Otto Dix Essay - 2219 Words

The Great War Through the Eyes of an Artist How does one depict art? Art has been around since the dawn of man. A form of self-expression, a way to creatively put down ones ideals in hopes of creating a masterpiece, and where ever there has been art there has been an artist. In society the artist is a very important person able to utilize his work and make the people think and question the higher power. Out of the entire artistic association of the world and over the entire timeline of history one has stood out to me. A man who essentially went to hell and back, a man who put what he saw down so that he could warn others of the tragedies of the World War One world. Scarred for life and haunted by flash-backs of the killings; the†¦show more content†¦At the end of the war, Otto Dix received the second class iron cross and achieved the title of Vice-Sergeant-Major. Otto watched his fellow men be shot and then fall with blood gushing out, followed by their own ear-piercing scr eams haunted by the wailing of the numerous other injured soldiers, then be given two options ; one being carried off to a medical station to die slowly, and another option of being given a mercy shot. This trench warfare would be displayed in several of Dix’s pieces such as â€Å"Trench Warfare†, â€Å"Breakfast in the Trenches†, â€Å"Suicide in the Trenches†, and â€Å"The Trenches†. â€Å"Lice, rats, barbwire, fleas, shells, bombs, underground caves, corpses, blood, liquor, mice, cats, artillery, filth, bullets, mortars, fire, steel: That is what war is, it is the work of the devil.† (Otto Dix, 1923) Dix began to realize that what he wanted in vain, what he wanted all along, was something that no man would wish upon his greatest enemy. Otto suffered many physical and mental wounds. In one case, a shard of scrap metal flew straight into his neck almost killing him. Many bullets would find themselves into Otto’s body and would never leave. Barely surviving, Otto could often be seen by his fellow soldiers clenching a bible which he held very dear to him. â€Å"All art is exorcism. I paint dreams and visions too; the dreams and visions of my time. Painting is the effort to produce order; orderShow MoreRelatedVisual Art Plan By Otto Dix And James Gleeson1392 Words   |  6 Pagesdistorts the image to the way he or she wants to see it or would want others to see it. For example, Otto Dix and James Gleeson are artists that are known for having and using metaphor and spirituality in their pieces of work. Otto Dix has represented Spirituality in his art pieces as they are to do with war. Since Dix Spend most of his time in war he has used spirituality to search for a meaning about war. Dix experienced war first hand since he was a Machin gunner, he was exposed to death on a daily basisRead MoreReflection and Analysis of the Portrait of Dr. Heinrich Stadelmann by Otto Dix 1083 Words   |  4 Pages I remember viewing Portrait of Dr. Heinrich Stadelmann by Otto Dix during an eleventh grade field trip to the Art Gallery of Ontario, and being completely entranced by the painting—unable to look away from it. At the time, I was not fully aware of the world of art and did not have the vocabulary and knowledge to articulate my interest in this particular painting. Now, after returning to the painting three years later, the experience is quite different. Being recently exposed to a fairly wide rangeRead MoreEugene Delacroix’s the Massacre at Chios Greek Families Awaiting Death of Slavery vs Kriegeskrà ¼ppel (War Cripples)906 Words   |  4 Pag esSome people cope by talking to a friend, others write things down in a journal. Very few choose to discard the written or vocal word for brush and canvas, chalk and paper, or any number of artistic mediums at their disposal. Eugene Delacroix and Otto Dix were two such men. Even though their careers blossomed almost a century apart, they shared common ground. Both men chose to speak through their work depicting history with an unfiltered approach. How does a piece of art affect a viewer? DoesRead MoreBob Fosses 1972 Cabaret792 Words   |  3 Pagesâ€Å"now-you-see-them-now-you-don’t† view of Nazis and some performers. Some slight forms of German Expressionism can also be found in the close up shots and titled angles of the camera. The film also features famous works of the German Expressionist period of Otto Dix and George Grosz. Cabaret contrasts the real world and distortion of the real world in the German Expressionist inspired film. Fosse uses the cross-cu tting editing technique between the stage routines and real-life drama. For instance, song and danceRead MorePolitical Art Essay1400 Words   |  6 Pageswhere there are many approaches reflecting different issues. In a sense, all works of art perform a social function, since they are created for an audience. Artists who embrace their role as a social commentator are Francisco Goya, Pablo Picasso, Otto Dix and Gordon Bennett. Francisco Goya (1746 – 1828) sets the scene commenting on the atrocities of man. Both of his works, Disasters of War (1863) and 3rd of May 1808 (1814) show graphically the horrors of mutilation, torture and death in war. HeRead MoreInfluence of Ww1 on the Artwork of Early 20th Century754 Words   |  4 Pageshorrors of war in his own symbolist style of art. The next two pieces (starting from left to right) are Selbstbildnis als Soldat (Self-Portrait as a Soldier) and Selbstbildnis mit Artillerie-Helm (Self-Portrait Wearing a Gunners Helmet) created by Otto Dix in 1914. I chose these pieces because of their obvious relation to each other but also because of the contrast between them. Starting with the first, I find the vibrant white and red colors along with the short almost spasmodic brush strokes communicateRead MoreAnalysis : Shock Troops Advance Under Gas Essay1706 Words   |  7 PagesIn Otto Dix’s â€Å"Shock Troops Advance Under Gas†, Dix presents the brutality of war for everyone to see. From the barbed wire snagging a troop’s arm to the gas masks, this work illustrates true horror. Dix’s illustration of war helps display that war truly is not something to write home about with pride. Thus, I present the argument that war is not something to be patriotic over, and it is not something we should be thanking the troops for. They are brave individuals, but the duties they perform areRead MoreThe Death Of The Trenches904 Words   |  4 Pages Children are often considered carefree and innocent, which is the reason behind their state of happiness. They rarely cross paths with conflict from the outside world, but what happens when they become men and are sent off to fight in the war? Otto Dix’s visual representation along with the poems, â€Å"Suicide in the Trenches† by Siegfried Sassoon, â€Å"Dulce et Decorum Est† by Wilfred Owens, and â€Å"Blessed Are† by Charles Peguy all capture the horrors and distress caused by World War 1. When it came timeRead MoreWar On The War Of Art1658 Words   |  7 PagesWar in Art Introduction Everybody thinks they know what art should be. But very few of them have the sense that is necessary to experience painting, that is the sense of sight, that sees colors and forms as living reality in the picture. -- Otto Dix (Mulch, page 1) War in art. It was not an easy job and yet to this day has not gotten easier. There are two different sides when it comes to war art. On one side, the artists are going out onto the battlefield during the horrifying war so that theyRead More Art as Expression Essay1822 Words   |  8 Pagescentral to cultural, political and social discourses in the world. They are here not only to inspire us, but to provoke us as well. Four artists that broke social, political and cultural barriers were, Rene Magritte, John Heartfield Jackson Pollock and Otto Dix. While the artists were involved in different movements, each one made revolutionary statements with their works. Artists have a responsibility to use their works as a weapon to the status quo and to break these cultural and social barriers. Rene