Artwrite

By Bruce Hill

Works from the main art movements that emerged in Germany during the early twentieth century are presented in the exhibition The Mad Square: Modernity in German Art 1910-37. Expressionism, Dada, Constructivism, Bauhaus and New Objectivity exploded onto the erratic social landscape of the period between the two World Wars. The artists of these movements shared a common interest in experimentation that extended across art forms; creating influential new directions in painting, photography, design, decorative arts, film, theatre, street art and political satire.

Images of the world on the brink of destruction and a generation disturbed by an uncertain future appear within the setting of the metropolis. Additionally, anxieties about the modern age were often centred on sexual representations of the female body: women were portrayed as symbols of modernity.

The Mad Square; Modernity in German Art 1910-37, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 6 August – 6 November 2011.