Expressionism

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Expressionism Futurism

• By Raia Mihaylova

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EXPRESSIONISM

• The tendency of an artist to distort reality for
  an emotional effect.
• Methods used-distortion, blurring, colour
  exaggeration.
• Exhibited in many art forms-painting, literature,
  film, architecture, music, and theater.
• Term often implies emotional torment
• Reflected the worries and despair of an entire
  society torn between wars and extremism.

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History

• Developed in Germany between 1900 and 1925
• The word first appeared in 1911 during the 22nd
  exhibit of the Berliner Sezession
• Painters cared to a small extent about the
  technical aspects of painting, They wanted to
  paint their emotional reponse to objects and not
  just what they saw.
• Movement inspired by the troubles and
  uncertainties attached to the early 20th
  century-WWI and Nazism

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History cont.

• Expressionism was particularly initiated in the
  late 1800s by James Ensor, Vincent van Gogh, and
  Edvard Munch.
• The movement developed itself in 1905 with a
  group of painters named Die Brucke (The Bridge)
• It dissolved in 1913
• Another group formed-the New association of
  Artists, which later renamed itself Der Blaue
  Reiter (The Blue Knight )

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Expressionism beyond Germany

• Austria-Oskar Kokoschka (1886-1980) and Egon
  Schiele (1890-1918)
• France-George Rouault (1871-1958)
• Italy-Amedeo Modigliani (1884-1920)

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Expressionist theatre

• Theatre with expressionistic goals in mind
• Primary aim is not to educate, entertain, or to
  be realistic. Rather, its goal is to express
  emotion.
• Actors behave how most people wouldnt in real
  life
• Set designs were exaggerated to emphasise the
  tone of the setting

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Expressionist theatre

• Oskar Kokoschkas 1909 playlet, Murdered, The
  Hope of Women, is often considered the 1st
  expressionist drama.
• Extreme simplification of characters to mythic
  types, choral effects, loud dialogue and
  heightened intensity all later became
  characteristics of expressionist plays.
• Characters were often impersonal or nameless.
• Arose of the impulse to rebel against materialist
  values of the older middle-class generation

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Style of expressionist theatre

• Plays often dramatized the spiritual awakening
  and sufferings of their protagonist. Referred to
  as Stationendramen (station plays).
• Modeled on the episodic presentation of the
  suffering and death of Jesus.
• Also, dramatized the struggle against bourgeois
  values and established authority.

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Important figures

• Forerunners of Expressionism are accepted to be
  Frank Wedekind and Strindberg
• Georg Kaiser and Ernst Toller-most famour
  playwrights.
• Reinhard Sorge, Walter Hasenclever, Hans Henny
  Jahnn, and Arnolt Bronnen.

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Plays and Drama

• Oskar Kokoschka- Murdered, The Hope of Women.
• Richard Sorge- The Begger (Der Bettler)
• Arnolt Bronnen-Vatermord

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FUTURISM

• Appeared in 1909 in Italy.
• Founder-poet/playwright Tommaso Marinetti, who
  wrote the Manifesto of Futurism.
• It was considered to have greatly influenced
  growing Fascism
• Works reflected the hatred for political and
  artistic traditions and the intense will of
  proving the importance of Italy in the industrial
  and machine age.
• First deliberately organized, self-conscious
  movement of the 20th century.

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Futurism

• One of the aims of futurism was to object to
  traditional conventionalism and to wage war
  against the art of the 19th century.
• The 20th century was a new time when people were
  starting to prosper, health and hygiene was
  getting more sophisticated and people were living
  longer. The world was changing but art wasnt.
• Futurism was about getting art to evolve and
  become more sophisticated.

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Reform

• In Italy at this time, the government was seen as
  corrupt and had ulterior motives which didnt fit
  that of the peoples ideals.
• Futurists demanded change, they wanted reform!
• They believed the only way to inspire Italy with
  the warlike spirit was through theatre.
• Futurist interest in theatre is shown through a
  series of manifestos on theatrical creativity.

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The Variety Theatre

• Emphesized the important contribution which
  music-hall entertainment could make to
  avant-garde theatre.
• The manifesto of the Variety Theatre
• Anti-academic, primitive, and naïve. Destroyed
  the Solemn, the Sacred, the Serious, and the
  Sublime
• Focused upon its practical character
• - meant to entertain
• - inventive (could never stop or repeat
  itself)
• -marvelous quality (made possible by modern
  technical equipment and use of the cinema)

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Futurist marvelous

• Accomplished by false impression, ridicule,
  irony, satire, analogy, cynicism and absurdity.
• By new uses of light, sound, noise, speech, and
  speed.
• Pain was falsified, serious situations were
  portrayed as ridiculous.
• Public was seen as collaborating in action, which
  took place on stage, backstage, and in the hall
  itself.
• Brilliant actors-artist Fregoli and Petrolini.

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Soirees

• Precursors of the Synthetic theatre
  performances.
• Poetic and political meetings
• 1st such meeting held at the Teatro Costanzi in
  Rome.
• A model of Soirees
• Turning into theatrical events.

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The Futurist Synthetic Theatre1915

• Synthetic-very brief
• Atechnical-to destroy the technique
• Dynamic, simulateneous-born of improvisation,
  lightening-like intuition.
• Autonomous, alogical, unreal-not be subject to
  logic, will resemble nothing but itself.
• Excite the audience

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Continued

• Opposed to comedy, drama, tragedy
• Used lines written in free words, interpretation,
  acted-out poem, the dramatized sensations, comic
  dialogue.

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Famous playwrights

• UMBERTO BOCCIONI
• The Bachelor Apartment / La Garconniere
• The Body That Ascends / Il Corpo che Sale.
• Genius and Culture / Genio e Coltura
• PAOLO BUZZI
• The Futurist Prize / Il Premio di Futurismo
• Parallelepiped / Parallelepipedo
• FRANCESCO CANGIULLO
• The Lady-Killer and the Four Seasons / ll
  Donnaiuolo e le 4 Stagioni
• The Paunch of the Vase / La Pancia del Vaso
  Detonation / Detonazione.

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Continued
CHARACTER A BULLET Road at night, cold,
deserted. A minute of silence.--A gunshot.
CURTAIN