When I first heard about the Degenerate Art Exhibit, I wondered when it would reach Berlin as the exhibition had been traveling through almost a dozen German cities. Now, as an artist myself it was painful to hear about how someone’s art was deemed “degenerate” – like what does that even mean! I truly empathize with these artists. It is cruel to put a person’s art on display for people to come and gawk and further disapprove of a life passion. I thought about it for days when the exhibition finally reached Berlin of whether or not I would pay it a visit. I wondered if there were any people going just to look at the artwork and maybe even a slim chance of people there in disguise, appreciating the artwork. As a fan of expressionism, I had to go at least once. I remember arriving and seeing a crowd of people outside, almost in the street. I was truly taken aback from the inside– all of this modern art, these new ways of expression, in the same presence as I. It was truly amazing. I had actually fallen out of art for a little, suffering artist block, but this exhibit somehow awakened something in me. Many resembled pictures from Passionate Journey. There were so many different styles of art that represented so many of today’s current  modernist tendencies, such as abstraction. Even though in most of the public eye, they are seen as the outcome of genetic inferiority and society’s moral decline, I thought they represented a new era of art. I didn’t realize how much influence and power the Nazi party had until this exhibit. It is clear that they desired to shape and control German society in every way possible. This type of “propaganda” they used was unfortunately working and it was making it even harder for other artists, including me, to have a place in society and be able to express myself. I still remember the faces of those who experienced the exhibit– the faces of disgust and disapproval still haunt me today. Even though this exhibit was meant to defame and lessen artists all around, it still provided a way for those people’s art to get out there into the world for the small chance to inspire someone like it did for me. 

Here we are, almost 10 years later following the hyperinflation period. I scraped by that’s for sure– and let me tell you, it was definitely not easy. I finally finished art school and I was trying to find my place in the world. All of my friends were going their separate ways putting their art skills and other skills to use. I need to make myself get out into the world. That day I decided to figure out what I was going to do with myself. First off I really needed to find a place to live. I have been saving a little bit of money as much as I could and the inflation period definitely didn’t help. As I walked the streets, I saw newspaper headlines and radios all saying the same thing: Paul Von Hindenburg. .  Dead. I couldn’t believe it. These past few years I have been trying to pay attention and be more involved with the political climate I was living in. I felt as though Hindenburg was seen as a symbol of stability and authority during a time of political and economic turmoil. I think along with many others, we believed that his death marked the end of an era and left me and my fellow Germans feeling a sense of loss and uncertainty about the future. Honestly, along with the sense of uncertainty, I was also very fearful. Hindenburg’s death further weakened the already fragile democratic institutions of the republic. He had been seen as a moderating force on Hitler and the Nazi Party. His death removed one of the few remaining checks and balances on Hitler’s power, allowing the Nazis to pursue their radical agenda more aggressively. I had fears that our society would revert to times of trouble and turmoil again– setting me back once again. I finally had dreams of mine I wanted to accomplish. I once again turned to Passionate Journey  and tried to relate it to my current reality as the book represents a visual narrative of the human experience, capturing the hopes, struggles, and aspirations of individuals in a changing society–that changing society being mind in this moment. Hitler’s consolidation of power and the subsequent establishment of the Nazi regime led to the erosion of civil liberties, the suppression of political opposition, and the dismantling of democratic processes. Hindenburg’s death was more than just loss of life. He really meant something to the people and now we are stuck with the feelings of uncertainty and fear to guide us further in this life. At this point I actually miss being in art school still, when life was somewhat simpler.

