German Expressionists in Books

German Expressionists artists also worked in partnership with writers, current or past to illustrate their interpretation of the written messages.  Some wrote their own prose.  Others illustrated the classics from Shakespeare, Goethe and others.

While missing the now closed LACMA French and German Expressionists exhibit, I discovered some of their works in the permanent exhibit.  The museum also has a special exhibit entitled:  "The Written Image:   Books and Portfolios From the Robert Gore Rifkind Center for German Expressionist Studies."  The description states that printmaking was a vital medium for the expresion of aesthetic ideas printed on single sheets, portfolios, books and periodicals.  These were expedient and flexible means of disseminating art to a wide audience.

But first, here are two paintings from the Expressionists, one French, one German, one after the war and one after.

"Composition," 1925 by Fernand Leger, French, 1881-1955

"Bathers," 1913,, by Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, German, 1884-1976

The information at the exhibit states that central to proliferation of illustrated books and print portfolios after World War I was a handful of German publishers and art dealers.  They were committed to providing inexpensive examples of the latest examples in art.  Their galleries and publishing houses in Berlin, Dresden and Munich were cultural meccas during the Weimar era and helped to support the artists to ear much needed income during this inflationary period following the war.

"Zwei Manner am Tisch" 1913 by Erich Heckel, German 1883-1970, woodcut.  This work relates to Dostoyevsky's  The Idiot and The Brothers Karamazov.  The artist was an avid reader of the Russian novelist.  The artist translated Dostoyevsky's themes in both paintings and prints.

"Triumph der Liebe," 1911 by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, German, 1880-1938, woodcut.

"Die beiden Veroneser (The Two Gentlemen of Verona)," 1917 by Franz Maria Jansen, German , 1885-1958, woodcut with hand-coloring on japan paper.  From the portfolio "Visions of Shakespeare," 1918.

"Macbeth V," 1918 by Wilhelm Lehmbruck, German, 1881-1919, etching and drypoint.

"Falstaff," 1917 by Lovis Corinth, German 1858-1925, drypoint on japan paper.  From "Visions of Shakespeare."

"Kundung: Eine Zeitschrift for Kunst (Kundung:  A Magazine for Art)," 1920 by Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, German 1884-1976, woodcut printed in black and orange.

"Untitled," 1912 by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, German 1880-1938, woodcut on blue and red paper.  This was the cover of the exhibition catalogue for the Brucke Art's Group in Berlin.

"Tod auf der Landstrasse (Death on the Road)," 1934 by Kathe Kollwitz, German 1867-1945, lithograph.  From the portfolio "Tod (Death)," 1934-37, Berlin.

"Portrait of Dostoyevski," 1921 by Max Beckmann, German, 1884-1950, drypoint.

"Handstand," 1916 by Erich Heckel, German, 1883-1970, lithograph on japan paper.

"Inhaltsverzeichnis fur die Neumann-Mappe (Table of contents for the Neumann portfolio)," 1919 by Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, woodcut.

"Faces of Homelessness" portraits by Dr. Stuart Perlman

Stuart Perlman PhD has been a clinical psychologist in private practice in West Los Angeles for over 30 years.  He returned to painting by focusing on portraits of the homeless.  "If we can see the faces of the homeless and learn their stories - their hopes, dreams, accomplishments and fears - we can no longer pretend they do not exist...we can no longer look the other way."

The "Faces of Homelessness" portrait project has been exhited throughout Los Angeles.  I saw some of the paintings at the ArcLight Hollywood.  Stuart's documentary about this project, "Struggle in Paradise," won the National Association for the Advancement of Psychoanalysis' Best Movie of the Year Award in 2013.

This exhibit is supported by the "Homes for Good" program which is an initiative of United Way and L.A. Area Chamber of Commerce who are seeking other supporters to bring "L.A. homeless neighbors Home For Good.

