his war diary Dix describes the war as a natural phenomenon, as revenge being one of its significant attributes and as an insane four-year exercise (Gutbrod 2010, pp.34 – 36).
Van Dyke (2009, p.43) states that Dix through his participation in the war achieved the mimesis in his artwork for which he is so famous. Van Dyke, like many others fails to highlight the educational impact of placing oneself in a situation where the probability of death is much higher. It is possible that one of the reasons for which Dix, a highly self-reflexive artist, volunteered for military service was to test his ideals the result of which would affect the rest of his life- trajectory. For the purposes of education Dix, as a learner, needed to test that which he had already learnt so that he could discover and learn new things about himself and humanity.
150 CHAPTER 6 BIOGRAPHY OF WILHELM HEINRICH OTTO DIX
6.1 Introduction
This chapter presents Dix’s life during the period 1918 – 1969; this period includes Germany’s Weimar period, the Second World War and the artist’s death.
6.2 Weimar (1918 – 1933)
In November 1918 Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated and Philipp Scheidemann proclaimed the German Republic. Otto Dix was released from military service and returned to Gera and to a Germany that was now riddled with mass economic (hyperinflation), political and social unrest. The German army had been decimated by the allied forces and as many as two million German soldiers had been killed and four million wounded (Gay 2001, p.147) resulting in a sharp rise in the number of orphans and widows. The people of the Empire believed that the reparations imposed by the allied countries in the form of the Treaty of Versailles were more revengeful than reparative (Gay 2001, pp.14 and 150). In November 1918 the Empire was proclaimed a republic by President Ebert Friedrich leader of the social democrats, followed closely by the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II. A constitution establishing a liberal political order was acquired in 1919 and the new Weimar Republic became the former Wilhelmine Empire (Gay 2001, p.17).
Despite the dynamics that existed during this period the Weimar Republic prospered and so did social equality rights for instance women were given the right to vote (Zuehlke 2003, p.44). Dix, along with his fellow artists, experienced first hand this massive cultural, educational, social and political upheaval, much of which is reflected in his artwork up-and-until 1933 (discussed later).
In the year 1919 Dix left Gera and returned to Dresden and his former place of residence. Here most of what he had left behind remained intact (Löffler 1960, p.16). Rather than return to the polytechnic this time the artist directed himself
151 towards the Dresden Akademie der Bildenden Künste (now Hochschule für Bildende Künste: Dresden Academy of Art). At the time this was under the leadership of Robert Herrmann Sterl. Dix had envisaged partaking in Richard Muller’s drawing classes, however Sterl recognised his talent and instead directed him to Max Feldbauer’s painting class instead (Löffler 1960, p.17). The Dresden art scene was now well organised and politically active (Gutbrod 2010, p.38), it is here he met Conrad Felixmüller, a prolific political artist, someone who would later become a good friend and be immortalised in a family portrait (see appendix one, twenty-nine).
In 1919 Dix left Feldbauer’s class and became a pupil of Otto Gußmann (master decorative painter), that same year he became a founding member of the Dresdener Sezession Gruppe (Expressionists and Dadaists) along with Felixmüller. The motto of the Gruppe was: truth – fraternity – art (Peters 2010, p.17; Senn 1991, p.71 – 79). Later that year the Gruppe held an exhibition in Düsseldorf at the gallery of the urologist Dr. Hans Koch, a close friend of the art dealer Karl Nierendorf. Unbeknown to Koch, and Otto Dix himself, he (amongst others) would play a pivotal role in Dix’s educational trajectory. Three points require notice. First, it is through Dr. Koch that Dix met his future wife Martha. Second, the artist met the art dealer Karl Nierendorf who would focus his artworks and career. Finally, it was Dr. Koch that had previously exhibited the artworks of Dix’s recent acquaintance Conrad Felixmüller. Hence, other than the early influences in Dix’s educational life which included Pauline Dix, Franz Amman, Masters Schunke and Senff, Nietzsche and Mazdaznan, the influences in Dix’s later educational life and general life-trajectory can be attributed to the Dresdener Sezession Gruppe and Felixmüller through which became connected to Dr. Hans Koch. At this stage Dix also met another person that would influence Dix’s creativity is Johanna Ey or Mutter Ey (Mother Ey), she was the owner of Galerie Ey or Junge Kunst – Frau Ey (Gutbrod 2010, p.49). Thus, Ey must also be included in the list of those that had some educational influence in Dix’s life.
At this point in his life Dix was working very much in the Dadaist style. The Berlin Dada, of which George Grosz and Christian Schad were also part, was not a copy
152 of the Zurich Dada as post-war Switzerland was very different to post-war Weimar (see generally, Lewer 2009, pp.19 – 20). It was considered an advance on Futurism as an anti-bourgeoisie, male-chauvinistic and anarchic pessimistic style, the difference between the two can be found in the lack of nationalism and optimism in the former style. Futurism was an art and social movement originating in the twentieth century in Italy with parallel movements in England and Russia. The Futurists sought to depict contemporary notions of the future including technology and violence. Futurism was founded on the Futurist Manifesto of 1909 published in Le Figaro (Paris) written by the Italian writer Filippo Tommaso Marinetti (see Joll 1960). During these years, or what Löffler (1960, p.23) describes as Dix’s youthful work, the artist experimented with expressive symbolism; creating new form by using the visible world as a starting point with the aim of preserving only the idea of what is represented (Löffler 1960, p.22).
It is unknown where the term Dada originated. Versions of the movement existed in Berlin, Paris and Zurich. The majority of the literature on its origins points to the poet and theorist Hugo Ball and the cabaret bar called the Cabaret Voltaire (Spiegelgasse, Zurich in 1916). Ball in his diary, Flight Out of Time, wrote of how he suggested the term Dada for the collective publication of the Zurich movement. Other variations of the origins also exist including one by Richard Huelsenbeck who had arrived in Berlin from Zurich in 1917, see generally Hopkins (2004, p.8 – 9).
Berlin Dada (and its successor Surrealism) were avant-garde art movements; probing experience through the advance socio-political and aesthetic position to which the modern artist should aspire (Hopkins 2004, pp.3 – 4). It is during his Dadaist phase that Dix met George Grosz. The Berlin movement demised shortly after its public manifestation in 1920 to which the rise of Nazism also contributed. The Parisian equivalent suffered the same fate by mid-1922; it had served its purpose because the artists had found the moral certainty they were looking for. Towards the end some of the most eminent Dadaist’s became communist commentators for example John Heartfield (see Hopkins 2004, p.12).
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Surrealism, questioning the stability and self-evidence of reality, emerged in 1924. Verism (as an artistic style) spans across both Dadaism and Surrealism (1920’s – 1933), the latter of which existed until 1966 (it is alternatively argued as existing until the death of perhaps the greatest surrealist Salvador Dali in 1989). There were three forms of Verist Surrealism namely classical, social and visionary. Dix’s painting of Dr. Mayer-Herman (1926) (appendix one, figure 30) is a good example of Dix’s Cubist and Fauvist influenced work – here it is often argued that individual and machine are in a fetishlike fusion.
Pablo Picasso created cubism in Paris circa 1907 – 1914; this art movement rejected the notion that art should copy nature and traditional techniques of perspective, modelling and foreshortening. They emphasised the two- dimensionality of the canvas by using geometric form with shadow and space (see generally Sabine Rewald at www.metmuseum.org). Fauvism (les Fauves or the wild beasts) was a post-impressionist French (Paris) art movement (from circa 1905) that concentrated on rich colour and painterly qualities rather than the representation or realistic values of the impressionists. Fauvists include Henri Matisse and Raoul Dufy.
Dix chose to focus in his work on society, transcending aesthetic and philosophical discourses. Van Dyke (2009, p.45) suggests this to be an anti- Expressionist stance (see appendix one, figure 31). In his only published statement during the 1920’s Dix stated
Ein Schalagwort hat die letzten Jahre hindurch durch die schaffende Künstelergeneration bewegt. ‘Schafft neue Ausdrucksformen!’ lautete die Parole. Ob das aber überhaupt möglich ist, erscheint mir durchaus zweifelhaft. Wenn man sich vor den Bildern alter Meister aufhält oder sich in das Studium dieser Schöpfungen vertieft, wird mir der eine oder andere gewiß recht geben. Jedenfalls liegt für mich das Neue in der Malarie in der Verbreiterung des Stoffgebietes, in einer Steigerung der eben bei den alten Meistern bereits im Kern vorhandenen
154 Ausdrucksformen (Dix, 1927). Translated as: [the] slogan [that] has driven creative artistic generations for the last few years [is;] create new forms of expression! I thoroughly doubt whether that is possible at all. While standing before the pictures of the Old Masters or … engrossed in the study of these creations [what is new, for me at least, is to broaden the fabric of art by building on the core of already existing expression and expressive forms present in the artworks of the Old Masters]3.
On this rare occasion Dix confirms his sentiments, which substantiate the earlier educational influences (as discussed) in his life namely: to build on that which has already been done, explore new ideas and boundaries, and to learn from that, which is all around us. From 1920/1922 onwards, in perhaps an act of sub- conscious plurality and grounded in function, Dix fused his Cubo-Futurist, Expressionist, Dadaist and Verist styles into single artworks. The artist later (circa 1924) went on to combine his Dadaist style with the techniques pursued by the fifteenth and sixteenth century North European painters with the technical mastery of the Old Masters he so admired – the result was a distinctive culmination of Dadaist motifs and traditional cultural values (see generally Van Dyke 2009, p.44). Eventually, Dix like many other artists, moved away from Verism as an artistic style and towards critical traditionalism (Peters 2010, pp.14 and 19).
From an educational perspective the choice to fuse styles or a move from one style to another helps illuminate the dynamics of the art world at that time but also Dix’s creative spirit. Additionally, it also highlights the ‘newer’ educational influences in his life (see supra p.152). Dix was successful in deploying new styles through which he continued to share his experiences and knowledge. With this in mind it is salient to note that the period 1918 – 1923 was difficult for many parts of Germany with food rationing and high levels of inflation that influenced the necessity for political change. This included the abolition of the then three-party voting system that seemed to have been designed against the benefit of the
3 This translation is partly that of Van Dyke (2009, p.47) and my own.
155 common people (proletariat). Furthermore trade unionism was far more active in pursuing individual rights. These are significant events that evidence contemporary social mood, one that promoted equality that also influenced Dix’s artwork and his educatedness (see supra p.37).
A devalued currency had led to an investment in assets such as works of art that in Dresden before World War I can be regarded as having taken a late- impressionist style and after it as broadly expressionist (Löffler 1960, p.18). This speculation in art resulted in increased demand and prices, with the notion that expressionist work was bought by those with too much ill gotten wealth and not enough cultural understanding. Otto Dix’s (and George Grosz’s) artwork, which more conservative German artists associated with the Weimar Republic, was often the subject of vicious attacks in the German Art Correspondence (Clinefelter 2005, pp.26 – 27 and 34). The artist was also critical about female emancipation and the degeneration of German society with high levels of abortion, prostitution and venereal disease; the media was proliferated by scarcely censored horror movies and novels. George Grosz was very fond of the latter – he was a good friend of Otto Dix.
From 1919 Dix ceased experimenting with Dada and Expressionism concentrating instead on eroticism and reality, on this endeavour he states
where emotion and experience are left out, they cannot be replaced by form and colour alone. My endeavour is to achieve a representation of our age, for I believe that a picture must before all express a content (Löffler 1960, p.26).
What is clear from this is that Dix firmly believed that the messages in his artwork should be viewed through representations of reality that came from content devoid of the artist’s emotion and experience. Thus, the educational messages in his artwork raised much debate; messages that could be classed as objectively and humanistically educative. This was a form of Verism, Dix’s form of Verism, which has been referred to as Magic or Transcendental Realism –
156 perhaps the term Meta-Realism could be preferred. At the Academy Dix continued on working in his own verist style, an example of which includes the painting Parents I (1921, Basle, Kunsthalle) that was a portrait of his parents and Trench (1923), the latter was possibly destroyed by the Nazi’s. With reference to his work Dix stated, in congruence with Dadaist ideology, that
life is not that colourful at all. It is much darker [and] quieter in its tonality … I wanted to depict things as they really are (Wetzel 1965; repr. in 1985 exh. cat., pp.288–9).
Dix painted two notable portraits of his parents and both substantiate the educational impact that they as individuals and collectively had upon him in his youth and later life. The artist painted Bildnis der Eltern 1 (Portrait of Artists Parents I) in 1921 which was confiscated in 1937 and he created Bildnis der Eltern 2 (Portrait of Artists Parents II) in 1924. Peters (2010, p.14 – 15) suggests that the two portraits are forced-images that represent the couple with calloused fingers (gout) and scarred physiognomies marked with empathy and scrutinizing distance. The images bare striking similarities as both depict the couple sat on a sofa, incidentally the sofa is the same in both paintings. In Bildnis der Eltern 1 the couple is seated quite close to each other in a somewhat confined space. In contrast, in Bildnis der Eltern 2 they appear in a much more spacious albeit in a relatively similar setting.
There are a number of things that can be discerned from these images in terms of visual semiotics. In Bildnis der Eltern 1 Dix depicts two proletarian figures through deploying colours that are rather grey and dull. In contrast, the later painting implies social mobility with his parents presented in a far wealthier and spatial setting, this was something that did not apply to many other Germans at that time. Bildnis der Eltern 1 depicts Dix’s mother looking tired and overworked and in contrast his father does not. Perhaps the artist was paying homage to the sacrifices that his mother had made for the family that included giving up her career aspirations (poetry and music) and instead taking up menial jobs such as that of a seamstress. The use of space represent the limitations in the lives of
157 both his parents especially because in Bildnis der Eltern 1 his father takes precedence being the larger of the two figures and he is placed prominently in front of Dix’s mother who is forced to play a marginal role in the background.
The later painting (Bildnis der Eltern 2) presents the parents as equals. This is something confirmed by social semiotic analysis evidencing the social mood at the time and the fact that his parents were wealthier in comparison to the proletariat. There is not to my knowledge from current literature any direct evidence that Pauline ever returned to music or poetry. From an educational perspective what is clear is that Dix learnt from the roles that his parents played out in their relationship that which he did and did not want from his own future relationships and the artist’s relaxed relationship with Martha (discussed later) is a good example of this. Strangely, in this respect Dix seems to fall outside of those that need to experience everything for themselves in order to appreciate its reality because he has learnt from the examples that others have set.