A gallon of milk is now one trillion marks. I am struggling to make ends meet. All the luxuries I enjoyed before like Bienenstich Kuchen only remain a fond memory and constantly worried that I will not be able to take care of myself in this foreign land. Speakeasies and bars will hire me to do Jazz even though I am a trained classical musician. My skin and my features pay my bills. I used to secretly judge Polla for her work, but I realized I am the same as her. I came to Berlin to perform with Berlin philharmonic Orchestra, but I have settled to perform in speakeasies and clubs because they want an exotic black woman to perform jazz music. I am currently 23 years old, and I am very worried about my future in Germany Inflation is making its way through the papier mark and things don not look so good for Germany, there are twice the amount of people on the streets begging and industrial workers are protesting. On January 1923, I decided to pick up a part tie job as a barista. It was a hard decision to make because it wasn’t in my plans, but I knew I needed to do it to ensure my survival. My boss is nice and lets me have extra hours. I make one trillion marks a week. Although my financial situation is not the best, I am managing the money the best that I can. I don’t know how long Germany is going to be in this predicament with hyperinflation but I hope everything goes back to normal so I can have my Bienenstich Kuchen.

As I was still a current art student during the period of hyperinflation did no good deeds for me. I couldn’t even buy any new brushes or paper without having to potentially sell my leg! It was definitely a rough time to still be living alone in what you would call barely a stable living condition. Everyday was a struggle and the state of the economy was not helpful. Sometimes I wondered how Marthe or some of my other friends handled this. I was almost done with school too so this situation just made everything even more difficult. My art professor was harder on us than ever telling us to “Use the adversity from the economy and express it into our artwork”. I didn’t know how. I remember barely being able to sleep and most nights I was hungry as even a loaf of bread or a pound of butter almost cost millions. As an artist I am very observant and I believe there were multiple reasons for this hyperinflation. I felt as though the economy was still suffering from the effects of World War I, when the German government had printed more and more money to pay for the costs of the war. This devalued the mark. In a way I felt the same way as the mark– devalued by myself though. I felt ashamed of what the economy was doing to my education, my social class. “How was I ever going to recover from this” I remember thinking to myself. Moving forward a little where a new currency reform was introduced, this gave me hope. I ended up finishing art school and eventually finding a job for myself. I was determined to get myself out of the “rathole” I was living in for the past few years. In a way I channeled the foundations of Expressionism and expressed my emotional experienced in many ways. 

I wanted to include these details about my avatar in this blog to further move along his story and give a deeper perspective on his living situation and how it was affected by the hyperinflation period. I researched how much some food cost during this time and how that obviously made it difficult to eat and live in general. I also wanted to keep tying my character’s connection to art in this blog by mentioning expressionism again and also how he might have navigated through art school with these economical challenges. I believe this would be historically accurate as the hyperinflation would push a lot of adversity, especially on someone in Richard’s situation

Lehnen, Christine. “1923: How Weimar Combatted Hyperinflation – DW – 01/01/2023.” Dw.com, 1 Jan. 2023, www.dw.com/en/1923-how-weimar-combatted-hyperinflation/a-64184767.‌

                I remember the day my father came back from the war, and he told us that my brother was not going to return.  I was so distraught at the words when they came from his mouth that I began to cry, and after that I stopped drawing all together. It felt as though a core piece of me was gone and all my ambition of wanting to draw was gone. The feeling that I would never see my brother again just hurts me every time I think about it. The thought that my brother died, and we still lost was hard for me to understand. Why did my brother die for his county if we still lost the war? Why was all the blame for the war put on us, don’t they know that we didn’t even start this war? I wanted to know why my father did not save him. Why did he not save his own son when he might have been able to. What will happen to us with the fall of the Kaiser?  Will the people target us too as someone who caused the defeat in the war? Will my father be fired because of how the war went. I have so many questions in my head that I just want to be gone. I wish my brother had not gone off to the war and died I want him to still be here.

Historical foundations: I wanted to base most of the diary on how Muller felt about the loss of her brother because It felt that he was the most important person to him. At the beginning of the comic we see that see stops drawing because of his death and only starts to draw again to get away from her father. It also makes sense that she would feel worried about the overthrowing of the Kaiser because they were also in a rather rich family and her father was also a general. While her main thoughts would be on her brother she would still have these minor thoughts about the war and how it ended especially because of who her father is.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwj1zI37773_AhWRkYkEHfGuAnYQFnoECBAQAw&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.in.gov%2Fdoe%2Ffiles%2Fguide.pdf&usg=AOvVaw2s_4CMIrrX8Uxw6sxAWAqV

