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Weimar Bodies: Fantasies about the Body in Weimar Art, Science, and Medicine
November 4, 1998 through January 10, 1999

The David and Alfred Smart Museum of Art
The University of Chicago
5550 South Greenwood Ave.
Chicago, IL

The period of the Earth's history between 1835 and 1989 is one marked by the general insanity of its human inhabitants. Surely, there are other time periods which could stand out as equally violent and impactful to those living in them. However, this time period, between the mid-1800's and the fall of the Berlin Wall, is so full of atrocities that it seems to be a culmination of every atrocity that had come before. It is a period of time marked not only by two world wars, the explosion of two atomic bombs on Japan, a Cold War, and many guerrilla wars, but also of intense media scrutiny -- a period where much history was recorded and that we can reassemble at any time.

One can almost envision the pattern of tit-for-tat that started far before the 1800's but the actions of which do not begin to play out until the assassination of the Archduke. Then all hell breaks loose, and all Europe seems insane. Until World War II when the world along with Europe goes crazy, for a brief period which can be clearly marked by the Weimar Republic in Germany everyone appears to be sane again.

It is my generation, technically American Gen-X, that cannot even begin to fathom the atrocities that took place within this period. We can not even begin to imagine the purpose behind the wars that continue to occur due to the rippling effects of this strange time period. And I continually ask my self "Why did/does this occur? How can one group of people make designs on the complete elimination of another? Why do people continually associate themselves with an us vs. them paranoia? How can governments act so selfishly? Or for that matter, how can corporations, investors and markets, workers, families, or individuals act so selfishly against each other?" Though I accept the fact that people act in such deplorable manners, it is inconceivable to me why people act the way they do.

Weimar Bodies attempts to look into the image of self and identity of a society in the eye of a storm. This exhibit tries to answer some of the question of "Why" this occured through an examination of how Weimar Germany viewed itself. The exhibit looks at the dismembered body through patients and victims of World War I; the pathological body, through medical examinations of the mentally disabled or diseased; the healthy or diseased body; the marginalized body through the examination of plastic surgery; the commodified body where commercialism takes over the identity of the body as a commodity; the sexualized body; the body of the new woman; and the mechanized body, which is an association of the body with a working machine. The exhibit takes on the task of presenting a huge chunk of psychohistory with relatively few pieces, yet it puts forth enough examples to make its case, if not as a conclusion, at least the beginning of a long discussion.

Many of the prints, photographs, and illustrations in this exhibit one would not find pretty to look at, or very much care to hang on one's wall. Much of this exhibit is grotesque, saddening, and depressing. This is not necessarily due to the subject matter, but also, or because of, the self-identity of the society that causes such a work to exist, and also because of the parallels to our contemporary American society, and to much of the art that is executed by our artists today.

This exhibit is a blatant slap in the face to artists today -- or it should be. Artists should view this exhibit as an example of what this type of art says about self-identity. Too many artists today attempt to shock and dismay the viewer with super-sexual or "degenerate" imagery, yet they are blissfully unaware of their consequences. This is not to say there is no need for that type of artwork, or that that type of artwork is illegitimate as a great work of art. But I do mean to say that many artists don't really know why they are creating the work they do despite all the artists' statements written. They just cannot fathom what this period of history has done, and how their art is a continuation of the self-images presented in this show. Artists today probably think what they are doing is something new!

--Or, take the opposite view, as Dave Hickey does as quoted in the catalog for Space/Sight/Self, also showing at the Smart Museum: "any theory of images that is not grounded in the pleasure of the beholder begs the question of their efficacy and dooms itself to inconsequence." With Mr. Hickey's view, this entire show is inconsequential. How narrow-minded is that?

Weimar Bodies is one show that is surely going to be missed by the mainstream media because it isn't exactly holiday-season material. However, I strongly suggest dragging every one you know to go view it. It is one of the most moving, thought-provoking and fascinating shows I have ever seen. It isn't necessarily about art, and it sure ain't no Monet. It's small, unassuming, and on casual glance looks uneventful. But if you read the historical context the Smart Museum has done well to place next to the exhibits, you will not walk away unimpressed.

Lastly, the show has an excellent accompanying catalog for a mere $5.00. I highly suggest purchasing the catalog for reading, it is well written and researched, as most things at the University of Chicago are.

--Richard Donagrandi