Symbolically, both paintings present his parents at eye-level with the viewer further denoting equality with them, the majority of which at the time may well have been part of the bourgeois classes. In both images the gaze of his parents creates a reaction. In Bildnis der Eltern 1 Pauline engages with the viewer by looking directly at them thereby making contact with them and establishing an imaginary relation with them, whereas Dix’s father looks away but at what the viewer is not shown, thus establishing no connection with the viewer. He offers himself as an ideal. Although, to view the figures almost in their entirety suggests a social relationship – perhaps on the basis of that they represented an ideal being an upwardly mobile proletarian family. In Bildnis der Eltern 2 the roles are reversed. The relationships with the viewer established in these paintings can also be taken as representative of the opinion Dix held of his parental relationship.
The viewer’s gaze in Bildnis der Eltern 1 is directed to Dix’s mother, something not true of the later painting that presents multi-focal areas with the background being subjugated to a mere collateral state. Perhaps this is because it is the
158 subject (his parents) and the message that they represent (equality) that requires immediate attention and not their surroundings; this is one of the educational messages in his work.
After this stage in his professional life Otto Dix went on to develop a particular collage style connecting by a variety of realistic paintings all centering on a single subject in the form of Verist surrealism – this can be equated to the pictograph (photo-narratives or photomontage) where graphics are used in picture writing. Here singularity is obtained through connection between the subject and object or visual image for example places an individual may have visited, experiences or even their possessions to express their educational messages.
Surrealism developed from Dadaism, here dreams and thoughts were represented through the juxtaposition of a number of images against one another. Michael Bell, an American art commentator, identified three forms of Verist surrealism, namely classical, social and visionary. Classical Verist Surrealism presents unconscious dream images without interpretation or judgment allowing everything within it to co-exist in a dreamlike state. Social Verist Surrealism sought to represent the collective unconscious by depicting the inner image of an individuals working. This latter form of surrealism sought to reveal justice through satirising the hypocrisy of society and society’s misinterpretation of reality and the devastation caused thereby. Visionary Verist surrealism had as its focus positive human experience, cosmic and intuitive awareness, and an overriding universal consciousness that directs both the conscious and subconscious mind. Verism is realism or the achievement of a higher level of truth in appearance because of the preference to use contemporary subject matter instead of the heroic or legendary. When combined what is achieved is the representation of reality through the juxtaposition of a number of images rather than dreams and thoughts – an effective mechanism through which an artist could educate others.
Dix’s artwork often took the form of the humorous and satirical, the vulgar and shocking including the depiction of those crippled and maimed as a result of the
159 war – some of which was exhibited at the Erste Internationalen Dada-Messe (First International Dada Exhibition) in 1920 (see appendix one, figure 32 and generally Hopkins 2004, p.12). Much of Dix’s artwork during the 1920s highlights contemporary Germanic social constructions of ideological masculinity and was not favoured by Communist Party’s art critics. Van Dyke argues that there is no evidence that the artist underwent conversion from communism to conservative rightwing Nazism, even though his actions and artworks, when considered without contextualizing evidence, suggest fascist ideology and misogyny (see generally Apel 1997, p.366 – 84). Felixmüller tried, albeit unsuccessfully, to convince Dix to join the communist party (see Gutbrod 2010, p.43).
In 1921 Dix produced a number of artworks that can be classed as being quasi- surrealist, images that presented the material world in sophisticated simplicity. In the same year he painted a portrait of Dr. Hans Koch at his home in Düsseldorf (see appendix one, figure 33). Whilst painting the urologist Otto Dix met Koch’s twenty-six year old wife Martha (originally Martha Elisabeth Lindner and then Koch), the artist shared many interests with her including dancing. Dix even drew her portrait with the dedication ‘Mutzli’, a name he used to call her as a term of endearment (Gutbrod 2010, p.48). Koch himself had been having an affair with Martha’s sister Maria; the latter had also had a short relationship with Karl Nierendorf. Thus, when Dix and Martha exposed their feelings for one another Koch demanded a divorce and the artist and Martha moved to Dresden and later married in February 1923.
Martha left behind her two children with her former husband in Düsseldorf (Schick 2005, p.109). Perhaps this was one of the reasons Dix felt a greater sense of responsibility towards her. Their first child Nelly was born in June 1923 just four months after the couple’s marriage, this indicates that the child would have been conceived sometime in August 1922 and thus may have been one of the reasons they could no longer conceal their affair. This set of circumstances is not surprising given the sexual revolution Germany was experiencing during the Weimar period where relationships were far more fluid and thus there was little hostility between the couples – Dix and Koch remained good friends. The artist
160 expressed his experiences through his artwork and thus the same can be said of his familial love; the many paintings and drawings evidence this. The representation of his experiences was educative.
Although married-life between the artist and Martha was not always easy, they shared many similarities in their characters and common interests. For example unlike Dix who had a proletarian background, Martha came from a middle-class family. Her father was an insurance executive who later in 1925 would help them move to a prestigious area of Berlin. It was even Martha’s inheritance money with which the couple built their Hemmenhofen home on Lake Constance in 1936 (see generally Schick 2005, pp.110 – 112). The artist and his wife were both equal as intellectual beings, although she spoke a number of languages (Dix was also fluent in French) and was probably fonder of travelling than Dix. In relation to the latter, Dix had fought on the front line in the First World War since the age of twenty-three and therefore one must take into account the lack of opportunity and funds available to him for travel. Thus, Dix may not have been unwilling to travel because he was eager to experience and learn new things.
The artist worked solidly on his artwork during this period and by 1922 he had amassed five printmaking portfolios of engravings and woodcuts (Heller, 2011). Max John a collector, dealer and painter, printed these. Dix painted many portraits of John including Hour of Birth and The Kiss. Other notable woodcuts include Apotheosis; this features a pregnant woman with large breasts and vagina with a vortex of men revolving around her (see appendix, one figure 34). Dix’s concentration on eroticism earned him quite a reputation and in an article in Das Junge Rhineland circa 1922 he was portrayed as a libidinous womaniser, (Fischer 1922, p.23 – 24) the author of the article wrote
there are hardly any women he does not want to have … rarely are his relationships … serious … for him, ethics and morals do not exist … women are his adventure … he lacks a sense of responsibility [for his own actions] (see also generally Laikin Funkenstein 2005, pp.163 – 191).
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What is interesting is that he did not play out this impression in his real life. His artwork during this period is also educative. It represents the requirement for an individual to conform satisfying the needs of the art market and tapping into the contemporary misogynistic social mood, it is perhaps ostentatious. The images also carry a poignant educational message; Dix questions the worrying trend towards increasing inequality between men and women. The artwork reflects an open socially critical image of German society.
After Helen Jakob (see supra pp.132 – 133), the artist maintained only two known long-term relationships. The first was with Martha Koch dating from 1922 until his death in 1969. He fathered three children with her (Nelly, Ursus and Jan) and immortalised her in over seventy artworks ranging from paintings and drawings. The second was with Käthe König, this dated from circa 1927 and lasted again until his death. He fathered one child with König (Katharina who was born in 1939) (for a photograph of König see appendix one, figure 35). It is not officially documented whether Dix actually ever painted her. However, Dix’s painting Reclining Woman on Leopard Skin (1927) (see appendix one, figure 36), which is recorded as being a portrait of Vera Simailova a German actress/dancer, bares a striking resemblance to König and was produced about the same time at which she is documented to having been his mistress. Even if the portrait is not of König, it is likely that many of her attributes have been consciously or subconsciously imbued within it, for it is unfathomable that Dix, by reason of his character, would not have painted the woman with whom he had his only other long-term relationship because he valued his relationships.
Fascinated by prostitutes, he regularly visited the Dresden brothels in the Ziegelgasse red light district. What is most interesting in Dix’s artwork is the critique of the underlying reasons for the commodification of sex and sexuality, and how this have contributed towards the emotional desensitisation of these women. The fact that this profession even existed would have been an anathema to a moralistic society. Even stranger must have been the outwardly obvious contradiction; women working as prostitutes enticed their visitors through
162 displays of beauty, sensuality and sexuality yet the majority of them would have been there because they had little other option – part of the aftermath of the First World War as discussed earlier. The perception of the artist at the time was that of an anti-bourgeois and unscrupulous misogynist, the former because what the bourgeoisie perceived as Dix’s social criticism, a criticism of the systematic failure of a moralistic society or basic social hypocrisy, was levied directly at them for it was they who were in power. The proletariat perceived Dix as attacking German culture and perhaps their own realities. It is postulated here that Dix’s work carried a socially educational message because its primary focus was to question the contradiction between the dynamics within which this world existed and the objective reality as presented before him, whether this was created by the bourgeoisie or proletarian would have been beside the point.
In further exploration of the Nietzschean natural cycles of death (including war), decay, life and sexuality Dix produced, during 1920 – 1924 and including his portfolio titled War, a number of artworks depicting sex murders (see appendix one, figures 8, 37 and 38). These artworks received a mixed reception being perceived as being acceptable by the pacifists’ and as anti-war by the right wing. Dix’s art dealer Karl Nierendorf supported these with international publicity in Der Krieg: 24 Offsetdruke nach Originalen aus dem Radierwerk von Otto Dix. Nierendorf’s open support of the artist had earned him the title of Nierendix – there is evidence to show that the dealer was protective of his artist keeping other dealers away from him (Peters 2010, p.19).
It is the artistic works of Goya (see Van Dyke 2009, p.44), his war experience and the literary works by Nietzsche that influenced German society and possibly the artist himself. The texts that were popular at the time include Beyond Good and Evil (1886) where the philosopher describes women as being mindless and soulless beings (Lewis 1991, p117). Dix juxtaposed the emancipation of the female self against the brutality and effect of the war on men thereby questioning gender politics. In 1920 Dix produced the oil painting titled Sex Murderer where he depicted himself as the offender, this was a contemporary theme and this
163 work bore resemblances to the artworks of Dix’s contemporaries including George Grosz.
Unlike George Grosz who lived out many of his sexual fantasies in his artwork, Dix did not do so, lending further support to the contention that the primary educational purpose for Dix’s work was still, at this stage, to present from the perspective of an implied social critic an educational objective reality. There are a number of possible explanations for this; it is likely that this is a satirical depiction of a public identity attributed to Dix by, amongst others, the media or an attempt to locate his work within contemporary popular culture (as discussed later). At the time Germany’s major cities were sexually free metropolises plagued with widespread sexual disease (Gay 2001).
An erotic entertainment-hungry German public paved the way for naked artistic performances including those by the infamous Berlin dancer Anita Berber (1899 – 1928). Thus, a further interpretation is that the artist takes a moral high ground in combining the fields/paradigms of emancipation (class-systems, education, fear, freedom and violence) and sexuality (including disease, fear and gratification through violence) to evidence and educate on the moral-decay where society has lost, or is losing the connection between that which is perhaps humanistically right and that which is wrong. There would have no doubt been a conflict between such conduct, its religious, humanistic and Nietzschean interpretations. These educational messages (quite profound) allow viewers to explore their own belief systems and conduct. Perhaps this is why Dix even gave one of the artworks to his wife Martha as a birthday present inscribed ‘Mutzli zum Geburtstag’ (Mutzli (Martha) Birthday), an act Gutbrod argues evidences their closeness and depth of understanding and is something supported later by the recipient’s comments
We had the Sex Murder in our apartment. When friends came for dinner, some lost their appetite (2010, p.52).
164 This morbid fascination with sex murders led Dix to visit morgues and study police photographs, some of which were published in Eric Wulffen’s book titled Der Sexualverbrecher: Ein Handbuch für Juristen, Verwaltungsbeamte und Ärzte (Enzyklopädie der modernen Kriminalistik) (translated as Sex Offenders: A Handbook for Lawyers, Administrators and Doctors (Encyclopedia of Modern Criminology) (1910). There is evidence suggesting that Dix owned this text and studied it very carefully when producing these works of art (Lewis 1991, p.132). Dix’s friend Eric Johansson confirmed that the artist had been overjoyed at discovering it in his friend’s library (Gutbrod 2010, p.53). It is important to contextualise German popular culture, literature and media that idolised figures such as Jack the Ripper – Dix’s contemporary George Grosz even posed as the Ripper in a photograph (see appendix one, figure 39). In his War diary (produced during the war itself) Dix states
geld, religion, weiber sind der anstoß zu kriegen gewesen, nicht aber die grundursache, diese ist eine ewiges gesetz … eigentlich wird im letzten grunde bloß aller krieg um und wegen der vulva geührt. Translated as: money, religion and women have been the impetus for war, but not the fundamental cause – that is eternal law … actually, in the final analysis all war is waged over and for the vulva (1983, p.133).
Whether by this Dix is postulating an integral relationship between sexuality and war, a war within sexuality itself, an indication of his own personal misogyny (Lewis 1991, p.129), or whether he is simply representing himself as a sexual being in the micro-scheme of things or as Peters (2010, p.17) suggests a reflection about aesthetics is an on-going discussion. What is clear is that Dix was fascinated by gratification, or whatever other motive underpinned these acts, through sexual violence. A friend of Dix recalled Dix saying that had he not created artworks of sex murders he may well have committed murder (Schmidt 1978, p.58). This suggests an important acceptance of the boundaries in this artist’s experiential endeavours. Perhaps Dix realised that it would be impossible to place himself in the position of a sex murderer, it is also unlikely that he would have wished to do so after having experienced so much death and destruction in
165 the First World War. Thus, the nearest he could ever have gotten to feeling those emotions in his quest to represent an objective reality was to study the aftermath of such criminality. There is a clear struggle here between the formal and informal educative. Dix’s actions evidence a tacit change in the strategy he uses to represent objective reality. His priorities would have also changed because he was now in a long-term relationship with Martha. The combination of formal and informal education and the possible limits in gaining experience are highlighted here.
Dix produced a series of images during this period on the subject of sex murders (lustmord), images that have been ascribed a variety of meanings and as a result of which so has the artist. The artist produced two shocking images: Der Lustmörder (Sex Murderer) (circa 1920) (see appendix one, figure 40) and Scene II (Mord) (Scene II (Murder)) (1922) (see appendix one, figure 8). The former was a self-portrait where the artist presents himself as a sharp-toothed psychotic murderer – the location of the work is unknown. When these artworks were produced the world was going through a form of re-organisation, and as Peters (2010, p.93) suggests the world wars are examples of this.
The latter image is taken as one of a slain prostitute, and many suggest this refers directly back to Eric Wulffen’s standard on the sex offender in 1910 and the occurrence of a sex murder not far from the artist’s Dresden apartment (Peters 2010, p.99 – 102). The victim has a symbolic relationship between women and post-First World War German society, and is depicted so as not to make contact with the viewer. The artist’s uses of brilliant red coloured blood and physical positioning to retain a form of elegant sensuality and perhaps even a bashfulness that would continue to exist regardless of the activities of prostitution and murder. This highlights the dynamics in the contemporary lives of some German women (see anon).