Germany lost. I have been living in Berlin ever since my mother died and since then I haven’t cared about anything apart from classical music career. It was a cold evening in 1918 and the breeze was extremely cold, deep down I knew this wasn’t the end of war for Germany. I could imagine how the opposition and they’re ally would celebrate about the news- but I knew it wasn’t over.  As an American I tried my best to hide and remain somber. I did not want to anger any Germans because I knew it could potentially cost me my life if I said the wrong thing. From what I read in the newspapers; Germany was given a piece of paper to negotiate. I didn’t know what the terms were, but I knew it was serious business when the government accepted it.  After a couple days, I went to a bar downtown Berlin, that is where I would play on the piano. As I walked into the bar I sat down and listened to the conversations about the treaty.  Many blamed the generals in the German army whilst other blamed the Kaiser for the nation’s defeat. My friend Hied from the bar and I talked about the events and apparently Kaiser Wilhelm had gone into exile and left Germany in the hands of Jew and other generals. However, we had an argument, he accused me of being happy about the defeat because I was American. I ensured him I wasn’t happy, but he accused me of being bias towards the defeat of Germany. 

I left knowing our relationship wouldn’t never be the same. As a black woman in Germany, I already had a target on my back I didn’t need more trouble because I was from America. I have managed to become inconspicuous in the streets of Berlin as a black woman. Black women are less of a threat than black men in Germany, so I used that to my advantage. I would get the occasional slurs and hate but ever since Germans defeat but now, I fear for my life as an American. I left the bar and ran into Polla; she was a lady I ran into at the bar. Polla was a nice to me we exchanged greetings for a brief minute, and I walked back home thinking about whether I should leave Berlin. 

On this day, I remember it like it was yesterday. I’m getting closer to being 30 and I feel as though so much has already happened in my short life. I remember I was on my probably 5th time looking through Franz Masereel’s Passionate Journey. I just find it so invigorating. It just serves as such a powerful social commentary and critique of modern industrialized society. I feel as though I can truly feel the way Masereel depicts the struggles, joys, and tribulations of a certain. When I found out about the Armistice I felt all of those feelings that Masereel showed through his book along with those of relief, celebration, disbelief and a profound sense of loss. I was sitting in my rundown room contemplating my life and thinking how did I end up here. . . mostly looking at that yellow jar in the corner of my room. I had just gotten back from another rooftop gathering after another insufferable class. To think– I thought it was just another normal day but then suddenly a four year war comes to an end. My first thought was- what now? How does this affect me? I flip through Passionate Journey to try to find an image that expresses how I felt in that moment. There was sure to be one that fit as the book carries a strong message of social criticism and highlights the destructive nature of war. His stark black-and-white woodcuts, with their bold lines and stark contrasts, evoke a sense of urgency and emotional intensity within me that I’m not able to shake as there is a cloud of uncertainty rolling in.

I took a few details from chapter 2 of Jason Lutes’s comic like Passionate Journey and a few of his friends and his living situation to add. I wanted to focus more on the contents and what Passionate Journey represented, not only to readers, but also what it stands for in the eyes of Richard. I think the material and the artwork within Masereel’s book was a good representation of how many people including Blunck may have felt when they found out about Armistice. I also researched a little on some of the ways the emotions were described during that time and included those.

Donahue, Neil H. A Companion to the Literature of German Expressionism. Camden House, 2005. 

“Armistice.” National WWI Museum and Memorial, www.theworldwar.org/learn/about-wwi/armistice. Accessed 9 June 2023.

Today was just a regular day: art school in the morning, being misunderstood at night. I find it hard to live in Berlin during such a culturally innovative and fast paced time. A young 20 something year old,  I feel as though sometimes it is too late for me to truly express myself. My parents are the ones who got me into art in the first place; however, like many other residents in Berlin, they always fall and lean in more to the trends. . . like the New Objectivity movement.s. Growing up, I often felt the weight of my parents’ expectations and the need to live up to their success. There was an underlying tension between my desire to forge his own path and the desire to fulfill my family’s hopes for me. As its name suggests, this movement offered a return to unsentimental reality and a focus on the objective world, as opposed to the more abstract, romantic, or idealistic tendencies of Expressionism. It was a complete challenge to Expressionism– therefore me and my parents had opposing views. I guess you could say that I’m a naive architecture student (no matter how many times I deny myself), eager to make my mark on the world. But as I delved deeper into the heart of the city, I soon discovered that beneath its glamorous facade, Berlin harbored secrets and shadows that would shape the course of my life. As I look in the mirror I see Otto Dix’s self-portrait in my reflection. Maybe tomorrow I can come a little closer to breaking down my boundaries and letting the inner artist shine through.

