Made by Monica Cummings, titled ‘Waldeinsamkeit’

This modern ink sketch depicts a Linden forest landscape with a beaten path cutting through it. Done completely in black ink with crosshatched shading to mimic 19th century engravings, the attention of the piece splits between two focal points; the path’s ending in the near center two-thirds of the way down the sketch, and the hub of an overhanging spiderweb in the right center. Lack of consistant shading represents the uneven lighting caused by leaf-cover in dense forests such as Germany’s Schwarzwald. The underbrush contains rocks, ferns, ivy, moss, and other foliage typical of Germany, with a stream cutting through the left corner. The backgroung contains nine Linden trees with resulting forest canopy. The image contains an upside down figure in the fetal position depicted through the negative spacing outlined by combination of the three closest Linden trees, and a large, knarled branch arching across the center.

Waldeinsamkeit, often translated as ‘forest solitude,’ refers to the German tradition of seeking out alone time in the woods for a sense of recovery and meditation. The word inself combines melancholy or negative feelings with the inclusion of lonliness, as well as enlightened, sublime feelings that come from fully experiencing the woods. Furthermore, forest landscapes relate to the development German nationality during Romantic Era. Fairy tales and short stories such as the collected works of the Brother’s Grimm, artworks by Caspar David Friedrich and poetic works put to song such “die Schoene Muellerin” by Schuman utilize the woods to express German identities.

A critical part of the German romantic forest stems from the inherent juxtoposition of danger and sublimity. Depitctions of forest landscapes in Romantic artworks contain both aesthetic beauty, holiness, or some type of positive power, as well as hexes, villains, and life-threatening terrains. Yet it’s into these landscapes that German’s seek renewal and peace of mind through Waldeinsamkeit. With it’s dark coloring and relatively unclear focal point, the image above contains the elements of inviting beauty and forboding unease seen in the Romantic Forest. This is difficult to express unless done visually. The upside down fetal figure represents the potential for renewal or ‘rebirth’ one gets through forest solitude, but also the potential for identity loss and complete seclusion from society one can feel when alone in the woods. In combination of Märchen symbols (such as Linden trees and forest paths,) contrasting emotions and the potential for rebirth, this image hopefully captures the complexities of Waldeinsamkeit and the Romantic Forest.

Source

Greetings everyone,

The piece of German artwork that I wanted to focus on was discussed in our German Environments class earlier this semester. The work is called “Abtei im Eichwald” (The Abbey in the Oakwood). The painting is by Caspar David Friedrich, who is a very well-known German artist from his time. The painting comes from the German Romanticism period and was painted from 1809-1810. The dark theme with the twisting trees around the crumbling abbey in the center really gives the painting an eerie feeling to it. The relation to German environments is that the painting highlights some important features that have been important to German culture. Specifically, the ‘woodland’ that the painting is located in highlights the background fear and curiosity that exists about the forest in German culture at the time. This can be shown through other fairy tales like Snow White and Little Red Riding Hood, which all had some purpose of fear/mystery within a forested environment of some sort. Just like these fairy tales, the painting shows the viewer that the suspicion and curiosity towards forested environments in Germany have been embedded in the culture for a long period of time.

I think that we can learn quite a bit from this artwork. I think that the crumbling abbey could possibly symbolize a sanctuary for the individuals who are walking toward the entrance. It also appears that the graves that are located around it help illustrate the abandoned feeling that is projected due to their unmaintained appearance. With the abbey placed in the middle of the twisted trees, it almost makes me feel like it is the only safe place for an individual in that environment, while it is surrounded by the darknesses that come from the forest. Also, with the light on the horizon in the painting, I hypothesize that there are safety or better times ahead. While it seems that the individuals who are walking to the abbey are not looking quite happy in the dark environment that surrounds them, it appears to show that the light of the day (and probably a happier, improved environment) is not too far off from the time that the scene takes place.

Overall, I think that the painting helps with illustrating to the observer the cultural context of religion and the forest among Germans. I do think, however, that a person who does not possess the cultural context of the painting may interpret it in a completely different manner.