The full body image suggests the viewer is intimately acquainted with what she represents, perhaps the contemporary social preoccupation with lust and violence. German consumption of media, including literature, with themes of
166 death and sex was at an all time high during the period in which this image was produced. For instance Robert Musil portrayed a sex murderer in his book Der Mann ohne Eigenschaften (translated as; The Man without Qualities) (see Peters 2010, p.94). George Grosz, one of Dix’s friends was consumed by such literature producing artworks that became anti-art manifestoes (Peters 2010, p.95). Dix would have been well aware of the resultant publicity that ensued and the potential for commercial success in his own work. Thus, these works do not substantiate the contention that Dix was a misogynist (see Fischer 1922, pp.23 – 24) – his home life and intimate relationships (see supra p.156) as evidence in direct contradiction to this.
What is clear is that Dix’s educational message here signifies the systematic destruction of traditional values and social denigration through violence, perhaps to the extent that the artist even suggests a multi-level warfare between individuals, individuals with the state and the world at large; humanity in self- destruct mode. Furthermore, it is postulated that the image also symbolises the death (metaphysical) of the ‘female-self’, this relates to those women in German society that had no choice but to resort to prostitution to survive or feed their families, again questioning the politics of gender. It also questions necessity and the changing nature of the roles that women played in society. In a related set of works on sadomasochism Dix questions (and exposes) the changing nature of sex in society contrasting its outwardly acceptable and public boundaries against its hidden and private actualities. Both sets of work explore the themes of female emancipation and exploitation through lust and violence.
The year 1922 marked the beginning of Dix’s legal problems. In the exhibition Jury Freie Kunstschau (Jury-free Art Show) his painting Girl Before a Mirror (appendix one, figure 48) was exhibited. This painting was considered obscene, it was confiscated in October 1922 and Dix was indicted. Before the Berlin District Court Dix argued that he had produced the artwork to highlight, and educate people on, the risks of prostitution by creating feelings of disgust and pity in the viewer with an aim of abolishing such activity (Gutbrod 2010, p.54). The artist was acquitted of this charge.
167 That same year (1922) Dix moved to the Rhineland, Düsseldorf. It was here that he later married Martha Koch and remained there for three years. The artist also met the art dealer and publisher Karl Nierendorf who was enticed by Dix’s watercolors, something relatively quick to produce and easily sell. The two brothers Josef (1898 – 1949) and Karl Nierendorf (1889 – 1947) set up their gallery titled Nierendorf Köln Neue Kunst in 1920. The gallery relocated for one year from Cologne to Düsseldorf in 1925. Karl Nierendorf established the Neumann-Nierendorf GmbH gallery in Berlin where he managed it from 1926 – 1933 together with his brother Josef.
It was at this stage that Dix changed the theme of his work so that it was less political and established links with the Galerie Ey (see supra p.152) concentrating less on war and more on eroticism, after which his work acquired much more support. It seems that the artist was changing the way in which he presented his educational messages, what is clear is that his experiences were changing his actions. Dix even signed on as a student at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf (Düsseldorf Art Academy) facilitating access to cheap workspace and technical advice (Van Dyke 2009, p.56). The academy had an international reputation important to modern art history, holding many post-impressionist and expressionist exhibitions, which were organised by the Sonderbund Westdeutscher Kunstfreunde und Künstler (Union of West German Art Lovers and Artists). This was a union of artists and those that appreciated art. Established in 1909 in Düsseldorf, its purpose was to introduce French impressionist, post-impressionist and expressionist art to Western Germany. The Sonderbund was dissolved in 1916. Dix became successful, and in 1923 had his first solo exhibition at the Galerie I. B. Neumann in Berlin. That same year Paul Ferdinand Schmidt wrote that Dix
paints with immediacy and accuracy … [revealing that monstrous is the] authenticity of life [and] … the rigor mortis [that is spread over it] (Strobl 1996, p.180).
Carl Einstein, Germany’s most highly respected art critic and theorist, wrote
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painting, a medium of cool execution; observation an instrument of relentless attack (1923, p.490).
Einstein very much supported Dix. He even agreed to testify as an expert witness in another trial where Dix stood accused as a result of painting prostitutes in a brothel, something considered obscene and pornographic. The painting which is now lost was titled Der Salon II (The Salon II) (see appendix one, figure 41 for Der Salon I) and was seized by the police whilst being exhibited in at the Deutsche Kunst Darmstadt 1923 (German Art Darmstadt) exhibition. The artist was acquitted of the charges (Einstein to Dix, 1923; see also generally Wolfradt 2010, p.113 – 117 especially p.114) by the courts in Darmstadt. Notably, Einstein classed Otto Dix, George Grosz and Rudolph Schlicter as Dadaist–Verists that were engrossed in a civil war because their work exposed the cultural values of the hypocritical German middle-class, who he argued were almost romantic in their hypocrisy. Einstein considered the artwork of these three artists as directly attacking and seeking to destroy or at least demystify bourgeoisie cultural values in a grand expose of the hypocrisy that existed, he argued that
Dix wagt sachgemäß Kitsch, nämlich die lächerliche Wlet des schlau stupiden Bürgers, der im drosselnd Gemeinen fett plätschert … Er gibt dem Bürger gestochen den Kitsch zurück; er darf solches wagen, da er sehr gut malt; so gut, daß sein Malen den Kitsch abtreibt, hinrichtet … Dix malt Aktuelles und stößt somit es hinunter; ohne geschwollene Pathetik frisierender Trottl (Van Dyke 2009, p.53). Malerei, kritischer Festellung. Translated; Dix properly dares the kitsch in the ridiculous world of the smart yet stupid citizen, throttling the common (ordinary) … the artist gives the excessively garish and sentimental (kitsch) back to the citizen in a razor sharp fashion, and he may venture such because he paints very well, so well that his work aborts the kitsch, executes it [so that it is no longer kitsch] … Dix paints the contemporary, throwing it down without dressing it up. Painting with critical observation.
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Van Dyke’s translation had substituted the term citizen for bourgeoisie thus altering the potential alternative explanations. Here, the educational message in Dix’s work is implied; the artist intentionally mocks society by arguing that the responsibility for the denigration of social values lies in the culture created by the bourgeoisie and the apathetic acceptance to subjection of that culture by the proletariat.
Dix’s work carried an open proletarian message (Gay 2001, p.107) that was educational because it highlighted the consequences of war. Even though, when regarded from a social perspective Dix like many other Germans loved to participate in bourgeois activities such as dancing competitions and he enjoyed the chic Weimar life (Peters 2010, p.22). This anti-bourgeoisie stance received criticism from, amongst other places, Germany and Soviet Russia. It was argued that the artwork of artists such as Otto Dix and George Grosz should portray more positive images in the critique of, and education relating to, bourgeois society, images with which the proletariat (common man) could identify (Strobl 1996, p.139). Successful location within the field/paradigm of creative production allowed Dix (and Grosz) to be somewhat shielded from the pressure (and symbolic violence) that may have arisen as a result of such comment.
At around the same time Gustav Friedrich Hartlaub (Director of the Mannheim Kunsthalle) began search for contributions for a Neue Sachlichkeit exhibition titled Die Neue Sachlichkeit: Deutsche Malerie seit dem Expressionismus (The New Objectivity: German Painting after Expressionism) for which the Galerie St. Etienne, New York provides a useful resource. He did so even with knowledge of the fact that the Neue Sachlichkeit was not consistent in its style. Contributors to this exhibition which was held in 1925 included Otto Dix, Conrad Felixmüller (1897 – 1977), George Grosz (1893 – 1959), Heinrich Hoerie (1895 – 1936), Karl Hubbuch (1891 – 1979), Christian Schad (1894 – 1982), Rudolph Schlicter (1890 – 1955), Georg Schrimpf (1889 – 1938) and Erich Wegner (1899 – 1980). On that basis Hartlaub identified the left and right wing factions within the movement and discerned that those engaging with left wing revolutionary politics (the
170 verists) included Otto Dix and George Grosz. This is consistent with the educational philosophy underpinning the educational messages in Dix’s artwork so far. In contrast, the artworks of for example Christian Schad and Georg Schrimpf were engrossed with right wing, less radical politics (a combination of renaissance, realism and surrealism), figures 1 – 4 in appendix one are good examples of this spectrum. In short, the exhibition at the Mannheim identified the Neue Sachlichkeit (and verism as part of it) as a new art movement. It also identified Dix, Grosz and Schad as amongst the founders of it, even though the latter whose paintings are taken to epitomise the movement did not partake in this exhibition (Gutbrod 2010, p.64). Dix’s work was often taken as being anti- military, pornographic and immoral, this however purposefully ignored the educational value and messages in his art. His work was further politicised by his membership of and connection with, amongst other radical artist organisations, the Junge Rhineland, the ‘Nie wieder Krieg!’ and Berlin’s Rote Gruppe.
Schützengraben translated as Trench, which was produced in 1923 is one of the most notorious artworks produced by Dix on his experiences in the First World War, an image that has been described as monumental in bringing together admiration and horror (Kállai 20120, p.109) (see appendix one, figure 42). What is presented here is a mountain of dead and decomposing soldiers in a representation of the temporal, beautiful and the ugly side of humanity as underpinned by the contemporary bourgeoisie culture and ideals. What is interesting is that only one corpse appears in full view of those consuming this image, in terms of power this figure represents detached power over the viewer. Perhaps this figure represents those ideals that Dix seeks to question in this artwork. In terms of colour analysis, visual acuity is considerably reduced because of the sheer chaos depicted. The viewer will find it difficult to spatially organise this image because the use of multi-area focal points elevate the subject for purposes of immediate attention, making any message stand out far more. Thus, its viewers would in no doubt have, in terms of humanistic interpretation, understood the indiscriminate destruction caused by warfare.
171 What is clear is that Dix’s educational message here aims to address social denigration through violence with almost a mechanization of the ‘male’ – human beings reduced and ridiculed to nothing more than the means through which warfare is conducted; wars won and lost. Dix questions (and exposes) the dark side of human beings, thereby questioning whether those that chose war really understood its repercussions. Perhaps the artist even contradicts himself moving from painting reality to try and shape it through sharing his educational experiences. For the critic Kàllai (see supra p.179) this move evidenced Dix’s devotion to the god of war or at least a pacifist agenda (1927, p.97; see also Van Dyke 2009, p.55). In any regard it was as a result of the fierce response to this painting that allowed Karl Nierendorf to write to Dix that
you are now a famous man, known to all of Germany (Nierendorf to Dix 1924).
Van Dyke (2009, p.55) argues that the field of artistic production in the Weimar Republic, an economically, socially and politically volatile period in German history, was a competitive and deeply factional professional space. It is postulated that at this stage this classification does not fit the artistic, cultural, political and social space in which Otto Dix was located. Hence, the artist had moved from the field/paradigm of artistic production to the field/paradigm of creative production with a shift in susceptibility to its paradigmatic dynamics. This is because the latter centres on expressiveness, the imaginative and original and therefore is more appropriate for Dix’s work, rather than the former that focuses on the merely performative (imagination and skill). Artists within the latter field/paradigm are far less likely to be susceptible to political influences and control from the field/paradigm of power or politics. This would allow them to rupture their conceptual identities (artistic, cultural, social, political and professional) partly because their privileged position is defined less by market success.
It is evident that Dix was firmly located within the field/paradigm of artistic production because of the influence Nierendorf and his Berlin based art dealer
172 partner Israel Ber Neumann exercised over Dix. This influence resulted in the market-focused art he was required to contractually produce. On this issue Gutbrod (2010, p.49) states that this was merely suggestive (see also Peters 2010, p.20). The fact that Dix chose to terminate his contract with Nierendorf immediately once he began his Professorial role by choice suggests otherwise (see below). The Dresden Academy of Fine Art has confirmed that this was not a contractual requirement of Otto Dix’s new employment. It was also Nierendorf’s Berlin publishing house that later published seventy copies of Dix’s Der Krieg, in a portfolio of fifty prints (Peters 2010, p.21).
Without context given to this issue by the nature of the contract between Dix and Nierendorf it seems as though the artist was looking for the route to fame. This arguable premeditation in the production of many of his artworks when coupled with a strategically timed release suggests a design to elicit maximum publicity. The contradiction lies in the educational messages contained within the images, although his later work titled Der Krieg (appendix one, figure 42; see supra p.177) is a good example of this contention because its release coincided with the commemoration of the tenth anniversary of the First World War. The image even contained a modified version (Crockett 1992, p.79) of his infamous painting titled Trench as the central panel. The effect of this was to move Dix forward from his images of the lustmord (sex murder) and prostitutes, which no longer elicited the same sensational response, thereby changing his public image. Dix also gave some importance to his artistic and social image. This is evident from the fact that he spent time and energy reflecting on the form and even place that his signature finally took (see Van Dyke 2009, pp.49 and 52). It was as though he needed to form part of the artwork because the artwork and its educational message was in essence a part of him, an outer reflection of his inner-self – his bildung.
In 1925 Dix moved, with Martha and Nelly who was two at the time, to Berlin with the support of Galerie Neumann-Nierendorf (formerly the J. B. Neumann Gallerie renamed when Nierendorf assumed its directorship), which had itself relocated from Cologne to Berlin via Düsseldorf. It is here that the artist organised a series of collective exhibitions in Berlin, Munich and Dresden.
173
In the same year Dix produced a striking portrait of the German dancer Anita Berber in 1925 (see appendix one, figure 2). Dix’s image is said to have given fame to this relatively unknown and often penniless performer. Anita Berber (1899 – 1928) was a notorious Berlin nightclub dancer whose performances were not approved of in polite society. Peters (2010, p.210) and Löffler (1926) have described this image as the condensation of the conflicting nature of an entire epoch. Otto Dix and his then wife Martha became acquainted with Berber shortly after they attended one of her performances at the Jungmühle cabaret in Dusseldorf circa 1925. They were at her bedside at the Bethanienkrankenhaus (Bethanien Hospital) in Berlin where she died of tuberculosis of the lungs in 1928. Berber had not even having reached the age of thirty, she was born into an artistic family in Leipzig in 1899, she was an alcoholic and a cocaine addict – the latter of which was the subject of her many nude performances.
Traditional analysis and interpretation of this portrait has described it as that of
a type of taboo-violating vamp, who devoured both men and women whose escapades tried to gloss over the loss of meaning and values after the First World War had been lost … [akin to a] flaming chord, in a signal like dangerous red [and] … sensuous … viper like red kissing mouth … a personification of sin (Peters 2010, p.210).
