|

A Short
History of Magic Realism
Magic Realism developed as an art movement in the years after World
War I . For many decades thereafter numerous artists throughout
Europe and subsequently in the Americas crafted a representational
art, mixed with elements of fantasy. This art was often typified by
remarkable detail and sharp
focus. Yet more importantly Magic Realism taps into emotional
reservoirs within all of us. It tricks us by hiding unexpected or suggestive
content in what at first might seem to be a common and ordinary
scene.
Magic Realism
evolved as a current within the Post-Expressionism movement in Weimar Germany. Related
to the Return to Order movement as seen elsewhere in Europe,
Post-Expressionism exhibited fewer neoclassical impulses than
the parallel postwar realist trends in Italy and France. It
evolved directly from Expressionism, by shedding the latter
movement's abstract style and
emotionally charged nature. Its development moved slower than
related trends in other European countries, not
fully maturing until the mid 1920s.
The term Magic Realism was coined by the writer Franz Roh in 1925.
He was referring to works within Post-Expressionistic art in which
some mystery or a secret seemed to be hidden inside or behind the
subject . This type of art differed from pre-war Realism,
which was generally naturalistic and/or narrative in nature. Two important
sources of inspirations for Magic Realism came from the Metaphysical
works of Giorgio de Chirico and the naive art of Henri Rousseau.
Magic Realism is a type of realism covering contemporary subjects,
often in cool detachment and sometimes injecting an eerie atmosphere.
Juxtapositions of sharply rendered and detailed elements, both in
the foreground and background, are used to develop an air of mystery
or ambiguity. Although these paintings incorporate everyday
objects, their objective is not to appear banal . Instead they
show us the everyday world in new and unfamiliar ways.
Magic Realism acted as a gateway to Surrealism and
later also influenced Contemporary Realism .
The potential
of the new movement could be seen with the traveling exhibition Die Neue Sachlichkeit (The New
Objectivity), which was organized by Gustav Hartlaub, and began in
Mannheim during 1925. Thereafter Neue Sachlichkeit was to replace
Post-Expressionism when referring to the dominant style of the Weimar period.
The most notable artists of Neue Sachlichkeit were Max Beckmann,
Otto Dix, Christian Schad, George Grosz, and Franz Radizwill .
The onset of the Great Depression and subsequent rise of the Nazi
party in the 1930s were to bring a halt to further development of Neue
Sachlichkeit. The Nazis declared most of the movement as "Degenerate
Art". Many works were destroyed in public burnings or in the bombings during the war. Many artists lost
their academic positions or were dislocated from their homes. And
during the 1930s many
artists channeled their efforts into Surrealism, which became
popular in Europe during this decade. World War II dampened the
further development of Magic Realism in Europe; however it would
continue to surface in the works of many artists during the
decades of the 1930s, 40s and 50s.
Meanwhile most American artists remained isolated from
the developments in Europe. Generally, the Realism of the 1920s and 30s
in the U.S. is referred to as The American Scene. This included rural art,
called Regionalism, and urban art, usually referred to as Social
Realism . American art had strong traditions of Realism going back
to the 18th century, somewhat influenced by late developing Impressionism,
but also by an indigenous Expressionism and by naive styles.
Within The American Scene there were many styles, some of which are
closely related to the Magic Realism of Germany. Grant Wood traveled
to Europe several times, where he studied the German and Flemish Masters and
became acquainted with Neue Sachlichkeit. He developed a parochial naturalism with
a satirical bend. Ivan Albright developed a bizarre realism with
extreme detail, which eventually became ossified. During this same
time, the Precisionists, led by Charles Sheeler, developed a
detached style of art with sharp detail, sharing many
characteristics with Neue Sachlichkeit .
During the late 1920s and early 1930s, the Surrealism movement in
art gained momentum in Europe. A number of artists in America were
interested in Surrealism and experimented, mixing it with Realism .
They were however not interested in joining the European movement .
This remained the case even after a number of the European
Surrealists
immigrated to the U.S. at the end of the 1930s, fleeing from the
impending war. In the 1930s the American public became aware of European
Surrealism, largely due to the publicity surrounding Salvador Dali . Within
a few years, however, Dali was discredited by the American critics,
on the basis that he had sold out to commercial interests.
Many of the American artists of the 1930s experimented with a
home-gown type of Surrealism, yet, for the most part, this art
remains distinct from the art that had developed earlier in Europe.
A major exhibition "American Realists and Magic
Realists", was held at the Museum of Modern Art in New York during 1942.
Within the exhibit, the artists generally referred to as Magic
Realists were Ivan Albright, Clarence H Carter, Peter Blume, Philip Evergood,
O Louis Guglielmi, Jared French, Paul Cadmus, Zsissly (Malvin Marr
Albright), and Charles Rain .
Work by
Andrew Wyeth and Edward Hopper was also included. Wyeth has to later
become perhaps the most well-known American artist to be associated
with Magic Realism .
Two other artists who began painting in the 1940s became important
Magic Realists. George Tooker, friend of Paul Cadmus and Jared
French, worked in egg tempera exclusively, and consistently produced work during the next 50 years. And
the Canadian Alex
Colville gave us a personal view of his native country during the decades
after World War II .Many other artists throughout the Americas produced work related to Magic Realism
. However, the rise of Abstract Expressionism in the U.S. during
this period took most of
the publicity away from representational art.
There is some debate as to whether Magic Realism encompasses a
movement in art, or whether it is simply a style. It should be noted that there
is controversy with most art movements, arguments over which artists and
works should be included. There is no manifesto or standard bearer
for Magic Realism . Yet, let's remember that its artists were
neither avant-garde nor publicity seekers. Every magician uses
different tricks and keeps his own secrets. Magic Realism depends on
portraying the unexpected, not on the programmed. Its artists
were often introverted, even reclusive. Perhaps we
should call Magic Realism "The Quiet Movement".
In Andrew Wyeth's Christina's World pictured above, we first
see a young girl, who is looking with us at a rural farm in the
distance. As we look more closely, we notice that the girl's arms
are thin and deformed. We later learn that she is not, in fact, a
young woman, but Christina Olson, disabled and in her fifties, as
she drags herself through the field toward her house on the skyline.
Magic Realism reminds us that we don't always at first understand
the true identity of objects, and that there
are many mysteries in life yet to be explained.
The techniques used by Magic Realists were employed in many parts of the world throughout the 20th century.
Ten Dreams has compiled an extensive history of Magic Realism,
supported by numerous galleries. We invite you to explore this movement
in detail, from its beginnings in Weimar Germany through its spread
to many countries worldwide, in our more comprehensive study that
follows.

Neue Sachlichkeit Gallery
America Magic Realism
Gallery
Email:
dreams@tendreams.org.
|