"Daniel, late 50's"  Daniel is an Air Force Veteran and college graduate.  He worked for AIG Architects as a drafstsman and project coordinator.  He loved his job, his wife and children who he adored.  Then one night he got a call from the local sheriff informing him that a drunk driver had killed his wife and children.  He said he went crazy used drugs then stopped and came to California and lived on the beach.  He started writing poems, which he called his therapy.  After seven years on the beach he moved into a HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing program apartment.
Daniel's Poem
Now I'm on the beach,
playing in the sand under my toes,
only God knows.
There's a child going wild,
he stops and looks at me and he smiles,
that's what it's all about.
It makes me want to get up and shout,
"Let;s all get out, what a day!"
I wouldn't want to spend it any other way,
Except one.
I miss you, babe. 

"Father and Daughter"
The subjects of the portrait must remain anonymous as it represents many families with children who live on the beach but feel they need to remain invisible so the Child Welfare officals don't take their children away.

"Nate, 62"
Nate was drafted into the Vietnam War when he was attending New York University.  He doesn't want to talk about the "atrocities" of war but that something had  "died inside."  He graduated from NYU and worked as a comedy writer in L.A.  Nate is getting medication from the VA for PTSD and depression.

"DK, 40s"
DK is a Native American who's childhood was one of neglect and physical mistreatment.  He began drinking alcohol given by his father when he was a child and says he has be an alcoholic for 40 years.  DK plays the guitar and sings. "The songs he writes are filled with angst and sorrow.  He is desperate to be heard."

"Corey, 20s"
"Corey's early childhood was so terrible he cannot even talk about it.  At 18 he enlisted in the Navy and became a Navy Seal and did multiple tours in Iraq.  He was court-martialed and dishonorable discharged for not "taking out a target" which he he was was an Iraq soldier holding up an infant as protection.  He was ordered to "Shoot the target through the baby!"
He lives on the beach with a girlfriend who is pregnant.  "He desperately wants to get a job to support them."

"Crystal, 26"
Crystal at age 12 was raped by her stepbrothers and kicked out of her house.  She was exploited on the streets by a pimp and forced to take drugs.  He has lived mostly on the streets for the past 14 years.  Crystal describe having per portrait painted as "cool" and that it was unusual for someone to "take the time out of their day to talk to a homeless person."

"Grumpy, 61"
Grumpy grew up in an orphanage and adopted at age 13 and two months later his adoptive mother died.  He as been homeless for seven years and has had a heart attack, multiple seizures and strokes.  He has sever cirrhosis of the liver from drinking.  He feels that his is viewed as society's trash.

Opera Simulcast on the Pier

On Wednesday night, we brought our beach chairs to the Santa Monica Pier to watch a Simulcast of a live Los Angeles Opera production of Giuseppe Verdi's La Traviata.  It starred the music director Pacido Domingo as Giorgio Germont, Nino Machaidze as Violetto, and Arturo Chacon-Cruz as Alfredo Germont.  Violetta and Alfredo are the love interest, Giorgio is his father who tries to straighten out the mess since Violetta is a consort of Baron Douphol played by Daniel Mobbs. The lavish production was set in the Roaring '20's in Paris with beautiful clothes, sets that included a 1920's fancy sedan that road across the stage, and wonderful dancers.

We enjoyed our beverages and snacks and the beautiful production on the pier.  Spoiler Alert:  The Diva dies at the end of the opera.

USS Iowa and the PV Band

Last Saturday night we enjoyed a band concert on the fore deck of the U.S.S. Iowa which is permanently anchored in L.A.'s San Pedro harbor.  It was a beautiful night on the deck, under the guns listening to John Phillip

Sousa Marches and other band music by the Palos Verdes Symphonic Band.  We enjoyed the view too looking over the harbor, passing boats, the loading of a cargo ship across the water and the lights on the Vincent Thomas bridge to the North of us.

Joy at the Bowl

On Thursday night we went to the Hollywood Bowl for the final classical concert of the season.  Juanjo Mena, a Basque-Spanish conductor led the full L.A. Phil in Leonard Bernstein's Symphonic Dances from "West Side Story" for the first part of the program.  We enjoyed the lyrical tunes including "Maria," "America," "Cool" and "There's a Place for Us."