The image caused quite a stir and was confiscated during the Third Reich. It then passed through various hands until Dix acquired it in 1963, after which it hung over his family home fireplace in Hemmenhofen. What is presented in this portrait is an almost full-length sultry female figure who looks towards her right (the viewers left). In this portrait Berber dons a full-length wrap-around figure hugging bright red dress, her hair is a similar shade of auburn. She has pale white skin and is posing with what seems to be utter self-confidence. The background in this image consists of what seems to be an entire spectrum of the colour red including her dress and hair; this is coupled with yellow and varying darker tonal shading.
174
Berber’s hips swing to the left (viewers’ right) and the left hip is almost cupped by the hand. Her right hand rests on her hip (viewers’ left) with her right shoulder pointing upwards, her head faces her left and she does not make eye contact with the viewer. Such gendered representation of the body is exemplary in denoting behaviour (see generally Goffman 1979; Bell et al 1982). The fact that Berber looks away from the viewer suggests that she (or Dix) offers her to the viewer as an ideal that demands seduction with the intensity of colours in this image – almost as though the subject and world are one; this confirms the earlier interpretation.
The educational message presented here relates to another facet of human nature: emancipation and hedonism including desire, lust, sensuality and sin. In short, Dix offers Berber as a form of higher development of the self. The educational message in the artwork aims to address social denigration through sex and sexuality by celebrating and questioning the varying levels of the emancipation of womankind and its discordance with traditional (including religious) meaning and value. Symbolically, this image of Berber accords with the fact that it reveals her individuality and personality, however the fullness of this image (size) in terms of what is depicted suggests a social disconnection substantiating the argument that Berber, to Dix at least, represented one polarity of a vast array of polarities in which humanity takes form.
Dix during this period has also been described as being well dressed, with a love of extravagance, to the extent that even his residential addresses in Berlin, Dresden and on Lake Constance were in prime locations (Bröhan 2007). It was also during 1925 that Dix met the Jewish lawyer Hugo Simons (1892 – 1958); unbeknown to the artist Simons would become a dear and long-term friend of his. Simons had won a case for Dix relating to non-payment for a portrait of a Miss Grünthal commissioned by her father on the basis of poor likeness. Bondil argues that for Dix his artistic freedom was on trial (2010, p.9). The artist painted Simons’s portrait to thank him, and like many of his subjects Dix already had a portrait in mind. When the Nazi’s seized power Simons along with his family fled
175 Germany for The Hague, with only minimal possessions one of which (thankfully) was his portrait.
In 1926 six of Dix’s socially critical war paintings were featured at the Dresden Internationale Kunstausstellung (International Art Exhibition), an exhibition curated by Hans Posse (Director of the Gemäldegalerie, Dresden) (Gutbrod 2010, p.68). Thus, the educational message in Dix’s social criticality is discreetly evidenced through this work. In the same year he was appointed to a Professorship at the Dresden Academy of Fine Art and began his work with a theme of more overt social criticism juxtaposing issues of wealth, sexuality and apathy. There is some debate as to the exact timing of Dix starting work at the Academy, for instance Van Dyke (2009, p.39) suggests Dix commenced his Professorial role in 1927.
This period evidences a change in Dix’s artwork and the educational messages contained therein; the artist who was once perhaps discernable, as a discreet social critic had become more overtly socially critical. On looking back at his life in 1964 the artist confirmed how his time as professor marked a peak in his life because he had become part of the Dresden social elite, perhaps this too explains his later overt social criticality; for the elite to criticise themselves would be classed as mere reflection but for the proletarian to criticise the bourgeois was anarchic and a direct challenge to authority. In this study it is postulated that the change in the social critique in Dix’s artwork carried more overt educational messages that can be attributed to the relocation of the artist from the field/paradigm of artistic production to creative production. This was by reason of his newly acquired ability to fend off commercial and political, amongst other, influences on himself and his work. There can be no doubt that this may well have contributed to Dix, at this stage, ending his restrictive contract with Nierendorf. The agreement between Nierendorf and Dix gave the former first refusal on purchase of all artwork that he produced, and those that he deemed unfit for his cliental the artist could dispose of his own accord but only for a price that is fifty-percent greater than that which Nierendorf was to pay (Gutbrod 2010, p.49). It is obvious that this contractual agreement was heavily weighted in
176 favour of Nierendorf who had as his focus the protection of his own financial interests rather than those of Dix’s artistic and creative self.
The agreement ensured that Nierendorf’s inventory included market-focused artworks most likely to fetch more than reasonable prices and that the residual works returned to Dix were not generally saleable due to the requirement to sell them at an increased price. Furthermore, this gave Nierendorf the power to perhaps dictate the work the artist was producing. Thus, once he commenced his Professorial role Dix terminated the contract. Hence, it is clear that this period in Dix’s life was one in which he had little control over what he produced and thus prior to 1926 he remained solidly in the field/paradigm of artistic production, rather than creative production. This contention is supported by the discreet removal (see generally Van Dyke 2009, p.60 – 62) of Dix’s Streetbattle from exhibition in Düsseldorf. It was as though the ‘artist’ had become unrecognisable through his own market-orientated and distinguishable style, something from which he would later struggle to break free.
Van Dyke (2009, p.47) argues that it is apparent from the artworks that he subsequently produced (see appendix one figure 31) that at this point Dix becomes an academic Dadaist who sought to distinguish himself in the artistic field from the Academy’s bourgeoisie culture. There are a number of alternative explanations for the same. By this time Carl Einstein, who had previously been a protagonist of Dix’s artwork, noted in Die Kunst des 20. Jahrhunderts (Art of the Twentieth Century) that
Dix ist der Sohn des Kreiges und vergeblicher Revolte, entschlossen, nicht allzu rasch zu vergessen; er wagt zeitsachlichen Kitsch, doch Malerei kann sich daran selber leicht banal erweisen; man vertraut zu sehr erregendem Motiv (Einstein 1926, p.156). Translated; Dix is the son of war and futile rebellion, determined not to forget too quickly; he dares objective kitsch, yet such painting all too quickly proves itself to be banal; placing too much faith in the familiar interesting and provocative motif.
177
Einstein classifies Dix as an artist who paints the kitsch, the allegorical and reportage (Van Dyke (2009, p.54) however this simply highlights how the provocative, a familiar territory for Dix, had become out-dated and was no longer regarded as being avant-garde. This was now considered to be the production of art for personal consecration. Fleckner (2006, pp.149 – 156) provides some evidence for this as he argues from 1923 onwards Einstein considered that only the movements of Cubism and Surrealism were avant garde. Cubism was a twentieth-century art movement founded by, amongst others, Paul Cézanne, Paul Gauguin, Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque. Cubist works disassemble objects that are then reassembled in abstract form so that the object is depicted from a variety of viewpoints (see generally Cooper 1995 on the Cubist Epoch). Both these movements were making an important contribution to twentieth-century art. Einstein and Van Dyke fail to recognise, or perhaps acknowledge where at least the latter is concerned, Dix’s fears regarding a possible repetition of the First World War that centred on the fact that to him it seemed that the war was being forgotten. From a cultural and political perspective perhaps Dix sensed a familiarity to the lead up to the First World War. It is therefore explicable that he painted such artworks with the premise of reminding Germany of the past, and not for the purposes of producing artwork that was provocative or sensationally kitsch. The artist commented in relation to Der Krieg (The War) (see appendix one, figure 42), which although discussed later (see supra p.177) evidences this, Dix states in conversation with Karl-Heinz Hagen in 1964
when painting the triptych, it was … not my intention to strike fear in the viewer. I painted it ten years after the First World War. I had … [already produced] many studies that came to terms artistically with the experience of war. In 1928 I felt ready [to paint] … a theme that had occupied me for several years. During [this period] … many books published during the Weimar Republic were once again spreading propaganda unimpeded for heroism and a concept of the hero that had long since been reduced to the absurd in the trenches of the First World War. People had already begun to forget the terrible suffering
178 the war had imposed on them. The triptych resulted from that … I simply wanted to [objectively summarise] … almost like reportage, my own experiences from 1914 – 1918 and to demonstrate that genuine heroism lies in overcoming senseless death … [I wanted to] convey knowledge about the awfulness of war and thus arouse the forces of defense (Hagen 1964; Schmidt 1981, pp.224 – 246).
Paul Ferdinand Schmidt (Director of Municipal Collections at the Städtische Galerie Dresden) observed that Dix was Germany’s representative painter (Peters 2010, p.13). Recorded instances in which Dix analyses his own work are rare but very informative; one notable instance in which Dix provides a real insight into the educative thought underpinning his work he states
the innovative aspect of painting lies in the broadening of the subject area … heightening … the forms of expression that are in essence already found in the Old Masters … for me … the object is primary, and the form is shaped by the object. For that reason, it has always been a question of extreme importance whether I get as close as possible to the thing I see, for the what is more important than the how! The how only develops out of the what! (Dix 1927).
In Dämonie der Satire (The Demonic Power of Satire) published in Das Kunstblatt (1927) the art critic Ernst Kàllai, a Hungarian expatriate associated with politicised Bauhaus in Dessau (see Van Dyke 2009, p.53), identified ambivalence (the simultaneous desire to do or say two things) in Dix’s war paintings stating that
defending against the awfulness is practiced with a pathos-laden ceremony of evoking precisely this awfulness, which ultimately leaves entirely open the question whether it constitutes a rejection or a cult? (1927, 97 - 104).
179 Kàllai questions, from a viewer’s perspective, the fascination and rejection of the reality of war Dix sought to present. Perhaps the artist was grappling with two sides of his own self. Kàllai also argued that Dix was a slave to horror and destruction (see also Van Dyke 2009, p.55) and that such satire was simultaneously rejection coupled with deep attraction (1927, p.102). Kàllai argued that Dix’s work was apolitical and stated that the artwork
[showed] the whole repulsiveness of [the things Dix hated] … [revealing] the dark side of human life as a power that is just as essential as the light (1927, p.104).
In his words, Dix cloaked his message in the form of the disgusting or absurd, the aesthetically unpleasing to achieve an objective (motiveless and timeless) validity, the result of which is pure art. Some recognition should also be given to the fact that these depictorially fantastic artworks evidence a conflict in Dix’s educative thought namely to expose the fragility of man through the beauty of war in its most heinous form.
The largest retrospective of Dix’s work, during Germany’s Weimar Republic period, took place in 1926 at the Nierendorf Gallery in Berlin. The effect of the exhibition was to highlight and underscore many of the artist’s works adding to his notoriety.
Dix’s portrait Bildnis der Journalistin Sylvia von Harden (Portrait of the Journalist Sylvia von Harden) (1926) (see appendix one, figure 43) that now rests as a centrepiece at the Musée National d'Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris is one of the artist’s most distinguished pieces of artwork. Like the portrait of the German dancer Anita Berber in 1925 (see supra p.168) this is one of my favourite Otto Dix pieces. Sylvia von Harden (1894 – 1963) was a journalist and poet who was originally born Sylvia Lehr in Hamburg, she changed her name in a bid for aristocracy (West 2000, p.166), and lived from 1915 – 1923 with Ferdinand Hartkopf and her son. She left Germany for self-imposed exile to England in 1933, Von Harden died in Coxley Green in 1963.
180
Dix first decided to paint Von Harden when he met her in the street and exclaimed (see Michalski 1994, p.56)
I must paint you! I simply must! … You are representative of an entire epoch!
To which Von Harden replied
So, you want to paint my lackluster eyes, my ornate ears, my long nose, my thin lips; you want to paint my long hands, my short legs, my big feet – things which can only scare people off and delight no-one?
Dix replied to this stating
You have brilliantly characterised yourself, and all that will lead to a portrait representative of an epoch concerned not with the outward beauty of a woman but rather with her psychological condition.
What Dix was referring to here was the constant qualities in a higher state of being even though the state itself may have been manically dynamic. The education in his message also lies here; to Dix she represented an example of a collective commonality and dynamism, the emancipation, identity and philosophy of an entire race that could be measured by reason of how it treated its citizens (or perhaps more specifically its women). It is salient to state that both notorious portraits (Anita Berber (1925) and Sylvia von Harden (1926)) are of women and question the politics of gender and sexuality; in contrast Dix’s portraits of his male subjects are not so direct in their measurement of democratization of society. Democracy is often judged in accordance with how a nation treats its women.
181 Dix presents an almost full-length Von Harden in a nearly completely androgynous state; her appearance and behaviour are not indicative of her male or female form – the only clue as to her gender lies in her dress and tights. Von Harden looks towards her left (the viewers right) and does not make eye contact with the viewer; she dons an all-in-one full-sleeved dress that covers the neck (turtle) down until the knees. Her hair is black and she wears a monocle, she is depicted in the act of smoking and drinking. Unlike Berber, Von Harden’s skin is not pale white. However, she too poses like Berber with what seems to be utter self-confidence. The background in this image consists of what seems to be a room, perhaps in a literary salon of sorts. This gendered representation of the body is exemplary in denoting behaviour (see generally Goffman 1979; Bell et al 1982). The fact that Von Harden looks away from the viewer suggests that she (or Dix) offers her, like Berber, to the viewer as an ideal that demands acknowledgment and respect. Interestingly both Berber and Von Harden, like the themes in Dix’s work, existed on the margins of society.
The educational message presented here relates to this facet of human nature: emancipation. Unlike, Berber who represented hedonism including desire, lust, sensuality and sin, Von Harden represents intellectualism. In this instance Dix’s educational message aims to address social growth through intellectual freedom by celebrating and questioning the varying levels of the emancipation of womankind and its discordance with traditional meaning and value. Symbolically, this image of Von Harden accords with the fact that it reveals her individuality and personality, however the fullness of this image (size) in terms of what is depicted suggests a social disconnection substantiating the argument that like Berber, to Dix at least, Von Harden represented one polarity of a vast array in which humanity could take form and perhaps even Von Harden’s wish to accord with the aristocracy.
During this same period organisations such as the German Art Society (Dresden around 1920) (see Feistel-Rohmeder pp.3 – 4 and 7) emerged with the purpose of promoting pure-German art or art distinguished on the basis of racial origin, anything considered contrary to this school of thought was targeted as
182 degenerate and perverse; the works of Dix and Grosz fell into this category and the artists were subjected to vicious attack by the German Art Correspondence a publication of the German Art Society (Clinefelter 2005, p.34). Furthermore, Society membership including the many Dresden art professors that did not wish to share their studio space with modernists such as Dix (Clinefelter 2005, p.41) something that would have no doubt contributed to Dix later losing his professorial role at the Dresden Academy of Art and losing all his honours after the election of the Nazi Party in 1933.