I chose these details to describe Richard Blunck as he is living during a time of great political and cultural change. As such a young man and especially an artist I chose to make him experience that tension of wanting to fit in but also follow what you believe in. I also think that this character has a lot of potential and there is a lot of room to further develop his story and map out the events of his life. I think the fact that he is an art student and looks like Otto Dix will definitely be key factors in watching him navigate life in 1920s Berlin.  

“German Expressionism.” MoMA, www.moma.org/s/ge/curated_ge/styles/new_objectivity.html#:~:text=
The%20New%20Objectivity%20(Neue%20Sachlichkeit,or%20idealistic%
20tendencies%20of%20Expressionism. Accessed 2 June 2023. 

I was 15 years old and everyday I love to draw the things that I see around me between the chores I must do around the House after school. My father makes it so that I don’t have to get a job. My brother which is younger than me also goes to school, and he plans to join the army as an officer like my father. I work on my studies and help my mom keep the house clean. At this point I wouldn’t call myself a great artist, but it keeps me occupied and I like to do it. While other German artists like to draw more art for people, I just draw art of whatever I see. Me and my brother like to eat together and talk during school. We talk about what we want to do in the future. My father talks about how things for the Kaiser are getting difficult. I’m nervous about my brother becoming a soldier but its natural for him to want to follow our father’s path. I hope that this doesn’t lead to anything that could get my brother and father hurt.  I don’t know what I want to do yet, but I don’t want to be an artist for my job. I want to be free with my art and must paint certain thing would take that away from me.

Most of what I based my characters information on is from the comic Berlin-City-Of-Stones where Muller liked art when she was young but when her brother dies, she stops drawing. I also based my information based off what was happening at the time which was the start of World War 1. Since she wants to make sure her brother is alright it would be understandable that she would be worried about him becoming a soldier, but since her father is a general, she would not be so worried that she would try to stop him. With her father being in the military it would be understandable if she knew more about what was happening with the military and what kind of state that the world was in.

“Origin of the War  :  Events & Statistics  :  Articles & Essays  :  Newspaper Pictorials: World War I Rotogravures, 1914-1919  :  Digital Collections  :  Library of Congress.” The Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/collections/world-war-i-rotogravures/articles-and-essays/events-and-statistics/origin-of-the-war/. Accessed 2 June 2023.

Childhood and Dreams

I was born in 1894, and I am the only child of my parents. We lived in Harlem at the time and everything was good apart from the racist attacks on black people we would occasionally read in the paper. It was just after My mother is a seamstress, and my father was in the army. They have always taught me to fight for myself and fight for what Is write. I was ten years old when I hear about the jubilee quartet in 1904. It was a great revolution for black artists. I have always wanted to be a since I was a kid. I listening to blues and Jazz on Saturday morning with my parents. We were happy I was happy. I was never good at school, but o could sing, mama made me sing during Sunday mass. She said I would be an amazing singer. I had only a few carefree childhood years. It was 1914 and my parents were arguing about the war, mama didn’t want my father to leave but he said it was his duty. I never understood why my father would ever fight for a nation that never humanized him. He left to fight in 1917 against Germany. Mama soon died of a broken heart, and I never heard from my father again. I was left to fend for myself- singing in bars and pubs for a little cash.  I was only happy when I was singing. It reminds me of the old days when mama and I used to sing hymns at night under the stars. My career as a singer never took off in New York, I have been told I was a good singer but if I was a little lighter, I would be a great singer.  I won’t give up though mama said I should fight so I am going fight.