Expressionism

1. Aims and purpose of the Expressionist movement:

Expressionism, in the visual, literary, and performing arts, a movement or tendency that strives to express
subjective feelings and emotions rather than to depict reality or nature objectively. The movement developed
during the late 19th and early 20th centuries as a reaction against the academic standards that had prevailed in
Europe since the Renaissance (1300-1600), particularly in French and German art academies.

 In expressionism the artist tries to present an emotional experience in its most compelling form. The artist
is not concerned with reality as it appears but with its inner nature and with the emotions aroused by the
subject.
 To achieve these ends, the subject is frequently caricatured, exaggerated, distorted, or otherwise altered in
order to stress the emotional experience in its most intense and concentrated form.
 "The most common notion in expressionist drama is that the world of science and technology, established
government, and traditional morality is a nightmare - that the external appearance depicted by realism and
naturalism merely mask the horror that has distorted and is destroying the human spirit" (Brockett, Century, 157)
 Expressionist production attempted to simultaneously present and comment on a subjective view of events
and life by using only the essentials in staging
 The majority of the artists abhorred the enthusiasm of war and its aftermath. Through their media,
realistic portraits of the horrors, spiritual annulment, and social upheaval they witnessed were
communicated.
 The objectives of expressionism in literature, notably in the novel and the drama, are similar to those in art:
The characters and scenes are presented in a stylized, distorted manner with the intent of producing
emotional shock. The German painter Alfred Kubin, a member of Der Blaue Reiter, wrote one of the earliest
expressionist novels, Die Andere Seite (The Other Side). He exerted a profound influence on the Czech
novelist Franz Kafka and other writers. The early expressionist playwrights, August Strindberg of Sweden
and Frank Wedekind of Germany, exerted an international influence on the next generation of playwrights.
These included the Germans, Georg Kaiser and Ernst Toller, the Czech, Karel Čapek, and the Americans,
Eugene O’Neill and Elmer Rice.
 Expressionist painting and drama also influenced the cinema, as can be seen in the German films The
Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1919), with its nightmarish perspectives and mask like makeup, and The Last
Laugh (1924), notable for the brilliant use of lighting and camera angles to convey the bitter story. See also
Cabaret (1977)
 Term difficult to define - relate to theatrical styles that share the characteristics of the dream
 Look to the common unconscious of humankind
 Written as subjective (personal / individual) expression
 Strindberg, once the champion of naturalism become an exponent of expressionism in the final years of his
life = The Dream Play, and The Ghost Sonata
 Enst Toller in Germany Man and the Masses; Capek brothers, R.U.R. The Insect Play
  This led to Erwin Piscator’s Epic theatre (NB He had a major influence on Brecht. "Expressionism's
emphasis on inner vision and its production techniques made a lasting contribution, perhaps most easily
traceable through the work of Brecht." (Brockett, Century, 159))

2. The staging of these theories:

 Using the mechanics of dreams
 Expressionist drama gave rise to a new approach to staging, scene design, and directing. The object was
to create a totally unified stage picture that would increase the emotional impact of the production on the
audience.
 Sets often resembled futuristic art
 Sets distorted, often reflecting the perspective of the characters
 Emotions played out in visual design.
 Distortion, Fragmentation or blending of characters
 Use of stereotypes or archetypes in characters
 Generic names/roles for characters e.g. Yellow, Jealousy or Priest.
 Acting was not based on everyday behaviour, Paul Kornfeld wrote: "Let him not be ashamed of
the fact that he is acting..." (qtd. Brockett, Century, 157)
 Use of silence, repetition, consciously symbolic lighting effects.
 Reaction to industrialisation and dehumanising tendencies of twentieth century life
 Use of lighting – bright lights on certain objects to intensify or highlight its effect
 Maurice Maeterlinck, Belgian playwright wrote plays deliberately set in unrealistic world (Crawford
compares Maeterlinck to the impressionist painter Renoir)
Other playwrights e.g. Eugene O’Neill borrowed from the techniques of expressionism too.

3. Success of expressionistic techniques linked to certain directors / set designers:

o Prominent directors were the Germans Max Reinhardt and Erwin Piscator and the Russian Vsevolod
Meyerhold.

o Jurgen Fehling (1885 - 1968) - Gained fame and renown for his production of Toller's Man and the Masses.
o This production was considered to be revolutionary for its lack of specific details to depict the many locales of
the play - An abstract setting was used to depict a strong emotional sense.

o Leopold Jessner (1878 - 1957) - Applied expressionist techniques to classical works such as Shakespeare.
Made use of steps and levels to such a degree that the term Jessnertreppen (Jessner steps) came into use to
describe the arrangement.
Also made use of "space staging" by suggesting an anonymous space altered by set pieces and properties.

o Set designers such as Edward Henry Gordon Craig of Britain and Robert Edmond Jones of the United States
used techniques similar to those of expressionist painters to provide visual stimulation consistent with the
dramas.