Another infamous image produced by the artist was Der Krieg (The War) in 1932. In this image Dix sought to remind people about the reality of war, thus it was seen as anti-German or pacifist. The work is a triptych (an artwork composed of three panels) that received a mixed message (appendix one, figure 42). The image, which took the artist almost four years to construct (1929 – 1932), centres on warfare and the resultant destruction caused thereby. Triptychs were traditionally used in religious iconography as mantle-pieces in churches depicting allegories representing the holy trinity. In terms of image the artist uses colour and light to direct attention towards significant parts of the image. The image lacks a religious theme, however does highlight the stages of revelation in terms of learning. The panels go from dawn (left panel) through until dusk (right panel). The left panel represents inquiry or interest, the middle panel the experience itself that is underpinned by fear depicted in the lower panel and finally realisation and reflection in the panel to the right. It is almost as though Dix wished to depict the stages through which he, and other equally curious people, had to go through before they realised the actual destruction caused by war and its relative effects.
Peters (2010, p.24) argues that the image did not succeed in its reportorial depiction of the war nor as a method by which to warn the audience of the destruction caused by it. Perhaps Peters assumes this on the basis that the occurrence of the Second World War substantiates its failure. From a sociological perspective the educational message contained within this image could be classed as being successful because the image was classed as degenerate; its
183 critique of contemporary culture and politics contained a direct socially educational message therein which had to be addressed in some way, here the Third Reich defined it as anti-German – something a patriotic race would not withstand given their treatment post-First World War, regardless of however poignant the educational message.
In 1928 Otto and Martha Dix’s son Jan was born. During 1929 Germany saw a rise in unemployment to two million this was coupled with a reduction in tax collection. The effect was to undermine the little prosperity Germany had seen, much of which was supported by foreign aid. Economic conditions were to further deteriorate as a result of the Wall Street crash later that same year which led to decreases in foreign loans to Germany and its exports (Gay 2001, pp.158 – 159).
Dix’s work, from the early 1930’s, contained much allegorical content. In 1931 he was named as a member of the Preussische Akademie der Künste. Participating in the inner emigration (withdrawal into private life of those artists and intellectuals that remained in Germany throughout the Nazi period but whom did not support the Third Reich) of German artists in 1934 he moved from Dresden to Schloss Randegg (Singen) and then in 1936 to Hemmenhofen on Lake Constance concentrating on neutral landscape painting.
6.3 The Third Reich and Second World War (1932 – 1945)
The years 1932 to 1933 saw Germany enter a phase described as a barbaric history of corruption, degradation and, political and mass murder (Gay 2001, p.161 and 164). The Nazi Party (German National Sozialiste) won the elections and Marshall Paul von Hindenburg was re-elected as president and Hitler being appointed Chancellor marking the death of the Weimar Republic. The result of this was the pursuance of a repressive regime4 against artists, intellectuals and museum/gallery directors – the effect of which was to cause many to emigrate.
4 See the Law for the Alleviation of the Misery of the People and the Nation, ratified by a vote of 441 to 92.
184 Dix lost his post at the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts (see generally Eberle 1985, p.52 and Bondil 2010, p.9) but unlike many of his contemporaries, for example George Grosz, Dix never went to America. What is interesting are the reasons that underpinned the artist choosing to remain in Germany even though his work had found appreciation in America as early as in 1927 where three of his artworks were shown at the Twenty-fifth Annual International Exhibition of Painting at the Carnegie Institute in Pittsburgh, and in 1931 where five of his works were shown at the German Painting and Sculpture exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York (Peters 2010, p.13) where it was stated that
Dix’s art is not merely a reaction to the abstract, cubist or expressionist denial of natural appearances. It is rather a deep-seated passion for the appearance of the real world, which he shares with his artistic ancestors of the early 19th century, and his great forebears of four centuries ago – Dürer, Holbein and Grünewald (German Painting and Sculpture Exhibition Catalogue 1931, p.22).
Gutbrod argues, rather simplistically and perhaps ideologically, that Dix’s decision not to emigrate was based on the preservation and protection of his artworks. To accept such reasoning is naïve, for such choices are influenced by a number of factors such as the dynamics in ones life at the time and ones own cultural, educational or philosophical ideals which in Dix’s case would have included the sense of belonging to a country for whom he had fought a war, a fear of degradation through denigration in his artworks and responsibility he felt as an artist to his fellow countrymen. Although, in relation to the latter his later artworks were designed to elicit the least possible political response, but the fact that he remained in Germany and partook in silent protest (inner migration) stood as a protest against Nazi ideology and an open educational message to other Germans – often silence speaks far more and in greater volume than anything said. Evidence is lent to the artist’s fears by his comments on the downfall in Grosz’s artwork since emigration (Gutbrod 2010, p.78). It could argue that Dix did not feel the need for physical migration because he had experienced an almost meta-physical controlled cultural migration whilst remaining in
185 Germany. He had harnessed all that he liked of American culture (see appendix one, figure 44). Strong senses of belonging and responsibility, and perhaps even a fear of unfamiliarity and having to start all over again could well have taken precedence over and above the preservation and protection of his physical artwork and the potential for additional and far greater successes abroad. At the most part these accord with the Nietzschean drive in the cyclicality of life in terms of facing the future through the affirmation of even the harshest of realities (see generally Jaspers 1936).
Otto Dix’s choice to remain in Germany was certainly not promoted by a xenophobic opinion of the United States of America, for his artwork reveals his admiration for the country, its culture and particularly jazz music (see appendix one, figure 44). Laikin Funkenstein (2005) states, albeit on an alternative premise and from a feminist perspective as previously discussed, that this working-class artist promoted himself as an Americanised, bourgeois jazz-loving dancer. Gutbrod further supports the Americanization of Dix arguing for a frequency in reference to the United States of America in the artist’s work, his dress sense, his pomade slicked back hair, the adoption of the name ‘Jimmy’ by reason of his fondness for the shimmy, and reference to Martha as ‘Toy’ (2010, pp.56 – 57). Schick (2003, p.111) contradicts both Laikin and Gutbrod by highlighting how Dix’s finances did not always facilitate this life-style and that he was only ‘Jimmy’ when his finances so allowed – perhaps this was a form of escapism. Dix’s son presents further evidence of this love-hate affair Dix had for bourgeois culture where he outlines that Dix thought that refined and snobbish posturing was ridiculous (Serbarsky 1987, pp.33 – 40).
The years 1934 – 1936 saw Hitler take charge as commander of the armed forces, the reinstatement of compulsory military service violating the Treaty of Versailles and the closure of the modern art galleries at the Berlin National Gallery. The Entartete Kunst (Degenerate Art Exhibition) containing, amongst other things, confiscated artworks including those of Otto Dix opens in Munich in 1937, the same would be sold by the newly established Kommission zur Verwertung der Produkte Entarteter Kunst (The Commission for the Exploitation
186 of Degenerate Artworks) in 1939; one hundred and twenty-five confiscated paintings were sold off at auction in Switzerland. Dix’s most famous artworks were highlighted under the heading Gemalte Wehrsabotage des Malers Otto Dix (Painted Military Sabotage by the Painter Otto Dix) (see Peters 2010, p.25). During this same period the conservative German Art movement had gained momentum with the German Art Society. Membership of the Society included Dresden artists and Professors, the latter of who believed that Dix corrupted students with the belief that perversion was art (Clinefelter 2005, p.41).
6.4 Post Second World War and the artist’s death (1945 – 1969)
From 1945 and until his death in 1969 the artist created many artworks with themes of Christianity. Dix was drafted into the German Army in 1945 at the age of fifty-four – perhaps one of the reasons this delay was the fact that he was older. In that same year he was captured by French Troops and served as a prisoner of war at Colmar after which he was allowed to return to Hemmenhofen where he continued to paint self-portraits and landscapes. Dix’s ability to negotiate from East to West Germany was peculiar when considered in the light of the political divide. The same year marked the end of the Second World War. On his return, reunited with his family, the artist began to paint again – this time even ‘freer’ than before (Gutbrod 2010, p.107; Herrmann 2010, p.241). These artworks were once again centred on his expressive First World War phase as his Selbstbildnis als Kriegsgefangener (Self-portrait as a Prisoner of War) (1947) (see appendix one, figure 45) evidences.
After the many years of Nazi indoctrination the German population had to be re- educated, this involved a variety of programmes designed to focus on German achievements for instance the period of enlightenment where Germany had more Nobel Prises than the United Kingdom and the United States of America put together (Watson 2010), historical and modern culture, art and the traditional pre-Nazi sciences. It was thus that Dix, who had managed to rescue many of his artworks during the war, was able to exhibit his work at the Allgemeine Deutsche
187 Kunstausstellung (General German Art Exhibition) (see generally, Gutbrod 2010, p.108).
In 1946 Dix wrote to his long-term friend Simons (Hugo), who provided financial support to Dix regardless of his own limited means, outlining his disgust for the Nazi’s, subjection to harassment by the Gestapo (arrests and searches), his prohibition from exhibiting all coupled with the removal and auction of his artworks in Switzerland (see Bondil 2010, p.9). Simons, much to the surprise of Dix, unable to practise law in The Hague and was undertaking a low-level job selling cooling systems. That same year Dix participated in the Geraer Maler stellen zur Diskussion (Painters from Gera put up for Discussion) in his hometown of Gera. Dix did not appreciate the title of the exhibition and wrote the following to the Department of Culture
Ich schrieb Ihnen schon neulich daß ich nicht gewillt bin meine Bilder „zur Diskussion zu stellen“! Wir haben nun in Deutschland jahrelang die Stimme des Volkes über künstlerische Dinge gehört und wie wenig ist über das wahre Wesen der Kunst dabei herausgekommen. Diskussionen laufen darauf hinaus, daß jeder Spießbürger und jeder “Blinde“ seine kleinen Wünsche anbringen möchte. Jeder glaubt zu wissen wie Kunst sein sollte. Die wenigsten haben aber den Sinn, der zum Erleben von Malerei gehört, nämlich den Augensinn. Und zwar ein Augensinn der Farben und Formen als lebendige Wirklichkeiten im Bilde sieht Denn nicht die Gegenstände sondern die persönliche Aussage des Künstlers über die Gegenstände ist wichtig im Bild. Also nicht das Was sondern das Wie. Nicht laute Diskussion, sondern schweigend. Bescheidenheit ist das erste das der Künstler vom Betrachter verlangt. Denn das, was am Kunstwerk erklärbar ist, ist wenig, das Wesentliche an ihm ist nicht erklärbar sondern allein schaubar. Translated as: I already wrote you the other day [advising you] that I am not willing [to put] my pictures up "for discussion'! For many years now in Germany we have had the voice of the people about artistic things, and how little is known about the true nature of art [from what] came out of it. Discussions relating
188 to this are ongoing, that fit every shopkeeper and each "blind" like his little wishes. Everyone … thinks he knows [about] art. Few however, have the meaning, which is part of the experience of painting, namely the sense of sight. Indeed a sense of sight of the colours and shapes in the paintings as living realities, it is the object and not that which is personal to the artist about the object that is important in the image. So not the ‘what’ but the ‘how’. Not loud discussion, but in silence. Modesty is the first of the artist asks the viewer. For what if the work of art is explained, a little, the essential thing about him is not explained but only manageable.
This letter highlights how his experience had made him more determined even though there was a clear conflict between the fields/paradigms of artistic and creative production, power and his Nietzschean drive with the need for experience to objectify his artwork with the integrity of his self-regard and educational messages. The organisers changed the title of the exhibition (Gutbrod 2010, p.108) to Geraer Maler stellen zur Schau (A Showcase of Gera Artists).
During the period 1947 – 1949 Dix produced around one hundred and fifty paintings. This figure then steadily depreciated in the following years. Towards the latter years of his life Dix’s artwork remained consistent in retaining an educational value. The artist’s self-portrait Selbstbildnis als Kriegsgefangener (Self-portrait as a Prisoner of War) which he produced in 1947 (see appendix one, figure 45) provides insight into yet another facet of warfare, this time the state of being a prisoner during the Second World War. He wrote of this experience
[my] painting has become more spontaneous … I have been painting too much with the tip of my brush over the last twenty years and am now coming back to the period of my first war picture … I have been unleashed.
In a letter to his son Ursus, Dix wrote
189
I was, after all, somewhat shaken from the long time in captivity (Karcher 2010, p.195).
Dix presents an almost head and shoulders image of him and two others in an emaciated state; his appearance and behaviour is indicative of his misery. In this image the artist seems to have his eyes closed or slightly open looking towards his left (the viewers right), in any respect he does not make eye contact with the viewer. He wears a dark coloured blazer, hat and blue shirt, his hair is graying and he is unshaven. Similarly the two characters beside him, neither of whose face is visible to the viewer, are equally unkempt. Dix’s pose is tired and weary, and certainly not one that depicts self-confidence – perhaps he had almost given up at this stage. The background in this image consists of a blue sky and barbed wire fence. The fact that Dix has his eyes closed or partially open but looks away from the viewer suggests that he offers himself to the viewer as an example or repercussion of warfare that demands acknowledgment. This educational message aims to address the physical and psychological effect of war on those that are forced to participate in it.
In 1949 the artist was offered prestigious professorial roles in Berlin and Dresden but he refused them because he considered such things to be signs of old age (see supra p.192). In Ecce Homo III (Behold the Man) (1949) (appendix one, figure 46) Dix, continuing with his Christian theme, presents an image of Jesus Christ different to that presented in traditional Christian imagery. Here he presents a battered, bruised and bleeding Christ on a chair holding a staff and wearing a crown of thorns. The artist had an issue with traditional representations of Christ that showed the apostle looking ‘anointed’ and ‘pretty’ (Karcher 2010, p.202) rather than someone who had just been crucified. Dix described these images as being fraudulent representations of a barbaric punishment; he questions why if Jesus was such a great man he was left to die a cruel, lonesome and painful death (Karcher 2010, p.203). Parallels can be drawn between this piece of artwork and Dix’s exploration of humanity. Thus, he decided to explore, in keeping with the themes in his earlier artworks, the
190 suffering and death of Christ instead. During the next few years Dix continued questioning the iconography within traditional religious representations, he forced his viewers to question that with which they were presented – perhaps because he wished to promote change in their bildung too.
In 1957 Dix immersed himself in the life that surrounded him in Hemmenhofen (Löffler 1960, p.121), the artwork he produced during this period highlights an educational message that relates to freedom of thought and expression. In his painting he employed the alla prima (wet paint on wet paint) method rather than the traditional and labour intensive of layering (wet paint on dry paint). The subjects of his painting also changed, he now painted more fruit trees and flowers etcetera. The educational message here was one that promoted appreciation of that which exists in its natural form, avoiding mechanization for the purposes of man (or woman). In 1959 German cities bestowed honours on him; he received the Bundesverdienstkreuz (Order of Merit of The Federal Republic of Germany), and was made an honorary citizen of Gera (Herrmann 2010, p241).
