Jugendstil, die grosse Utopie
By: herausgegeben von Sabine Schulze, Claudia Banz, Leonie Beiersdorf ; Autoren: Nora von Achenbach [and 9 others]
Contributors: Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg
Publisher: Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe
Published: 2015
Place of publication: Hamburg
Language: ger
Number of pages: 206
ISBN-13: 9783923859849
Subjects: Art nouveau; Exhibitions
Description: In its exhibition entitled Art Nouveau. The Great Utopian Vision, the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg (MKG), accompanied by a newly designed presentation of its existing Art Nouveau Collection, retraces an era which produced so much more than whimsically playful ornamentation. Art Nouveau defined itself via reform movements, visions and Utopian dreams aimed at renewing society. The special exhibition throws light on this cultural and historical background and development, drawing together the ideas linking Karl Marx's "Das Kapital" and Peter Behrens's salon grand piano with symbols quoted from Friedrich Nietzsche's "Zarathustra". It shows reform movement robes, a solar bath for sun-worshippers, photographs of nudists playing sports in the open air or Loïe Fuller's celebrated light dances. The arts take up the revolutionary changes affecting the private and social life of modern man, sketch new models for living and experiment with technical innovations. Gustav Klimt, Edvard Munch and Alfons Mucha reflect the many-facetted perceptions projected onto women. Ferdinand Hodler, Paula Modersohn-Becker focus on the child. And a constantly recurring source of inspiration is nature, especially in the applied arts. Art Nouveau also marks a hiatus for the museums of arts and crafts, which had up to then only shown examples from history. This is the period when they also begin to collect contemporary art. Exhibition: Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg, Germany (17.10.2015-07.02.2016).
Notes: Catalog of an exhibition held at the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg, Germany, October 17, 2015-February 7, 2016.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 202-204).