After the intermission it was all Beethoven's Ninth Symphony with 100+ members of the L.A. Master Chorale and four opera singers.  The "Ode to Joy" was in commemoration of those lost on 9/11.
The highlight of course was the final movement which was sung in German starting with the booming voice of baritone-bass, Morris Robinson.  The L.A. Times reviewer, Richard Ginell, wrote that "it jolted the performance to another level."

We, along with the 10,000 plus fans thoroughly enjoyed the evening.  Here are a few glimpses  of the performance.

Nathan Cole was the lead violinist for the evening.

The view of the orchestra and chorale from our seats.

Juanjo Mena, Conductor

Morris Robinson, bass-baritone 

Members of the Chorale

The Los Angeles Master Chorale with Camilla Nylund, Soprano, Daniela Mack, Mezzo-Soprano, Donald Litaker, Tenor, and Morris Robinson, Bass-Baritone.

Roaming around Huntington Gardens and Museum

On Wednesday my friends Penny and Tom joined me for lunch and walk around the beautiful Huntington Gardens and Museums (we didn't make it to the Library) in San Marino.  I was particularly interested in the special additions to the Scott Gallery which features American artists. Here are some new paintings that I enjoyed:

"Indians Making Canoes (Montagnais Indians)," 1895, watercolor, by Winslow Homer, 1836-1910 

"Study for Gassed," 1918-19, charcoal, by John Singer Sargent, 1855-1925
The final painting hangs at the Imperial War Museum in London and shows the horrors of WW I.

"Francoise Holding a Little Dog," pastel on paper, by Mary Cassatt, 1844-1926

"Study for Spring Turning," 1936, charcoal, chalk and graphite, by Grant Wood, 1891-1942

"Cypress Trees, Point Lobos," 1930-33, Colored crayon on paper, by Henrietta Shore, 1880-1963  

"Palm Springs Landscape with Shack," 1925 by John Frost 1890=1937

"Hiraqla Variation III," 1969 by Frank Stella, b. 1936
Hiraqla is an archaeological site in Iraq that contains a half-built circular structure probably constructed around 800 CE.

"See Saw," 1969 by Frederick Hammersley, 1919-2009

"Masthead," 1979, Lithograph, by Robert Rauschenberg, 1925-2008

Tares," 1972, Collage on paper, by Robert Rauschenberg

"Global Loft (Spread)," Solvent transfer on fabric and paper collage to wooden panels, with acrylic paint and three metal brushes, 1979 by Robert Rauschenberg

"Arcanum III," Silkscreen, collage and watercolor on paper, 1981 by Robert Rauschenberg

"Soldier," 1944, Tempera on Masonite Charles White, 1918-1979
"Soldier reflects on his time in the Army.  It almost certainly alludes to the humiliations of black soldiers, who, like White himself, were frequently denied the privilege of serving their nation in battle."  "He found all African-American  troop assigned to brute labor on the home front."

"Preacher," 1940, Tempera on board, by Charles White
White was born in Chicago where he studied at the Art Institute.  After WW II, he moved to Southern California, taught at the Otis Art Institute and lived in Altadena. 

"Ghost Ranch Cliffs," 1940-42 by Georgia O'Keeffe, 1887-1986
She called this view near her New Mexico home her "backyard."

"Cactus," 1927 by Henrietta Shore

"Campo Santo,' by Maynard Dixon, 1875-1946

"San Gabriel Valley," 1916 by Edgar Alwin Payne, 1882-1947
"Born in Germany, Payne studied at the Art Institute of Chicago.  In 1906, he settled in California permanently.

"Summer Fantasy," 1924 by George Bellows, 1882-1925
"L:ate in his career, Bellows looked to European Modernists" including Paul Cezanne and Henri Matisse.  The paintings's triangular composition and juxtapositions of strong oranges, viridian greens, and deep blues show Bellows reinterpreting their example.