In his latter years Dix produced a number of frescos, one of which is titled Krieg und Frieden (1960) (War and Peace) (see appendix one, figure 47). This mural stands in the meeting room at the Archaeological Museum Hegau, Singen in Germany – perhaps an appropriate place for the educational message Dix propounded for much of his life. The artwork encapsulates both warfare and peace and reminds viewers of the sacrifices that have been made over thousands of years to promote peace; the crucifixion of Jesus Christ joins the two elements together. His educational message is clear; peace should be retained at all cost.
In 1963, he responded to a question regarding his faith by stating
I do not know if I am a believer or if I am an atheist or anything else. I know nothing … In any case I am not a follower of dogmas, but rather very skeptical (Gutbrod 2010, p.110).
191 The statement evidences the extent to which bildung was invested in Otto Dix – a form of inner growth that many Germans had lost during the significant historical periods encompassing the two World Wars. It highlights how, even towards the end of his life, the artist was still learning about himself and how the messages in his artwork promoted others to reflect too.
In 1964 the Italian city of Florence honours Otto Dix by making him an honorary member of the Accedemia delle arti del disegno, Florence (Academy of Art and Design) Otto Dix died on the 25th of July 1969 at Lake Constance in Singen, Germany; shortly before his death he received the Rembrandt Preis der Goethe- Stiftung (Rembrandt Prise of the Goethe Foundation), and as Herrmann (2010, p241) points out – Dix described all his honours as ‘signs of old age’.
192 CHAPTER SEVEN
CONCLUSION: DIX AND THE EDUCATIVE
7.1 Introduction
This chapter brings together the evidence from the life and artwork of Wilhelm Heinrich Otto Dix as explored and presented in chapters 4 – 6, and concludes this study. The objective of this thesis is to highlight the educational influences in the life of Wilhelm Heinrich Otto and explore the connection between his educational trajectory and the formation of his self. The study advances knowledge in education and biography by generating new ideas for exploration by combining narrative research, Bourdieusian theory with traditional art historical strategies of enquiry. This is achieved by exploring the artist’s life and his artwork, his innate dispositions (habitus) and the environment in which he was situated at large. Furthermore, Dix is examined both as subject to the educative and the educative as his subject (educator). In terms of the educative as his subject, this refers to his desire to cause himself to experience new things, to learn from those experiences and then to share them (through his art) with others. Dix’s mission was to produce socially critical art, which carried poignant educational messages to the German masses.
The mere existence of educational discourse, knowledge and ideas does not substantiate the notion that educators know everything there is to know about how individuals learn. An acceptance of current learning theories does not necessarily denote that past theories on the same topic were flawed; this can instead be taken to represent a growth of knowledge. In fact, this argument supports research that presents education and its process as evolutionary including the evolution of its purposes and particular social audiences (see supra pp.36 – 41).
Educators who have worked in higher education will concede the purpose of modern education largely depends on the context in which it is viewed; for instance in vocational education employment statistics are often used as
193 measures of educational quality and the achievement of individual or institutional commercial success. Therefore these same individuals may concentrate on education as either an intellectual activity or as a means to an end (employment), sometimes even both. What often lacks from this is the pivotal role that education plays in terms of self-formation, the necessary skills of life navigation and the democratization of humanity (building society) – or a holistic educatedness in a bildungian sense. The result of such education is the cyclical reinforcement of institutionalised notions of education and the educative, and the production of automatons (individuals that are of relatively low or no real cultural, social or political benefit). Otto Dix is an example of someone invested with a holistic education, he was willing to learn experientially and to share what he had learnt with others. This is the social value of holistic self-formational education.
The analysis of Otto Dix’s life in this thesis questions the conventional understanding of learning that professional educators have. It addresses, through a biographical case study approach, conventional educational questions relating to what is educational by exploring so-called ‘objective’ truth and ‘subjective’ understanding. More basically the notion of what it means to be educated in the world at large in the sense of being formed and informing is illuminated. This can be stated as an investigation of something that cannot be the subject of policy; inner and outer direction that in terms of bildung denotes belonging or in dwelling.
This inquiry into the educational influences in Dix’s life through his biography and artwork illuminates the educative as a process that involves a symbiotic relationship between learning and sharing those experiences (educating) with others. This study focuses on four layers of the educative namely; (a) the education of the subject (Otto Dix) who in the broader application of this research is an illustrative case study, (b) how he educated others, (c) what Dix has taught me as the creator of his biography and (d) what can be learnt from this analysis. In addition, this research brings together, for the first time, notions of Dix’s self-regard, the perception of the artist by those surrounding him and the
194 representations of contemporary thinkers (researchers) on the artist’s opinion of himself. The aim is to promote a more holistic exploration of the role that these educational influences played in Dix’s life because, like today, they were the notions that dictated and measured success or failure.
In terms of the biography and understanding the educative, this case study supports the contention that learning is an inescapably personal thing. It also highlights that the life course facilitates sense making that significantly contributes to self-formation, which in turn influences the strategic navigation of an individual through their many realities.
Often educationalists accept experience as foundational for learning but then by the same token they divorce real life experience (positive and negative) from that considered as being relevant industrially focused experience. For instance, students of law are encouraged to take up opportunities of shadowing learned lawyers. However, they may equally (educationally) benefit from character building spiritual activities that involve culture and community – the latter of which are not often directly encouraged. The premise behind this train of thought rests firmly with the fact that one makes sense of life (one’s own and that of others) through the construction of meanings throughout the life course, especially via significant events. Dix is a good example of this. In his life these experiences included his exposure to art by Ernst Schunke, the First and Second World Wars, and the rise of fascism. It is these educationally transformational experiences that significantly contribute to self-formation and the choices that they subsequently make. These meanings are in constant flux; they are products of one’s own understandings and thus continually challenge and inform. Essentially, a holistically educated individual remains in a constant state of bildung (self-formation, education and cultivation) and can be considered to be a life long learner. Biography is especially revealing of bildung in affording both ‘openness’ to self-formation and its difficulties – Dix’s life evidences this because of the events that took place during his life.
195 Educationalists also accept, albeit as a truism, the fact that learning is personal. However, this acceptance sits uncomfortably with the institutionalization of and learning, and notably the value (personal and cultural) of the educative. Often educational learning practices and processes separate formal education, that which is required as a matter of policy, from learning that is informal; the result is to exclude the individual-self and their informal learning from formal education and also individuals in their self-formation in the sense of bildung. This can appear to learners as disrespect for them and their personal individuality or identity.
Thus, from the perspective of the learner, the curriculum or syllabi of educational programmes or courses of study can seem disconnected with reality. Furthermore, the selection of subjects they are taught can begin to seem arbitrary. This can lead to the perception in the minds of learners that they are being taught such subjects to cyclically reinforce the contemporary states of affairs rather than to open their minds allowing for the creative exploration and questioning of ‘why things are the way they are’. Additionally, institutional issues concerning the commercial viability of courses and the political focus on the measurement of social progression in terms of achieving educational standards can often further confuse the problem.
The effect is to create a rigid learning (and teaching) environment that is knowledge-centred rather than person-centered which is, for many students, an uncomfortable educational space that lacks freedom of personal choice and expression, and to which creativity, intuition and innovation and self-motivation fall prey. Thus, contemporary educational theory that seeks to place knowledge back at the heart of learning and teaching (see supra pp.38 – 39) may wish to embrace the notion of bildung for the enhancement of knowledge-centric educational theory with a learner-centred approach. New technology has paved the way for dealing with some of this and educators’ and institutions would benefit from embracing the comfort and expansiveness, in terms of time and space that this brings to learning and its environment.
196 The institutionalization of education (a focus on competence) often presupposes narrow ways in which one can achieve a particular intellectual standard or success has the effect of excluding the diverse learning processes that exist in real-world experience. This experience is the source from which the past, present and future of humanity flows contrary to the intention of policy makers. It is also the mechanism by which learners build their understanding of theory and their practical application. Bildung, as such, is not a manageable project, but an emergent self-centred formation.
The cultural significance of the German concept of bildung in the early nineteenth century (and for the purposes of this study) is that it promoted education as cultivation of the inner or subconscious self. This facilitated the golden period in Germany’s intellectual and philosophical history (see Watson 2010). Gadamer describes it as ‘perhaps the greatest idea of the eighteenth century’ (1989, p.8). Johann Gottfried Herder defined bildung as a ‘rising up to humanity through culture’ (Fairfield 2009, p90). Herder’s definition was adapted by Wilhelm von Humboldt as ‘the disposition of mind which, from the knowledge and the feeling of the total intellectual and moral endeavour, flows harmlessly into sensibility and character’ (see Gadamer 1989, p.8), in other words bildung directs what one becomes. Bildung instilled in individuals power to self-direct because they had a holistic grasp of the world surrounding them. Unfortunately, bildung was distorted in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century by cultural, economic, political, racial and social movements that sought to spread their counter-educative ideological and propagandistic messages and achieve totalitarian social control; notably in the rise of fascism and German militarism, and the classification of social denigration as being evidenced by emancipation, and intellectual and sexual liberation.
At a policy level the educational significance of bildung in this study is to highlight that education, which focuses on commerce or as a means to an end (employment), can often lack the cultivation of those skills required for self- formation and active participation in community, but also the cultivation of those characteristics that make-up the very essence of democratic society. The
197 educational and socio-political debate this thesis seeks to raise relates to the importance of the pivotal role that education plays in instilling in individuals (learners) the power to self-direct through a holistic grasp of the world, so that they can more successfully participate in local, national and global communities. Furthermore, this cultivation is important in exposing communal decay to cultural, economic, political, racial and social movements that are being used to spread counter-educative and anti-humanistic messages.
Contemporary economic, social and political structures require educationalists to interrogate multi-dimensional and complex interconnections in vivo (in practise). Bildung is central to the learning process; Dix as a case study highlights that this is a humanistic way in which an individual’s natural abilities and talents can develop. Embracing the notion of bildung can promote an effective and holistic education that frees learning from certain institutional constraints. This focus reconnects formal education with informal education to the whole person including the cognitive, emotional, physical, psychological, social and spiritual. The effect of this is to promote creativity so that learners are free to explore and investigate challenging subjects using their imagination, thereby generating original and progressive ideas – but also to make choices, question structures and freely express their selves. Furthermore, such a learning space transcends traditional ideas, rules and relationships to create meaningful new ideas, interpretations and learning methods, one of which is through the innovative use of new technologies of expressiveness.
198 7.2 Wilhelm Heinrich Otto Dix
I demonstrate in chapters 4 – 6 Otto Dix’s conscious need for regard and self- regard, and how he was regarded and informed by that regard in a bildungian sense. This evidences that the educative is in fact a far broader field of concern than that often presented by its modern definitions. This is because the educative is also habitual – it is life affirming (living ones being) because people learn about themselves and through their actions often teach the world about this learning too. Therefore, the investigation in this study highlights how Dix was educated in the world at large that at an individual level includes the creative, dramatic and traumatic. It also evidences how this artist was formed (bildung) and helped form others less parochially by sharing his experiences through his artwork.
The province of the artist is to teach the world through his or her own artwork. Dix can be described as an individual representing a turbulent period in German history – a period that included heightened enlightenment, cultural and social growth, and intellectual life but also destructive political extremism. Dix’s artwork exhibits this turbulence. His art and experiences attest to the bildung that is the achievement of inner education, developing the higher human sensibilities. He was invested with bildung (and weltschmerz (world-pain)) and he is regarded as having been a learned and self-directing individual because he did not feel pressured to conform and did not succumb to such pressure. It is postulated that this is because he had a holistically educated grasp of the world that surrounded him through the generation and habit of his strategic-self that was both inner and outer-directed. This was pivotal in reinforcing his ability to think and express himself freely, sharing his life experiences and questioning the then contemporary ideologies through his artwork even in the most adverse of situations.
Interestingly, this German ideology (bildung) has no equivalent concept elsewhere in the world. As Dix’s life evidences bildung is the achievement of inner education and development of the higher human being that is within one.
199 Bildung invested in Dix, along with his strategic-self, ensured that the artist’s life orientation had some form of coherency, and that he was educated as a cultural and ethical personality. It allowed him to ‘read’ society and its future trajectory. Dix’s inner education and resultant creative formation promoted self-realisation, educating and helping him learn about the world and himself through nature its deformation and transformation, and experience; attaining a constructive education promoting a compellingly humanistic and practical system of values around which he built his personal, professional, social and political life.
The educative lies in the educational influences on Dix and his educational experiences. The artist was an educational example; he acted as an exemplar and his art is evidence of his actions as an exemplar. In other words, the educative is evidenced by the fact that Dix constantly re-teaches himself (and others) much of what he had formally and informally learnt, this was especially true in terms of the significant events in his life. For instance, in 1914 when the artist volunteered for the German army his experiences, as depicted in his artwork, substantiate how his bildung was distorted by war. His bildung was also affected by the Peace Treaty of Versailles (1919) which many Germans felt imposed harsh and cruel punishment on them post-First World War. The Weimar era, a period of massive German intellectual and sexual revolution, and the later degeneration of political ideology (Nazi era) also impacted on Dix’s bildung, and the artist explored this in his artwork through themes of sex and violence. During this period in his life, the artist challenged his bildung but was still affected by it for the sake of his viewers because of his potent desire to share his own experiences. In terms of the latter point, this does not necessarily mean others were willing to listen, and perhaps this is why the artist deployed outrageous imagery. In so doing, Dix engaged the masses because he was telling their story, and thus he made many political enemies. The fact that the artist did this is difficult to reconcile with his lavish lifestyle and bourgeoisie type activities – something that the artist himself did not take to be categorised as such. Dix’s life, when contextualised through the German ideology of bildung highlights how he was educated in what could be described as a post-enlightened world.
200 7.3 Dix’s Strategic-self and a Comfortable Educational Space
The notion of the comfortable educational space in Dix’s life refers to his self- discovery through creative exploration. The concept of the educative as discussed throughout this study concerns both ‘forming’ and ‘being formed’ as a self (see supra pp.83 – 84). Directed by bildung (self-formation, education and cultivation) the strategic-self is one who is located and contextualised in terms of three dimensions, (a) personal educational experiences and reflective development, both formal and informal and accidental or contingent, (b) as contributing to the formation of significant others (Otto Dix’s local influences on fellow-artists) and (c) as a creative artist who contributes to wider cultural movements and patterns; these are more cosmopolitan.
