Ashley G., Post 4

“Even today, art is condemned if it transgresses the normative morality in too shocking a fashion.”

-George L. Mosse

Roy Azdak once said, “Good art is not what it looks like, but what it does.” Art is largely important to us because of the emotions it evokes within us. Whether it be fear, joy, sadness, anger, indifference, or confusion, art always makes us feel something. It communicates with our emotional being rather than our rational being, which I believe is why authoritarian thinkers take such a concern with it. The appeal to the emotional is most certainly Plato’s greatest quarry with art. In Book X of the Republic, Plato even states that the “imitation [art] really consorts with an element in us far from wisdom, and that nothing healthy or true can come from their friendship or relationship.” (Republic 603.e) To the authoritarian thinker, if art can appeal to emotion, or force thought over the ideology of the authoritarian thinker, then it can threaten the power of the thinker. To say that authoritarian thinkers are completely threatened by art, however, is too hasty a generalization to make. Because art evokes such powerful emotions within the viewer it can be used as a great tool to manipulate people into a particular ideology. This is the essential function of propaganda and is why art is used as a tool of propaganda more so than written text.

When considering the artistic movement of Expressionism, it is important to understand and appreciate other movements that it has its roots in. Many would say that the Fauvist art movement was the forerunner of Expressionism. According to Artcyclopedia.com, “Fauvism grew out of Pointillism and Post-Impressionism, but is characterized by a more primitive and less naturalistic form of expression.” Because of its like of a concise theory or form, it is not commonly considered an actual school of art, but is often given credit for its contributions to both the Modern Art movement as a whole, and the school of Expressionism. Likely the most noted artist within Fauvism is Henri Matisse. Matisse was revered as a master of the use of color and was known for works that interpreted the human form in a more primitive and imaginative form. Matisse often draws the body in almost a fluid manner, not focusing particularly on the perfection of each area, but instead on showing the vibrancy of the being as a whole. The use of color evokes a very distinct emotion within the viewer. While viewing the Joy of Life, the bright vibrant colors evoked a distinct joyous feeling within me, and also gave me the illusion of actual movement of the figures within the painting. Another of Matisse’s paintings that really struck me was the Blue Nude. The body is drawn yet again with very fluid strokes so each part seems to just meld into one another. I believe it is clear that the painting is not meant to be a literal representation of the human form, but rather an expression of one’s interpretation of the fluidity of human form.

According to George L. Mosse, “Degeneration was, in a modern sense, a medical term used during the second half of the nineteenth century to identify the condition of those who departed from the “normal” because of shattered nerves, inherited abnormalities, or behavioral or sexual excess… Such conditions signaled the start of a process that would inevitably lead to destruction.” (Mosse 25) In terms of Hitler, degeneration took on an added societal function, rather just a medical function. It was commonly viewed as any deviance for a societal norm that conflicted with the bourgeois morality. According to the film clip on Degenerate Art, degeneracy was commonly linked to being insane, Jewish, or Bolshevik, and if you were considered one of them you were considered them all. George L. Mosse’s essay on degenerate art during the Nazi era also focuses on the view on sexuality and the human body by “degenerates,” and often times if you were labeled a degenerate, you were labeled a “sexual deviant”. Issues of homosexuality largely become the target of bourgeois in twentieth and twenty-first centuries. As far as art is concerned, sexual deviance is almost a bigger poster child for degeneracy in the Nazi regime then being Jewish or Bolshevist.

Many of Matisse’s paintings used abstract interpretations of the human form, which was likely what upset Hitler about the work. Though none of Matisse’s paintings use the nude human form in an explicit or exploitive manner, Hitler did not view the forms as “true to life” and therefore they were deemed degenerate. As far as “body politics” are concerned, Matisse’s work often promoted a freedom and liberation among the human form. Hitler, however, believed if the paintings did not portray a ‘true’, perfect Aryan form, it was deviant and degenerate.

Hitler’s views on degenerate art I feel are best summarized by a quote from Hitler himself in Mosse’s reading. Hitler asked the question of what degenerate artist create and then responded by stating, “Mihappen cripples and cretins, women who can only arouse revulsion… as the expression of all the that molds and sets its stamp on the present age.” To Hitler, modern art, and especially its focus on the human form, took away from the ideal Aryan form of the human body. Expressionist views of the body were more focused on emotion than trying to create an image of the actual. The body reflected more of the inward than the literal outward, and Hitler found this threatening. One of the historians in the film we viewed in class even stated that under Hitler’s regime, that which is inward was outlawed. I believe Hitler took such a focus on the human form in art for two reasons. I think that Hitler’s inability as an artist to actually recreate the human form was upsetting to him and anyone who had the talent to recreate an ideal form was worthy of praise to him. I also think that Hitler took such a focus on the human form in degenerate art because he so valued the human body. Often in Western civilization, we worship our own bodies more than anything else. Women place things like make-up, lotions, and other various things to achieve an idea of perfection. Men exercise and play sports to test and perfect the limits of their bodies. The idea of perfection in concern to the body was challenged in many ways by Modern artists. They did not promote what he saw as the ideal so he labeled it degenerate.

What has truly always puzzled me is how Hitler could influence an entire people’s belief on art. I believe it was Dr. Musgrave who made a comment in class about the types of people who consumed various Modern Art. It was pointed out that it was generally a group of elite art critics and high society sorts viewing the art, rather than the mainstream European people. I think Hitler was so successful in censoring and manipulating the public’s views of art because he touched on a real fear in people. Many times people fear the unknown and what they can not understand. The Modern art movement displayed many images that were largely interpretive and the public, especially the German public, did not know what to make of them. It is very easy then to buy into the idea that the art is worthless or “degenerate” if you can not understand it and are too afraid to try.

The art piece above exemplifies the worries of authoritarian thinkers on the power of art. The work evokes an emotional response, particularly one of confusion. The viewer’s confusion over what is happening in the work then forces the viewer to ask certain questions- what is happening in this work, why are the subjects angry, and should I be angry for the same reason? The ability to evoke both an emotional response and then a questionative nature from the viewer is negative for an authoritarian thinker who wants to force belief on a people rather than let them decide for themselves. The particular photo above is of an anti-war protest. The ideology promoted is supposed to be that of peace and pacifism, though the looks of anger and almost violent unrest juxtapose that ideology slightly. Because the photo only shows you the ‘angry mob’ it leaves several questions as to what could be going on outside of what you see in the photo. It is the questioning of the viewer that is the most threatening to an authoritarian thinker. Once questioning begins, reflection on whether or not the people approve of a particular political and social situation often follows, which can lead to the downfall of the authoritarian thinker.

Additional Resources:

http://www.mapplethorpe.org/selectedworks.html

http://www.artcyclopedia.com/artists/matisse_henri.html

http://witcombe.sbc.edu/ARTHLinks.html

http://www.flickr.com/photos/digitalgrace/430013789/

http://en.easyart.com/art-prints/prints/-50132.html