Degenerate Art

This term was used by the Nazis to describe a new

way of making art called Modernism. The artists were
influenced by the expressionism, which made the
artworks being mostly
abstract, sometimes in
black mixed with gray
and white and always
trying to show real
feelings in it. It came
out in the II World War
and it was treated with
disgust in this period,
because it was against
of all the concepts
created by Hitler that
wanted to show the
people more
classic and virtuous
Kunst in German means Art. This is the
exhibition cover.
works to make them
believe in the war.
In 1937, an exhibition happened in the Haus der
Deutschen Kunst, in Munich, where Modernism was
awfully portrayed. A huge list of artists like Paul Klee,
Otto Baum, Ernst Ludwig, Otto Dix were banish.
Two Germanys

When the Second War ended Germany was divided

in two, the East and the West separated by the wall.
It was not just a physical separation. It was two
different ideologies that came to separate people and
consequently a cultural separation was made too.
Artists from one side, didn’t accept the painting and
thinking way of the other side, because their art had
always a relation with the political system.
In 1970 an approximation between East and West
started and another exhibition in Kassel happened.
But a lot of artists refused to participate. It shows
how hostile was this period. We can say this was a
prediction of how difficult would be the real German
reunification. The Berlin Wall had been painted by
people in a protest way against that situation, but in
1990 it came down and Germany became one. Even
though the political reunification was official, people
were still not accepting each other.
Now-a-days

After 20 years since the wall was destroyed, some

people say that differences still exist between east
and west. But something is happening with the art
scene and it’s a transformation to a better way. This
year in São Paulo, Brazil, more than 80 paintings of
the two German sides’ artists were brought for an
exhibition. Something that was impossible some
years ago. Equally important is that currently, the
German art is becoming more and more mixed, a
fact that opens space for different possibilities.
Berlin, for example, it’s considered the European
cultural center and is always innovating when it
comes to contemporary art.