Otto Dix was in a constant state of bildung and the elements of his strategic-self are revealed where his biography is combined with his artwork, this includes sense-maker, decision-maker, negotiator and challenger of convention. Dix’s bildung and strategic-self, created a learning space in which he was comfortable and open to imaginative, innovative, new and original ideas and perspectives. This learning space included his formal learning from his time as an apprentice decorative painter under Master Senff, studying at the Dresden School of Arts and Crafts and later in life becoming a Professor at the Dresden Academy of Fine Art. It also included his informal learning via his exposure to his painter cousin Fritz Amann, his father Ernst Franz Dix’s socialist ideologies, Dix’s participation in the First and Second World Wars, his commissioner Karl Nierendorf’s influence on the commercial viability of his work, and from a spiritual perspective the Mazdaznan faith possibly through his mother Pauline Louise Dix.
This same learning space promoted, in terms of education, a heightened creative expression and sense of collective and social responsibility through which he sought to contribute to the formation of significant others. This is something that is visible throughout the artist’s work and other notable actions – for instance his not emigrating to the United States of America but being able to immerse himself in elements of American culture in Germany, the experientially contextualised
201 messages in his artwork, Dix terminating his contract with Nierendorf on appointment as a Professor at the Dresden Academy of Fine Art and the artist’s inner migration post-1945.
Like any other human being Dix also made sense of his self-regard through his actions and achievements. He was able to question the decisions that he made, for instance partaking in the First World War and not emigrating to the United States of America. There were periods in Dix’s life where he had to compromise and negotiate; once again his contract with Karl Nierendorf is a good example of this. Dix was also a ‘revolutionary’ because he refused to compromise and chose to educate society, without social class favour, from messages drawn out of his experiences in both World Wars.
Dix’s artwork is evidence of his experiential learning but it is also self-reflexive. He cultivated the ability to ‘detach’ self from dramatic and traumatic experience and subsequently share what he had learnt. Thus, this artist’s reflexivity in terms of his experience contributed to the development of his life skills because his objective knowledge was subjectively informed. This, from an educational perspective, was cultivated in a creative, comfortable and open educational space where he felt empowered.
Dix’s artwork is imbued with educational messages which when released to the world was no longer his. From that moment onwards it was up to the viewers of his artwork to make of it what they thought fit. Hence, as we learnt in chapters 4 – 6, his work received a mixed reception; the German public was often outraged and the Third Reich classified it as degenerate and anti-German, even though Dix’s artwork was considered during the Weimar period to be representative of Germany and its people.
202 7.4 The Educative in Dix’s Work
It is widely accepted that documentary and visual evidence – biographies, correspondence, letters, photographs, paintings, sculpture and sketches – carry plural rather than singular meanings. Contemporary original contributions to knowledge of this evidence, such as that in this study, are a legitimate research exercise that seeks to understand education outside the fields of conventional concern because the ‘educative’ is not simply ‘institutional’ but it is also ‘habitual’.
Bourdieusian theory of habitus, conatus, capital, doxa and field are transferrable concepts that can be successfully applied to explore education on an individual or communal basis without being equated to an institutional form of socialization, namely the process by which an individual becomes engrained with certain behaviour, norms and values akin to their social position. Bourdieusian theory in this study is applied to highlight how individuals act on their own innate volition by reason of their strategic-self (bildung) and how that relates to the greater extent of socializing activity that surrounds them. In many ways Otto Dix has been a useful subject to demonstrate this very point where creativity and historicity come together to explain action and the educational value therein (production of artworks).
Dix’s life evidences how he navigated his way through education, whether that is formal or informal and its resultant effects. His artwork contained educational messages, and has educated others (and me) in a number of ways. The artist’s work highlights the fact that his situatednesses affected his ability to pursue a particular career, achieve an accolade or success and his educational/life trajectory. In educational terms, Dix’s life is an example of an amalgamation of both the institutional and habitual. The artist’s work educates one to question the situatednesses that surround one’s life and work, and its relative effect on that which is learnt. He reminds us that it is often necessary to distinguish between one’s own ideologies from those that we learn in the milieu of everyday life. Dix’s work has a poignant, socially educational message too. It is one that
203 promotes emancipation, equality and freedom. His work reminds one that parents, and others that surround us, also play a vital role in our education and how one subsequently continues to navigate through an educational and personal life.
Dix’s artwork defines an epoch, it is also educative because it questioned (and still re-questions) the ideals of contemporary society; bourgeois culture, politics and common values – the Nietzschean influences in his artwork are a good example of this. The consistent theme of social critique through what was often considered to be gruesome imagery in his artwork substantiates the contention that he was educated in a variety of settings, especially so where integrity and strategies of self-regard are at stake for example in terms of the choices that one makes; for Dix this would have including emigration, death during war or prison. Therefore, divorcing the traditional or institutional educational setting from real world experience (the world at large) is counter-educative because it fails to harness and make use of the diverse learning processes that exist. The rationale for this lies in the fact that it is life that often teaches one the most valuable life- navigational (and professional) strategies through reflexive biographical understanding. Therefore, such a divorce (whether purposeful or otherwise) can result in educational policies that disable individuals from meeting their full potential, these are also counter to the humanistic spirit of bildung as self- formation.
The artist also teaches us about the revelation of experience in terms of learning (and teaching) and the way in which the strategic-self subsequently acts. His message is educative because it has a double hermeneutic quality in that it seeks to define the benefit of experience and yet contextualise it by drawing the conclusion that both experience and learning from the experiences of others is equally important. Further educative messages in Dix’s artwork appear in various guises, for example the appreciation of the varied roles that one and others take in life and their resultant costs and benefits. One powerful such message relates to common human attributes including psychology and physiognomy. This includes the frailty and pointlessness of the devalued human
204 mental and physical state mechanised by warfare. This particular message was prominent in much of Dix’s later work and thus something that the artist considered society needed constantly reminding, because he appreciated the fact that society had a tendency to easily forget certain things whilst clutching onto others. Thus, his artwork is educative because it highlights common human attributes such as blame, fear and shame.
Furthermore, Dix’s life and artwork is educative because it addresses the systematic destruction of traditional values and social denigration through violence, perhaps to the extent that the artist even suggests a multi-level warfare between individuals, individuals with the state and the world at large; humanity in self-destruct mode. His artwork questions and educates one on the changing nature of sex in society contrasting its outwardly acceptable and public boundaries against its hidden and private actualities, exploring and educating one on themes of female emancipation and exploitation through lust and violence. Dix’s artwork educates one on the various facets of human nature: emancipation, hedonism and intellectualism including control, desire, fear, lust, sensuality, sin and violence. He also explores social denigration and progression through sex and sexuality by celebrating and questioning the varying levels of the emancipation of man and womankind and its discordance with traditional meaning and value. Dix’s artwork is educative because it continually explores and questions much of what society accepts as the status quo and how this becomes such. It highlights that it is educative to work towards the betterment of society by interrogating its self-imposed limitations.
Dix’s artwork is seminal because of its emotional connection with the response the artist desired the consumer or viewer of that art to experience and engage with for instance through the technique of shocking them. True to his philosophy, Dix’s images were so ‘real’ that they often shocked and even disgusted viewers; occasionally this was not by design but merely incidental in the artist’s desire to represent his experiential truths and question the realities that were propounded by others in positions of social influence. There are instances where it is clear that the artist wished to shock his viewers into
205 engagement, the painting Mädchen vor dem Spiegel (Girl in Front of a Mirror), 1922 (see appendix one, figure 48) which was of an aged prostitute who is dressing up, this image caused an absolute outrage and for which he was hauled in front of a judge on charges of distributing pornography. The educative in this image was to highlight and raise debate in relation to the contemporary social problem of prostitution; something his audience was not necessarily ready to accept. Similarly, his series of artworks on the lustmord theme were designed to raise awareness of social denigration albeit through what for many were rather brutal visual imagery. These images were well received by Dix’s admirers, however they offended a large majority of patriotic Germans who viewed this as an attack on Germany and its culture. The right-wing collective of nationalist feminists viewed Dix’s artworks as being anti-nationalist ignoring their value in questioning the form in which ‘womanhood’ manifested itself as a measure of the female-self in contemporary German society.
Thus, Dix’s artwork is educational as it promotes emotion through its representation of reality because it directly challenges and critiques social values. He does this by presenting the all so often unpalatable truth in an open forum and thereby raises debate. His viewers are often pushed to reflect upon their choices, opinions and perceptions and question the ideals with which they are ingrained, perhaps even take responsibility as fellow countrymen and women. The result is to create a space in which topics are open to debate.
Dix appreciated the counter-educative for instance the misuse of Nietzsche by the Nazis. He was also aware of the disadvantage he encountered in a society divided by socio-economics and class, something he challenged through his own creativity and understanding of himself. Therefore, his artwork is educational because it exploratory and intuitive and raises issues for discussion. Furthermore, Dix’s artwork and educational trajectory embraces the notion that the external world is not the same for everyone – supporting the vast array of ethnographic and other research into the combination of formal education and real-world experience.
206 Otto Dix’s life highlights how the educative outside of traditional schooling methodologies for him aided a bildungian self-formation that also focused on the betterment of society. In some respect, Dix was more fortunate than other young white males from a working-class proletarian background whose parents were not so socially mobile or who were unable to secure the support of their educators, family or sponsors, and who were not as independent a spirit as the artist was – it is doubtless that their educational trajectories would have been very different. This artist’s artwork is educational because it also connects those surrounding him by lending meaning and value to the acts and experiences of others – acts and experiences from which the viewer is so often detached or in denial.
In practical terms, the documentary evidence of Dix’s life, which included detailed private correspondence between the artist and Helen Jakob, provided a rare insight into the educative in extreme settings such as in frontline warfare. This sensitised the artist (biographers and this study) to basic human emotions for example fear and to the benefits and costs of such experiential educational enlightenment and creativity. This is the impact of Dix’s life and work.
7.5 Conclusion: Negotiating a Life Through Biography
Whilst this study raises many useful questions in terms of the educative in informal education and its role in traditional or institutional education in Dix’s life, a written biographical exploration implicates its author. This research has been a revelatory journey in critical reflection and re-evaluation of my own strategic-self, and understanding the choices made and the course of one’s own personal educational trajectory. Its significance will vary according to the interest of the reader, although primarily for educators with an interest in using biography and how lives so run counter to conventional psychological and sociological theories, it may also bring similar richness for the art historian, sociologist or multi-disciplinarian. The research in this study also substantiates how Dix’s educational trajectory was affected by prevailing factors in Germany during 1891 – 1969.
207
Contemporary education functions in a world that is increasingly complex and thus teaching and learning should also reflect this, thereby combining the focus of transformation (human), virtue (education for education sake) and vocation (education and economy). Current day teaching and learning attempts to prepare students for life and work. Both the formally institutional such as school or university courses and the informally educative for instance life experiences, play a pivotal role in the formation and reformation of bildung and the strategic- self of learners and significant others that surround them. This is substantiated by the relationship between the individual with society and the world at large, as exemplified by Otto Dix. The notion of bildung (self-formation, education and cultivation) can be utilised to facilitate formation or re-formation in a creative learning space that is intellectually verified, and where learners are free to transcend traditional ideas, rules and relationships to create meaningful new ideas, interpretations and learning methods.
The biographical approach has aided my understanding of education as being a broader field of concern because the non-institutional and habitual are also educative. Investigating the educative in Dix’s artwork in this manner has allowed me to establish, through the artist’s lived experiences, what it meant to be educated in the world at large during 1891 – 1969 in Germany, and question some of the contemporary notions about teaching and learning outside of the traditional classroom setting. Analysing Dix’s artwork has helped reveal alternative explanations of the various ways in which he was educated and how that impacted on the way in which his strategic-self navigated itself through life. For instance its direct impact on the choices that he made. The case study highlights the fact that one is called to education as a matter of policy but to learning as a matter of being. Utilising a Bourdieusian analysis has highlighted how Dix navigated his way through life and the socializing activity that surrounded him.
This study substantiates the fact that education is omnipresent (present always) rather than ubiquitous (seemingly present everywhere) and this affects the
208 choices one makes during the time attending the ‘university of life’. More importantly, it highlights how Dix educated others – by sharing his own reflexive experiences. It also outlines the impact that significant others had on Dix’s educational progression, and on his sense of communal responsibility. This latter point highlights an important area for potential future research: educative agency.
This research proposes that theories based on traditional schooling methodologies can miss out on the diverse learning opportunities in real world experience if they are not informed by individual and collective biographies. Exploring Dix’s life has substantiated how his education was creative, exploratory and intuitive and that this promoted a bildungian self-formation, so that he was comfortable to freely explore emancipation, equality and freedom, and promote an environment in which constructive debate could flourish.
From an art historical perspective this study highlights that it is important to illuminate an artwork and its educational value by bringing together the thoughts and opinions of the artist with those that surround them for instance their critics, biographers, friends and family, and their actions – all within the context of historicity. From this we can learn far more about what it meant for a an individual or even a particular section of society to be educated within a particular epoch, here a white working-class, proletarian German male from a socially mobile family. The study also teaches one on the roles that society, politics and other environmental factors played in Dix’s educational life.
In terms of education, narrow definitions of the educative often fail to acknowledge the ways of being in the world at large; they risk failing to acknowledge how informal learning contributes to the formation and reformation of the self. Thus, knowledge, such as that generated in this study, substantiates that the educative is a far broader field of concern. Unlike conventional philosophies and histories in education, contemporary policy is thinking beyond the boundaries of educator and learner. In terms of developing the self, perhaps what should be pursued is an expansionist philosophy to make
209 better use of the diverse learning processes that exist outside of traditional institutional settings.
Thus, the educative in Dix’s life, outside of formal constraints and when contextualised through the concept of bildung, is something that addressed the needs of his communal, educational, emotional, global, social, personal, political, psychological and professional life. It nurtured the natural talents that he possessed and was in general a positive experience. His confortable educational space promoted his learning as a life-long activity. The educative is something more than the mere possession of knowledge; it seeks to promote some social benefit whether that is at a local, national or even global level and as the case study in this research evidences, there was educative value in Dix’s self- formational change. From a personal and professional perspective, this research will affect my professional practice as an educator.
