German Expressionism (notes)

German Expressionism

            The effect of World War I made a huge impact in the production of German films, in this case, it was relatively lessen. French, American, Italian and Danish films were shown in Germany’s 2000 movie theaters. Although America and France banned German films to be shown in their movie theaters, Germany on the other was not even in the position to ban French and American films because if they do so, their theaters would have little to show.

The term “Expressionism” in Germany meant “modern art” and a rejection of traditional Western conventions dating back to the Renaissance. Compared to French expressionism, German expressionism tackled more about the relationship between art and society, politics and popular culture.

Even though Expressionism is frequently considered to be an art movement, German Expressionists included novelists, poets, and playwrights in addition to artists. The German Expressionist collection housed in Hornbake Library’s great strength is the literary aspect of the movement. The collection is a mix of serials and monographs of arts journals, political journals, novels, and plays.

By the late fall of 1911, the Expressionist groups, Der Blaue Reiter and Die Brücke, as well as artists, such as Kathe Kollwitz and Ernst Barlach, were being referred to as “expressionists.” By April 1911, the Berlin Secession, guided by Lovis Corinth, grouped the French Fauves—Derain, Vlaminck, and Matisse in one room and labeled them as “Expressionists.” The Fauves were considered to be ultramodern in their break from Impressionism, taking the passivity of the older movement’s objectivity to an activated subjectivity. Despite the fact that some German artists had already exhibited with these French artists as early as 1910, they were not included in this groundbreaking exhibition.  But soon, the German artists, emboldened by a series of Secessions, developed their own brand of the avant-garde.

            Trying to counter the rigid competition from imported Hollywood films after 1924, the Germans also began to imitate the American product. The resulting films though sometimes impressive, diluted the unique qualities of Expressionist style. Thus, by 1927, Expressionism as a movement died out. Although the movement ended, Expressionism as a trend or film style never really or entirely died out.