expressionism
TRANSCRIPT
EXPRESSIONISM
Originally a term used by a group of early 20th – century German artists to describe their aesthetic principles and art.
Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radically for emotional effect in order to evoke moods or ideas
Expressionism
Expressionist artists sought to express meaning or emotional experience rather than physical reality
Expressionism was developed as an ”avant-garde” style before the First World War
a group of people who develop new and often very surprising ideas in art, literature, etc
“Avante-garde”
Extreme Angles Flattened Forms Garish Colors Distorted Views
Distinctive Features of Expressionistic Art
Group of German expressionist artists, mostly painters
Portrays Landscapes, Nudes, Carnival Performers with STRONG COLORS and BROAD FORMS
Revived “woodcut” tradition
“Die Brücke” “The Bridge”
“Die Brücke” 1905-1913
Karl Schmidt-Rottluff (German, 1884-1976), Houses at Night
Erich Heckel (German, 1883–1970)Fränzi Reclining (Fränzi liegend)
Two WomenErnst Ludwig Kirchner (Germany, 1880-1938)
A group of German artists mostly expressionist painters
ranged from pure abstraction to romantic imagery, attempting to express spiritual truths
“Der Blaue Reiter” “The Blue Rider”
“Der Blaue Reiter”
Franz Marc, Yellow Cow (Gelbe Kuh), 1911
Franz Marc, The Fate of Animals — the trees' rings, the animals' veins
EXPRESSIONISTIC MUSIC
Expressionist music sounds very odd to most people
Characteristics include extremes of dynamics (very quiet to very loud), lots of dissonant chords (clashing) and unusual combinations of instruments, at times playing the very lowest and very highest notes of their range.
The music is described as being atonal (not set in key).
EXPRESSIONISTIC MUSIC
Melodies tend to be disjunct (lots of leaps) and ‘tunes’ are always avoided
Composers were more concerned with sound colour (combination of instrumental sounds) as oppose to a good melody.
Textures vary greatly throughout a piece of expressionist music, from solo sections to full passages for orchestra.
1. Pierrot Lunaire What instruments do you hear? What vocal range is it composed for? Is it dissonant or consonant?
2. Five Pieces for Orchestra What instruments do you hear? How is it
similar/different to the Peirrot Lunaire piece?” What do you think makes it reflect the
goals/ideals of expressionism?” How does it differ from impressionistic music?
What’s similar?