210 APPENDIX ONE: PLATES AND DIAGRAMS
Figure 1: Halbakt (Half Nude), 1929 Christian Schad
Figure 2: Bildnis der Tanzerin Anita Berber (Portrait of a Dancer Anita Berber), 1925 Otto Dix
Figure 3: Die Stützen der Gesellschaft (The Pillars of Society), 1926 George Grosz
Figure 4: Bildnis Margot (A Portrait of Margot), 1924 Rudolph Schlicter
Figure 5: Agosta, der Flügelmensch, und Rasha, die schwarze Taube (Agosta, the Pigeon-Chested Man, and Rasha, the Black Dove), 1929 Christian Schad
Figure 6: Diagrammatic Representation of Study
Figure 7: Bildnis Frau Martha Dix (Portrait of Martha Dix), 1923 Otto Dix
Figure 8: Lustmord Scene II (Mord) or Sexmord (Scene II (Murder)), 1922 Otto Dix
Figure 9: Halbakt (Half Nude), 1926 Otto Dix
Figure 10: Kriegskrüppel (War Cripples), 1920 Otto Dix
Figure 11: Die Eltern des Künstlers II (Portrait of My Parents II), 1922 Otto Dix
Figure 12: Die Eltern des Künstlers I (Portrait of My Parents I), 1921 Otto Dix
Figure 13: Selbstbildnis als Soldat (Self-Portrait as a Soldier), 1914 Otto Dix
Figure 14: Selbstbildnis mit Artillerie-Helm (Self-Portrait Wearing Gunner's Helmet), 1914 Otto Dix
Figure 15: Selbstbildnis mit Zwei-Frauen (Self-Portrait with Two Women), 1920
211 George Grosz
Figure 16: Diagrammatic Representation of Analysis
Figure 17: Nikolaus (Portrait of Nikolaus Schad as a Child), 1926 Christian Schad
Figure 18: Marcella (Portrait of Christan Schad’s Wife), 1926 Christian Schad
Figure 19: Man with Glass Eye, 1926 George Grosz
Figure 20: The Rape of the Sabine Women, 1634 Nicolas Poussin
Figure 21: Rue Montorguiel in Paris, Festival of June 30, 1878 Claude Monet
Figure 22: The Operation, 1929 Christian Schad
Figure 23: Sonnenaufgang (Sunrise), 1913 Otto Dix
Figure 24: Selbstportrait mit Nelke (Self-portrait with Carnation), 1912 Otto Dix
Figure 25: Bust of Frederick Nietzsche, 1914 Otto Dix
Figure 26: Selbportrait als Schießscheibe (Self-Portrait as Shooting Target), 1915 Otto Dix
Figure 27: Ein Schones Grab (A Beautiful Grave), 1916 Otto Dix
Figure 28: Lichtsignale (Flare), 1917 Otto Dix
Figure 29: Die Felixmüller Familie (The Felixmüller Family), 1919 Otto Dix
Figure 30: Dr. Meyer-Herman, 1926 (Berlin) Otto Dix
Figure 31: Streetfight, 1927 Otto Dix
212 Figure 32: Erste internationale Dada-Messe: Katalog.
Figure 33: Dr Hans Koch, 1921 Otto Dix
Figure 34: Apotheose (Apotheosis), 1919 (published in 1922)
Figure 35: Photograph of Dix with Käthe König, 1962 Otto Dix
Figure 36: Reclining Woman on Leopard Skin, 1927 Otto Dix
Figure 37: Lustmord (Sex murder), 1922
Figure 38: Lustmord I, Versuch (Sex Murder I, Trial), 1922
Figure 39: Photograph: Self-portrait with Eva Peters George Grosz
Figure 40: Der Lustmörder (Selbstbildnis) (Sex Murderer), circa 1920 Otto Dix
Figure 41: Der Salon I (The Salon I), 1921 Otto Dix
Figure 42: Der Krieg (The War), 1932
Figure 43: Bildnis der Journalistin Sylvia von Harden (Portrait of the Journalist Sylvia von Harden), 1926 Otto Dix
Figure 44: To Beauty, 1922 Otto Dix
Figure 45: Selbstbildnis als Kriegsgefangener (Self-portrait as a Prisoner of War), 1947 Otto Dix
Figure 46: Ecce Homo III (Behold the Man), 1949 Otto Dix
Figure 47: Krieg und Frieden (War and Peace), 1960 Otto Dix
Figure 48: Mädchen vor dem Spiegel (Girl in Front of a Mirror), 1922 Otto Dix
213 Figure 1
Halbakt (Half Nude), 1929 Christian Schad Oil on Canvas Germany (Wuppertal), Von der Heydt-Museum
214 Figure 2
Bildnis der Tanzerin Anita Berber (Portrait of a Dancer Anita Berber), 1925 Otto Dix Oil and Tempera on Plywood, 120 x 65cm Germany (Stuttgart), Galerie der Stadt Stuttgart
215 Figure 3
Die Stützen der Gesellschaft (The Pillars of Society), 1926 George Grosz Oil on Canvas, 200 x 108cm Germany (Berlin), Staatliche Museen zu Berlin – Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Nationalgalarie
216 Figure 4
Bildnis Margot (A Portrait of Margot), 1924 Rudolph Schlicter Oil on Canvas, 110.5 x 75cm Germany (Berlin), Märkisches Museum
217 Figure 5
Agosta, der Flügelmensch, und Rasha, die schwarze Taube (Agosta, the Pigeon- Chested Man, and Rasha, the Black Dove), 1929 Christian Schad Oil on Canvas United Kingdom (London), Tate
218 Figure 6
1 2 Otto Dix Pre-adolescence Adolescence Youth/Education Family/Home Economics/Law
3 Love/Gender Art/Culture
Sexuality Germany and its epochal educative Friendship during the period 1890 – 1969. Work/Leisure Relationship Society/War Travel/Politics
Reflexivity and strategies used to
educate others.
4
Notes:
The arrows represent interactivity between subjects (boxes 1, 2, 3 and 4). The box labeled ‘2’ includes the situatednesses (fields or paradigms) that will be considered in terms of their paradigmatic relation to each other and consequent impact on the artist and his work, his educational trajectory and reflexive-self, the educative and the strategies he used to educate others (box 4).
219 Figure 7
Bildnis Frau Martha Dix (Portrait of Martha Dix), 1923 Otto Dix Details Unknown Germany (Stuttgart), Kunstmuseum/Galerie der Stadt Stuttgart
220 Figure 8
Scene II (Mord) Sexmord (Scene II (Murder)), 1922 Otto Dix Watercolour on Paper, 25 5/8 x 19 5/8 inches Germany (Stuttgart), Galerie der Stadt Stuttgart
221 Figure 9
Halbnackte (Half Nude), 1926 Otto Dix Oil and Tempera on Wood, 28 3/4 x 21 5/8 inches United States of America (New York), (Montreal Museum of Fine Arts) Private Collection
222 Figure 10
Kriegskrüppel (War Cripples), 1920 Otto Dix Oil and Other Media 3ft 7 1/4 inches x 2ft 10 1/4 inches Germany, Private Collection
223 Figure 11
Die Eltern des Künstlers II (Portrait of My Parents II), 1922 Otto Dix Oil on canvas, 118 × 130.5 cm Germany (Hannover), Sprengel Museum Collection
224 Figure 12
Die Eltern des Künstlers I (Portrait of My Parents I), 1921 Otto Dix Oil on canvas, details unknown Germany (Basel), Öffentliche Kunstsammlung/Kunstmuseum Basel
225 Figure 13
Selbstbildnis als Soldat (Self-Portrait as a Soldier), 1914 Otto Dix Ink and watercolour on paper, 68 x 53.5 cm Germany (Stuttgart), Municipal Gallery
226 Figure 14
Selbstbildnis mit Artillerie-Helm (Self-Portrait Wearing Gunner's Helmet), 1914 Otto Dix Ink and watercolour on paper, 68 x 53.5 cm Germany (Stuttgart), Municipal Gallery
227 Figure 15
Selbstbildnis mit Zwei-Frauen (Self-Portrait with Two Women), 1920 George Grosz Ink and watercolour on paper, details unknown Collection PB van Voorst van Beest The Netherlands, The Hague
228 Figure 16
1
3 Iconographical Paradigms/Fields Analysis Bundles of Relations
Habitus/Self
Conatus/Doxa Truth/Time Iconological Analysis
Educative in Content Analysis Germany during the period 1890 – 1969. 4 Colour Analysis
2
Notes:
The lines represent interactivity between subjects (boxes 1, 2, 3 and 4). The part of the box labeled ‘1’ (broken line) denotes formal analysis; the part of the box labeled ‘2’ contextual analysis, box labeled ‘3’ the data upon the basis which the narrative is formed (fields, paradigms and sub-paradigms) and finally the box labeled ‘4’ represents the link between ‘3 and 4’ thereby revealing the relation between the strategic-self and the educative. It should be noted that there is no representational link between the size of the boxes and their relative importance.
229 Figure 17
Nikolaus (Portrait of Nikolaus Schad as a Child), 1926 Christian Schad Oil on Canvas, 19¾ x 16 7/8 in (50 x 43 cm) Location Unknown, Private Collection (Sold by Christies)
230 Figure 18
Marcella (Portrait of Christan Schad’s Wife), 1926 Christian Schad Details unknown Location unknown
231 Figure 19
Man with Glass Eye, 1926 George Grosz Oil on canvas. 103 x 73 cm United States of America (New York), Neue Gallerie.
232 Figure 20
The Rape of the Sabine Women, 1634 Nicolas Poussin Oil on canvas. 154.6 x 209 cm United States of America (New York), The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Harris Brisbane Dick Fund.
233 Figure 21
Rue Montorguiel in Paris, Festival of June 30, 1878 Claude Monet Oil on canvas, 81 x 50cm France (Paris), Musée d'Orsay.
234 Figure 22
The Operation, 1929 Christian Schad Oil on canvas, 125 x 95cm Germany (Munich), Städtische Galerie Lenbachhaus und Kunstbau Muchen.
235 Figure 23
Sonnenaufgang (Sunrise), 1913 Otto Dix Oil on pasteboard (51cm x 66cm) Germany, Private Collection.
236 Figure 24
Selbstportrait mit Nelke (Self-portrait with Carnation), 1912 Otto Dix Oil on Paper, 73 x 50cm USA, Detroit: Institute of Arts. Formerly part of the collection at the Kunstmuseum in Düsseldorf.
237 Figure 25
Frederick Nietzsche, 1914 Detail Unknown Location Unknown.
238 Figure 26
Selbportrait als Schießscheibe (Self-Portrait as Shooting Target), 1915 Otto Dix Oil on paper on chipboard, 62 x 51cm Germany (Gera), Otto Dix-Haus, Kunstsammlungen
239 Figure 27
Ein Schones Grab (A Beautiful Grave), 1916 Otto Dix Pencil and mounting: German verso, 9.4 x 14.8com Germany (Gera), Gera Art Collections, City Museums
240 Figure 28
Lichtsignale (Flare), 1917 Gouache on paper, 40.78 x 39.4cm Otto Dix Germany (Albstadt), Galerie Albstadt
241 Figure 29
Die Felixmüller Familie (The Felixmüller Family), 1919 Otto Dix Oil on canvas, 76 x 91cm United States of America (St Louis), The Saint Louis Museum of Modern Art
242 Figure 30
Dr. Meyer-Herman, 1926 (Berlin) Otto Dix Oil and tempera on wood, 149.2 x 99.1cm United States of America (New York), Museum of Modern Art.
243 Figure 31
Streetfight, 1927 Otto Dix Material and dimensions unknown Germany: lost and presumed destroyed.
244 Figure 32
Erste internationale Dada-Messe: Katalog. Berlin: Kunsthandlung Dr. Otto Burchard, 1920. Texts by Wieland Herzfelde and Raoul Hausmann.
245 Figure 33
Dr. Hans Koch, 1921 Otto Dix Mixed media on canvas, 100.5 x 90cm Germany (Cologne), Museum Ludwig
246 Figure 34
Apotheose (Apotheosis), 1919 Otto Dix Woodcut, 28 x 19.7cm; sheet, 43.4 x 35.4 cm Germany (Cologne), Museum Ludwig
247 Figure 35
From left, Horst Kempe, Kempe Wina, Otto Dix and Käthe König, 1962 Photograph By Frank C. Kempe Location: The Kempe home in Wachwitz, Dresden (Germany).
248 Figure 36
Reclining Woman on Leopard Skin, 1927 Otto Dix Oil on Wood, 69 x 98cm United States of America (New York), Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University. Presented as a gift to the museum by Samuel A. Berger.
249 Figure 37
Lustmord (Sex murder), 1922 Otto Dix Details unknown Location unknown
250 Figure 38
Lustmord I, Versuch (Sex Murder I, Trial), 1922 Otto Dix Watercolour and pencil on paper, 64.7 x 50cm Germany, Dr. Hans Koch Private Collection.
251 Figure 39
Self-portrait with Eva Peters, 1918 George Grosz Photograph Location: George Grosz’s Studio, Germany.
252 Figure 40
Der Lustmörder (Selbstbildnis) (Sex Murderer), circa 1920 Otto Dix Details: Oil on canvas, 170 x 120cm Location Unknown, considered missing
253 Figure 41
Der Salon I (The Salon I), 1921 Otto Dix Oil on Canvas, 86 x 120.5cm Germany (Stuttgart), Kunstmuseum, Stuttgart.
254 Figure 42
Der Krieg (The War), 1932 Otto Dix Mixed technique on Plywood, 204 x 408cm Germany (Dresden), Galerie Neue Meister Kunstsammlungen.
255 Figure 43
Bildnis der Journalistin Sylvia von Harden (Portrait of the Journalist Sylvia von Harden), 1926 Otto Dix Mixed media on Wood, 120 x 88cm France (Paris), Musée National d'Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou.
256 Figure 44
To Beauty, 1922 Otto Dix Oil on Canvas, 140 x 122cm Germany (Wuppertal), Von der Heydt Museum.
257 Figure 45
Selbstbildnis als Kriegsgefangener (Self-portrait as a Prisoner of War), 1947 Otto Dix Oil on Hardboard, 60 x 54cm Germany (Stuttgart), Kunstmuseum Stuttgart
258 Figure 46
Ecce Homo III (Behold the Man), 1949 Otto Dix Oil on pressed chipboard, 81 x 60cm Germany (Munich): Gunzenhauser Gallery.
259 Figure 47
Krieg und Frieden (War and Peace), 1960 Otto Dix Mixed media, 5 x 12m Germany (Singen): Archaeological Museum Hegau.
260 Figure 48
Mädchen vor dem Spiegel (Girl in Front of a Mirror), 1922 Otto Dix Oil on canvas, dimensions unknown Location unknown, detailed as lost or destroyed during the Second World War.
261
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Special Mention
The Otto Dix Stifung (Foundation). The archive is maintained by Pfefferkorn and Rainer Northild Eger (archive at www.otto-dix.de). The council is based in Vaduz, Städtle 22, FL 9490 Vaduz and the archive is located in Bevaix, Chauvigny, CH 2022 Bevaix. The authenticity of the letters and the permission to reproduce it has been confirmed.
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