"Potsdamer Platz" by Ernst Kirchner
When I started Food For Thought in September 2000 the point was to provide theatre that would be thought provoking and to start a dialogue amongst our audiences. I would like to continue in that tradition by starting a series online in which certain artistic questions are posed that will hopefully be "food for thought."
We welcome your responses, either in the comments section below, by e-mail at info@foodforthoughtproductions.com, or by mail addressed to:
Food For Thought Productions
155 W. 46th Street
6th Floor
New York, NY 10036
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The other day I saw a wonderful exhibit at MoMA--"Kirchner and the Berlin Street." In one of the paintings ("Potsdamer Platz" by Ernst Kirchner) there was a woman who had on a strikingly peculiar hat which could not help but catch your eye. I kept studying the hat though I knew nothing about why Kirchner chose this hat. But clearly he had a reason. And a fascinating one at that. The hat was worn by widows who had lost their husbands in WWI. There is more--it was also worn by prostitutes as a disguise. And so it was with this woman in the painting--a prostitute pretending to be a widow.
So here is the question. Do you need to know all this to enjoy the painting? If so, once you do have this knowledge does it enhance your appreciation of the painting? Should any art form require the viewer, audience member, etc. to know the background, references, symbolism to fully appreciate the work of art?
All The Best,
Susan Charlotte
We welcome your responses, either in the comments section below, by e-mail at info@foodforthoughtproductions.com, or by mail addressed to:
Food For Thought Productions
155 W. 46th Street
6th Floor
New York, NY 10036
---------------------------------------------------
The other day I saw a wonderful exhibit at MoMA--"Kirchner and the Berlin Street." In one of the paintings ("Potsdamer Platz" by Ernst Kirchner) there was a woman who had on a strikingly peculiar hat which could not help but catch your eye. I kept studying the hat though I knew nothing about why Kirchner chose this hat. But clearly he had a reason. And a fascinating one at that. The hat was worn by widows who had lost their husbands in WWI. There is more--it was also worn by prostitutes as a disguise. And so it was with this woman in the painting--a prostitute pretending to be a widow.
So here is the question. Do you need to know all this to enjoy the painting? If so, once you do have this knowledge does it enhance your appreciation of the painting? Should any art form require the viewer, audience member, etc. to know the background, references, symbolism to fully appreciate the work of art?
All The Best,
Susan Charlotte
Labels: appreciation, art, Food for Thought, Kirchner, Potzdamer Platz, short plays, Susan Charlotte, The Berlin Street, theater
posted by Food For Thought | 12:06 PM
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