Report: Art Seminar

The art seminar covered a wide spectrum of the various facets involved in art practice, art history and art movements. This included subcategories of modern art and contemporary art, and how these art movements were integrated within the German context.

The different classes within the era of modern art era changed the way people thought about art as well as the manner in which it had always been portrayed. There were three art movements encased within this era, namely Fauvism, Cubism and Expressionism. One of the most interesting German movements taught to us within these three categories of modern art was Der Blaue Reiter, which is fundamental to expressionism. These German artists wanted to touch the human soul through shapes and colours by way of self expression.

We were then taught and shown how the modern art era differs substantially from that of contemporary art as a result of the two world wars. Art was left to its own devices within this period and became art for arts sake. An extremely influential German artist within the contemporary movement was Joseph Beuys. He initiated the idea that anyone can be an artist in their own right.

Marion then gave each one of us the opportunity to express ourselves by painting a piece of art work with no limits or boundaries. After such an enjoyable and informative seminar this was perfectly fitting to the notion of anyone can be artist.

Matthew Rose