Page 51 - Studio International - December 1969

doned his usual brawny youths and maidens —works of art in their own right. which could be arranged in a number of dif-
for doves and classical heads a long way after `Socialist realism', even of the most severely ferent combinations for sliding and climbing.
the neo-classical phase in Picasso's career. doctrinaire kind, does not therefore entirely This looked very much like the larger works
It is a pity that these outrageously bad works exclude the kind of art which a western ob- in the Play Orbit show at the I.C.A., and
outshouted a good deal in the Altes Museum server can enjoy. Looking for a common would indeed have been quite at home in that
which was, in an unspectacular way, quite denominator in the works which I did enjoy exhibition. Nearby stood what was described
interesting. Graphics (drawings and prints) turned out to be a wild-goose chase, however, as a specimen of metal cladding for new build-
were often soundly craftsmanlike. Wherever though not in the end an unprofitable one. ings. This was in fact a large-scale relief in the
artists were confronted with a fresh situation, For example, it soon became clear that the manner of Vasarely, with an ingenious use of
for which no set formula existed, something closer artists came to having a limited and a single unit painted in different colours. The
interesting began to emerge. Thanks to the practical purpose, the more striking their difference from western practice was merely a
Soviet alliance, artists from the DDR have work was likely to be. The tapestries I have matter of nomenclature.
had the opportunity to travel deep into Soviet just mentioned were one instance of this. So No-one at the moment knows how far this
Asia—the result has been a number of keenly were a number of illustrations made for chil- kind of thing will be allowed to develop.
observed drawings and small sculptures of the dren's books. Perhaps the most striking proof Architecture in the DDR has already made
people to be seen in these remote regions. The of this contention, however, was to be found in the break and turned again towards the west.
East German passion for sport has also pro- a number of works which had overflowed Painting and sculpture cannot go so far with-
duced a number of vigorous works, often link- from the exhibition itself into the square out- out an implied rejection of the society which
ed to the style of the late Otto Dix. side. Two pieces of sculpture designed for supports and patronises them. Clearly, how-
Dix is not the only German modernist who children's playgrounds were especially good. ever, there is now a feeling, even in official
receives the tribute of study and imitation. One was a simplified concrete elephant, whose circles, that renewed contact with at least
Some artists indeed, such as Hans-Theo trunk provided a slide. Another was a collec- some kinds of western art would be not only
Richter, who died only recently, represent the tion of shapes in brightly coloured plastic permissible, but stimulating. q
direct continuation of the old tradition, since
their art had clearly been formed before Hit-
ler's triumph in 1933. Others show a naive
tendency to imitate some approved, or even
semi-approved, pioneer such as Kokoschka,
whose panoramic landscapes were often
drawn upon. Mostly, however, the best works
show an attempt to extend the possible tra-
dition, rather than merely marking time
within it. Possibly the best sculpture on view
in the anniversary show, Friedrich Henkel's
Woman Kolkhoz worker resting, shows a debt
to Barlach, but a much greater resemblance
to Italian artists such as Greco and Marini—
simply because the sculptor has a feeling for
form which is rather like theirs.
Another interesting point about the exhibition
was the fact that anything which could be
candidly labelled 'decoration' seemed, at the
same time, to slip free of political control.
Among the most impressive things on view
were the tapestries and hangings—the best of
these were the work of Rosemary and Werner
Rataiczyk, doing brilliant work in the modern
tradition of Jean Lurcat. I saw other tapes-
tries by the same two artists hanging in the
foyer of the Comic Opera, where they are
extremely effective.
Mention of the theatre is in any case impor-
tant. At least one artist, Ronald Paris, has
taken hints from the productions of the Ber-
liner Ensemble for a triptych based on three
of Brecht's most famous plays—this was one of
the few successful large compositions. An
exhibition of theatre designs at the Deutsche
Akademie der Kunst, also staged for the 20th
anniversary celebration, proved as consis-
tently fine as the show at the Altes Museum
was uneven. The designs for the Berliner En- 1
semble, in particular, showed a sober ele- Klaus Matthai Friedrich Henkel
Birjat woman and child Woman Kolkhoz worker resting
gance which even the designers of the Royal Bronze
Shakespeare Company can seldom rival. And 2 4
the costume-sketches, by numerous hands, Rosemary and Werner Rataiczyk Ronald Paris
The four elements (detail) Scenes from Brecht (The Caucasian Chalk Circle,
were usually lively pieces of draughtsmanship Tapestry Galileo Galilei, Mother Courage)