Franz Marc, German, 1880–1916; Animal Composition II (Tierkomposition II), 1913; gouache and watercolor; image: 17 3/4 x 14 1/2 inches, sheet: 14 1/2 x 17 3/4 inches; Saint Louis Art Museum, Gift of Morton D. May 374:1955
This audio guide presents a selection of work that questions the relationship among art, the visible world, and contemporary society. It features prints, photographs, drawings, and watercolors by some of the most celebrated artists of their generation selected from the Museum’s collection.
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AUDIO GUIDE TRANSCRIPT
The audio guide transcript is available to view on your own device.
Introduction
- Transcript
Speaker
Melissa Venator
Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Fellow in Modern Art
Saint Louis Art MuseumWelcome to Day & Dream in Modern Germany. My name is Melissa Venator, and I’m the exhibition curator and the Museum’s Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Fellow in Modern Art.
This exhibition features art from the Museum’s really fantastic collection of prints, drawings, photographs, and watercolors made in Germany in the first half of the 20th century.
Its theme is Day and Dream, and it asks the central question: What is the role of the real and the imaginary in art? Should art comment on society in a literal and direct way? Or should it inspire us with visions of alternate realities? Day & Dream brings together a range of artistic responses.
A few notes about the exhibition:
The art is divided between two galleries. One, titled “Day,” has more social commentary; the other, titled “Dream,” is more fantastical. But these labels aren’t fixed, and many of the artworks defy easy categorization. So, ask yourself as you go through the exhibition: Where do you see the real? Where do you see the imaginary in these works?
Also, look at the labels. I’ve replaced the standard texts with direct quotes from historical sources, usually the artists’ own writings, but also period literature, poetry, and philosophy. I hope this will help you to better understand the life and times of these artists. But this is an experiment, so, let us know what you think. In the gallery, there are journals where you can leave your feedback.
Enjoy the show!
- Gallery Text
Humanity seems destined to oscillate forever between devotion to the world of dreams and adherence to the world of reality… If this breathing rhythm of history were to cease, it might signal the death of the spirit.
– Franz Roh, Post-Expressionism: Magical Realism, 1925Should art show life in all its hope and despair? Or should it imagine a better future? After the disastrous events of World War I (1914-18), these questions took on a new urgency. This exhibition presents prints, drawings, and photographs by German artists, each with their own response. They are divided into two groups: those who critiqued daily life, in this gallery titled “Day;” and those who created fantasy worlds, in the neighboring gallery titled “Dream.” In fact, every work of art is a mix of day and dream.
Day
The attendant at a carnival target-shooting gallery sizes us up as we approach to try our luck. Most of her customers would have had extensive experience with rifles from their military service in World War I. Her penetrating stare reflects Max Beckmann’s own cynical take on former soldiers who played games with deadly weapons. Like Beckmann, the artists in this gallery used representational means to express a deeper truth behind the surface of appearance.Dream
With her comically large head and arrows for hands, this witch has an otherworldly charm. Paul Klee used the basic elements of line and shape to create whimsical scenes infused with childlike delight. The artworks in this gallery picture alternate realities — imaginary, idealized, or surreal — that offer an escape from daily life.