Symposium: German and Austrian Expressionism

Top scholars will give in-depth presentations on the Expressionist movement in visual art and cinema, contextualizing the Museum's recent bequest of German and Austrian Expressionist works on view in The Human Beast.

Where did this come from? Cosmopolitanism, Influence, Community, and the origins of German Expressionism

Timothy Benson, Curator, The Robert Gore Rifkind Center for German Expressionist Studies, LACMA

How did German Expressionism evolve, and what was the role of the international influence of artists like Van Gogh and Matisse? In its early 20^th-century beginnings, Expressionism was assigned no specific nationality and evolved in part as a lively exchange between artists based in Germany and new developments in modern art elsewhere, especially in France. Yet there were also efforts to establish a national identity as German artists achieved unique modes of expression and their own visions of the human community. This talk will consider some of these questions in light of some of the works in the Human Beast exhibition.

Franz Marc's Abstractions: How To See Like An Animal

Kim Smith, Professor of Art History, Southwestern University

This talk will focus on Franz Marc, taking the small piece in the Human Beast exhibition entitled Colored Flowers as a starting point for considering the shift in style that occurs in the artist's later work. Marc is best known for his collaboration with Wassily Kandinsky on the Blaue Reiter, and for his lyrical paintings of animals, his preferred subject for many years. Yet the little picture in this exhibition not only does not appear to represent animals, it is noticeably more abstract than much of his earlier and better known paintings. How can we explain the interest in abstracted forms that began to surface in Marc's late works, and is there still a connection between this style and his fondness for animals? Smith will explore this question, proposing that Marc's more abstract style represents a re-thinking of the possibilities of animal painting based on contemporary theories of perception.

Expressionism in Exile: Hollywood and the Shadow of the Weimar Republic

Ariel Plotek, Assistant Curator at The San Diego Museum of Art

The Rise of Fascism in Germany uprooted hundreds of artists. Among these refugees were the directors, composers, and actors who came to Los Angeles in the 1930s, bringing with them the avant-garde culture of Weimar theater and film that would change the face of Hollywood.

Please Note: The morning of the event the Cabrillo Bridge, Balboa Dr., Village Place, and Zoo Place will be closed until around 10:00 a.m.. The Presidents Way and Pan American Rd. park entrances off of Park Boulevard will remain open. Please plan additional time for transportation and parking. Visit BalboaPark.org for up-to-date information on road closures and traffic information.