AH 112: Degenerate and Nazi Art: Part 2. Class presentation available.

AH 112          CHAPTER TWO: Degenerate and Nazi Art

Hitler fiercely attacked modern art and art by Jews as degenerate and enforced his own aesthetic ideals upon the German people seeking to create the perfect Aryan. His regime plundered the cultural property from every occupied territory in a very systematic manner. Some of the objects were earmarked for Hitler’s never realized Führermuseum, some went to high-ranking officials, while others were utilized to fund Nazi activities.  We are relatively familiar with this chapter in WW II history.

While the Allies created special commissions to find artwork that remained unaccounted for after the war, much is still missing. And even when found, the aim of ultimately returning the works to their rightful owners, their families, or their respective countries has been circumvented.

The movie The Woman in Gold, based on a true story, concluded with a confiscated, family-owned Klimt being returned to its owner-heir after many years of legal struggle.  This was and is an uncommon occurrence in the unsettled and unsettling history of the once or still “disappeared” artworks of that period.

We will next turn to the chapter on greed.

Presenter: Jeanne S. M. Willette, Ph.D., is Professor of Art History at the prestigious Otis College of Art and Design, specializing in modern and contemporary art as well as critical theory. She is the author of the website Art History Unstuffed.

Class Presentation:

 A Battle Over Modern Art The Many Live of Bauhaus – Presentation 2

Degenerative Art and Nazi Art – A Tale of Two Cities

Developer: Rochelle Ambersound

Date/Time:

Friday, June 2

2:00 – 4:00 PM

Location:

The Irvine Station-Onken