Description

A sweeping journey through the roaring art and culture of the Weimar Republic

At the center of this volume are the Neue Sachlichkeit (New Objectivity) artists--Otto Dix, George Grosz and Albert Renger-Patzsch--and the groundbreaking photographer August Sander, in particular his famed series People of the 20th Century, which portrayed both prominent and anonymous Germans from all parts of society in a simple and matter-of-fact pictorial style. Sander and the Neue Sachlichkeit artists both pursued an anti-Expressionist aesthetic, embracing social engagement and a rejection of romantic idealism. The Cold Gaze also looks at the extraordinary writers associated with the Weimar Republic, such as Vicki Baum, Bertolt Brecht, Alfred D blin, Hans Fallada, Erich K stner and Christopher Isherwood. Further points of focus by a range of contributing writers include Germany's Americanization during this period; Marcel Breuer's innovations in furniture design; the invention and ascent of the Futura font; the Weimar cult of technology; and much more.
This richly illustrated catalog unfolds a period that was at once euphoric and harsh, an extraordinary moment in modernity birthed in the shadows between two world wars.