HA Schult is an 83 year old pop artist from Parchim, Mecklenburg. Most of his work is influenced by commercialism and consumerism. He started his work in environmental advocacy before it was popular to do so. He even earned himslef the nickname “eco-art pioneer”. One of his first projects was a fashion show where he displayed clothing he constructed out of trash in the 1960s. He has beem creating sustainable art work ever since and is continuing to gain popularity. Over the years he has made many works of art that are meant to demonstrate how people waste money on huge displays of wealth and how they harm the earth.

One of Schult’s most famous works of art is an installation called “Trash People”. It is a traveling work and has been displayed on all 7 continents over the span of 18 years. Schult first started collecting trash for his installation in 1996. In order to create all 1,000 trash sculptures he recruited 30 assistants to help him. With a lot of hard work the team finally finished all of the sculptures after six months. Each sculpture is made up of things like bottles, computer parts, and crushed cans that Schult collected himself. He had them displayed in large areas that get a lot of tourists so that they would reach a large audience. He does this to try to make people reflect on their behaviors and think about what they can do to help lower pollution.

“Trash People” is meant to display that humans lives are revolved around consumerism and the idea that everyone on earth produces crazy amounts of trash during our lifetimes. Schult is demonstrating that while we are alive we produce trash and when we die we become trash. That the rich make trash and the poor collect it. He is demonstrating that humans cannot live without an overconsumption of unnecessary things. Making the sculptures look like humans really causes the viewer to reflect on themselves and makes it much more impactful.

Overall his work has been very impactful and will continue to be for years. The lesson he teaches that overconsumption is a serious problem is something that will need to be taught for many years to come.

Sources:

Metzger (1961) painting three nylon curtains, causing them to be permanently destroyed.

While this is less of a single art piece and more of a small movement, Auto Destructive Art (ADA) was an important aspect of German Art Culture in the early 1960s. Gustav Metzger, the founder of the movement, sought to exemplify the destructive capabilities of “modern” technology through his work, often in rather radical ways.
Metzger, who was often associated with multiple environmentalist, antifascist, and anarchist groups in Germany, used his self-created movement to protest nuclear proliferation during the Cold War. His medium, along with the “Group of 100” ,as the other ADA painters were known, was to paint using acid and other corrosive materials on nylon canvases that altered the pieces while they were being created (Tate Gallery).
Auto-destructive art is inherently political. According to Metzger’s thought, the world was too highly fixated on a morbid love of destruction. Along with that, he believed that humans rely too heavily on technology, which has untold consequences on human existence.
After a few years of working with other ADA artists, Metzger decided that a manifesto detailing the requirements of what a piece needs to do in order to be considered true ADA was in order. To be considered true ADA, a piece must “return to its original state of nothingness” within 20 years, the piece must continue to develop after the artist is finished (this was to avoid any sense of ownership being attached to the piece), and each work must be completed in a public space to allow public participation with each individual piece (Tate Gallery).
These requirements were tantamount to the movement’s effectiveness. The whole point of the movement was to inspire the public to embrace natural growth, development, and movement towards the future (Radical Art).
While the movement in its original form struggled to maintain relevance for long, several aspects of it have managed to influence contemporary artists, some being rather notable. The most relevant modern piece with ADA influences was Banksy’s 2006 work, Girl With A Balloon, which was shredded before an audience in 2018. In this case, the influence was the impermanence of art (Oxford Student). The piece was put through a paper shredder before an unknowing audience, many of whom had placed bids on the piece during the auction of it directly before its shredding.
To conclude, Auto-destructive Art falls into the broader category of counterculture art. It is art that not only displays the creative prowess of the artist, but also displays a message that challenges the traditional beliefs of society.

Works Cited:

2019, Culture·13th January, and Pratibha Rai. “The Curious Case of Auto-Destructive Art.” The Oxford Student, January 13, 2019. https://www.oxfordstudent.com/2019/01/13/the-curious-case-of-auto-destructive-art/.

“Auto-Destructive Art.” Auto-destructive art. Accessed April 24, 2023. http://radicalart.info/destruction/metzger.html.

Tate. “Auto-Destructive Art.” Tate. Accessed April 24, 2023. https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/a/auto-destructive-art.