Reproducing Roots of Violence in the Post-World War II Germany Based on Slavoj Žižek’s Viewpoints (Case Study: Anselm Kiefer-Georg Baselitz)

Wars leave indisputable adverse effects on social conditions. Upon the abatement of social traumas left from the World War II, Germany, that had suffered a lot during this time, encountered the question of defining the future. In the meantime, struggling to duplicate the developmental values ​​of the capitalist system and particularly the American consumerism, the country endeavored to present a fresh look. However, the fierce actions resulting from the unstable conditions arising from the world powers’ clash was not only still prevalent, but each day, such condition was emerging in a new form in another part of the world. The development-based values ​​of the Western society were spreading alongside the war ruins. The cold war was the official manifestation of the violence rooted in the ideological confrontations of the World War II.
The ferocity of war and its aftermath in a society does not end at a specific time but runs through the history. For a long time, artists keep reflecting the terrors, humiliations and frustrations caused by wars in diverse forms of art. Postwar events and developments left a profound impact on the world of art. Post-World War and frustrations, Cold War challenges and concerns, economic crises, etc. comprised some of the major external elements that made the world of art no longer tolerate conceptual and minimal expression and agree or oppose to the politics of its time. Even the humiliations and frustrations of war was manifest in various forms of art for a long time.
Just like others, the artists were witness to the cruelties of their time and suffered although they were not soldiers. In such circumstances, creation of artworks was a reaction to such events in the artists’ style. Anselm Kiefer and Georg Baselitz are among those artists each of whom have responded to the life events in their own specific way. In Germany, many artworks were created to portray the aftermaths of war in a new style influenced by expressionism. Such style is referred to as ‘neo-expressionism’.
Employing descriptive-analytical method of research conducted through the desk study of library resources, the study at hand surveys the effects of war on the works of artists who created their artworks under the influence of the turbulent postwar period. Moreover, it seeks to illustrate how the consequences of suppression, such as violence, are portrayed in works of art. Through examining the form and content of the works of artists who have only seen the postwar ruins, the paper analyzes how social and political conditions can affect the works of artists of one specific era and beyond.
Keywords such as violence, necessity, deficiency, etc. used to analyze artworks are generalizations that can be derived from an author's point of view in artworks. Hence, no criticism is absolute and artworks require repeated surveys and reviews in the framework of social, cultural, political and artistic developments. Evolution in the world of art world calls us to review the art of the past eons.
This study seeks to take a closer look at the works of the two German artists using Žižek’s commentary on violence. The main purpose of this paper is to examine the hidden origins and aspects of violence in the works of postwar German artists based on Žižek’s viewpoints. In fact, the research mainly aims to address this question that how a human being suppressed by and humiliated in war, engages in the world of art.
Artworks are ever involved in politics and social affairs whether consciously or unconsciously, explicitly or implicitly. Apparently, this is not a new or even a contemporary phenomenon. If politics is considered a matter of power or relevance, every work of art, even the most conceptual one, is linked to its own contemporary politics and is its product. Wars do not necessarily commence and conclude at a certain point of time; contrariwise, they engage with the cultures and societies for successive periods.
Reflection of personal human experiences such as pain, grief, rage, and the like, for which there is no external equivalent, constantly make the contemporary artist face this question that whether such experiences can be demonstrated as art objects.
The outcomes of this paper indicate that art is an effective and influential tool that communicates directly or indirectly with human thought and worldview as well as the society conditions. It is within the developments of the society that art currents are shaped and it is in the same ambience that they find meaning. But since the work of art has ever been considered beautiful throughout the history of art, it has been unable to portray ugliness and inequality, because for the audience, a work of art is beautiful and this accounts for a kind of failure for an artist who protests against social conditions.The ferocity of war and its aftermath in a society does not end at a specific time butruns through the history. Postwar events and developments left a profound impact on the world of art. Post-World War terrors and frustrations, Cold War challenges and concerns, economic crises, etc.comprised some of the major external elements that made the world ofart no longer tolerate conceptual and minimal expression and agree or oppose to the politics of its time. Even the humiliations and frustrations of war was manifest in various forms of art fora long time.
Just like others, the artists were witness to the cruelties of their time and sufferedalthough they were not soldiers. In such circumstances, creation of artworks was a reaction to such events in the artists’ style. Anselm Kiefer and Georg Baselitz are among those artists each of who have responded to the life events in their own specific way. In Germany,many artworks were created toportray the aftermaths of war ina new style influenced by expressionism. Such style is referred to as ‘neo-expressionism’.
Employing descriptive-analytical method of research conducted through the desk study of library resources, the study at hand surveys the effects of war on the works of artists who created their artworksunder the influence of the turbulent postwar period. Moreover, it seeks to illustrate how the consequences ofsuppression, such as violence, are portrayed in works of art. Through examining the form and content of the works of artists who have only seen the postwar ruins, the paper analyzes how social and political conditions can affect the works of artists of that era and beyond. The research method in this paper is descriptive-analytical and it is done using library resources.
This study seeks to take a closer look at the works of the two German artists using Žižek’s commentary on violence. The main purpose of this paper is to examine the hidden origins and aspects of violence in the works ofpostwar German artists basedon Žižek’s viewpoints. In fact, the research mainly aims to address this question that how a human being suppressed and humiliated in war, engages in the world of art.
Artworks are ever involved in politics and social affairs whether consciously or unconsciously, explicitly or implicitly. Apparently, this is not a new or even a contemporary phenomenon. If politics is considered a matter of power or relevance, every work of art, even the most conceptual one, is linked to its own contemporary politics and is its product. Wars do not necessarily commenceand conclude at a certain point of time; contrariwise,they engage with the cultures and societiesfor successive periods.
Reflection of personal human experiences such as pain, grief, rage, and the like, which we do not have an external equal, constantly makes the contemporary artist face this question that whether such experiences can be demonstrated as art objects.
Keywords such as violence, necessity, deficiency, etc. used to analyze artworks are generalizations that can be derived from an author's point of view in artworks. Hence, no criticism is absolute and artworks require repeated surveys and reviews in the framework of social, cultural, political and artistic developments. Evolution in the world of art world calls us to review the art of the past eons.
The outcomes of this paper indicate that art is an effective and influential tool that communicates directly or indirectly with human thought and worldview as well as the society conditions. It is within the developments of the society that art currents are shaped and it is in the same ambience that they find meaning. But since the work of art has everbeen considered beautiful throughout the history of art, it has been unable to portray ugliness and inequality, because for the audience, a work of art is beautiful and this accounts for a kind of failure for an artist who protests against social conditions.