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The Great War (1914-1918) Forum

Remembered Today:

World War I Art Exhibit in New York City


Neil Burns

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Show: War/Hell: Master prints by Otto Dix and Max Beckmann

A rather graphic showing of prints of their sketches and etchings

The Neue Galerie 1048 5th Ave New York

Through September 26, 2005

11AM-6PM Saturday, Sunday and Monday 11 Am-9PM

$10 Regular $7 Students/Seniors Children Under 12 not admitted under 16 must be accompanied by an adult.

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Neil - Someone just told me about this Sun. I am going to be in NYC at the end of the month on business, but hope to find some time to make it over. Andy

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I had never heard of Dix beofre, but there are a couple of his pictures here:

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/ARTdix.htm

and here:

http://homepage.mac.com/dmhart/WarArt/StudyGuides/Dix.html

Marina

Otto Dix, fantastic artist, considered degenerate by the Nazis, painted the suffering of the soldiers left behind by a Germany in defeat.

I once once asked to produce some fake Dix drawings :blink: , worth 3 grand to me but not worth 3 years in jail!!!!

Soren :D

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The Historial at Peronne has quite a few terrific Dix works and lots of visitors skip them. Also the superb WW1 gallery at IWM frequently is not at all crowded.

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Hi Jon,

If you check it out, please report back.

There's a military show on the 23rd (I think) down in Union. If you're interested, PM me.

Take care,

Neil

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‘One must have chaos within one to give birth to a dancing star’. One of Otto Dix’s favourite quotations, from Nietzsche. It communicates so much. Otto Dix has for many years been my favourite artist of the Great War and seeing his work in reality is so much more intensely powerful than in reproductions. Most recently I visited (at Wolverhampton and Manchester) the touring exhibition which included Caillot, Dix and Goya; and ‘Apocalypse Then: Graphic Art and the Great War’ at the Barber Institute, University of Birmingham. This included Kathë Kollwitz and Max Beckmann as well as Dix (and others).

Beckmann’s work seen 'live' is powerfully haunting, communicating agonising desolation and a penetrating vision of the appalling War he saw. Even the sun may be black (in Resurrection). One can’t close off the fact that these artists are presenting the suffering and degradation that they actually saw. They’re not borrowed images, they’re intense and frenzied and they change the way you think.

Tate publishes a good monograph of Dix. For insight into how the artist worked and his intellectual truth which underpinned his immense talent, I thoroughly recommend the video published by Phaidon (in the excellent series of videos on individual artists) which includes footage of Dix. In particular I remember his insistence that technical skill is absolutely fundamental to any creativity, liberating the artist to find his or her own unique voice and actually begin communicating. There is a penetrating analysis of Beckmann in ‘A Bitter Truth: Avant-Garde Art and the Great War’ by David York.

I envy you the opportunity to see these two artists exhibited together.

Gwyn

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You seem to know a fair bit about Dix Gwyn. I'm not an art buff , but I do like Otto Dix's " Stormtroopers during gas attack " , which was done around 1924 I think ?.

I've never seen anywhere that has a quality print of this picture for sale . Don't suppose you have ever seen a place that offers this item have you ??.

Thanks.

Phil.

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There's somewhere I buy art stuff from in America but I'd have to look for an email with its address on. I am having an amnesiac moment.

A link from my Favourites - maybe something here?:

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

Will look further and amend anon!

Gwyn

Edit. I looked in art.com, which sells a huge range of posters and repros, but nothing. Incidentally, art.com is good and I sometimes order their posters to be delivered as nice presents for people, especially kids.

Edited by Dragon
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Having seen his prints up close I have to agree with Dragon 100%. Seeing them in any other format does not do them justice. I purchased a book of his work at the museum, and it is certainly not the same. Because a lot of his work is so dark, both in theme and color, a lot of detail gets lost putting them into a book. There was one in particular, I think it is called What was Found While Digging a Trench, or something to that effect. The picture is obviouly of a man that was either buried alive or interred there. It gave a sense of a fetus in the womb, but the picture in the book you can hardly tell there is a person. As for the one mentioned above Shock Troops Advance Under Gas the eyes of the mask were so haunting. They were literally the first thing that catches your eye as you walk in the room. The Mad Woman of St. Marie-a-Pys will definitely stay with me for a long time to come.

Neil, if you have time to get into the city it is definitely worth the trip and the $10 entry fee. Also of interest was an exhibit on the Bauhaus and some Klimt sketches.

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As I was reading the forward to the book I mentioned in my last post I came across a reference to Dix's work The Trench, which was supposedly destroyed by the Nazis. Does anyone know if a copy or a photograph of this work still exists? The little research I have done so far has produced another work The War Triptych, which was based in part on this earlier work. I would be interested to see the Trench which the Nazis found too distrurbing and not "heroic" enough. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

Jon

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Hello Jon

The Trench, or part of it, is reproduced in ‘A Bitter Truth’ (mentioned above).

I have a copy of it but I’m not willing to post the picture on the Forum, partly because it’s copyright, partly because it’s very disturbing and partly because the detail would be entirely lost in compression. And I hope you understand that my sending disturbing images to a total stranger with whom one has communicated solely on an Internet forum might be inappropriate. So I think that if you have a look in monographs in art bookshops, you might have some success in finding it.

Gwyn

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  • 2 weeks later...

I am going to be in NYC this weekend and am going to try and make it to the exhibit Sat. Anyone else want to come?

Andy

Chris Baker heard your also in town this weekend. (Hint, hint)

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Just kicking this to the top for Andy.

I am trying to make it on Saturday but I have other responsibilities.

post-962-1122566135.jpg

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