The Social Chaos Of World War I

The First World War fought from 1914 to 1918 was one of the largest and most brutal catastrophes fought in the 20th century. With nearly the entire European continent fighting a barbaric and everlasting war, the U.S. had eventually to get involved in order to reinitiate stability to Europe. Ultimately, the U.S. taking involvement in World War I had a profound political, economic, and social impact on the country. It increased government powers and solidified the nation’s leadership role in foreign politics. The U.S. emerged as the world 's greatest industrial power with increasing financial opportunities for minorities. At the same time anti-immigrant and anti- communist sentiments arose among many American citizens. And finally the war contributed to the massive migration of African Americans from the Southern to Northern states looking for employment and freedom and, first time allowed women to participate in jobs that were traditionally reserved for men.

Hannah Wilke was born Arlene Hannah Butter in New York City on March 7, 1940. She was the youngest child of Jewish parents, Selma and Emanuel Butter. Hannah and her older sister Marsha, born Marsie Scharlatt, both attended public school in Queens, and in 1957, Hannah graduated from Great Neck High School. She then attended Stella Elkins Tyler School of Fine Art at Temple University in Philadelphia until 1962 when she graduated and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts as well as a teaching certificate. Shortly after graduating, Hannah began teaching at Plymouth-Whitemarsh High School in Pennsylvania from 1962 to 1965, and from 1965 to 1970, she taught at White Plains

In “Ways of Seeing”, John Berger, an English art critic, argues that images are important for the present-day by saying, “No other kind of relic or text from the past can offer such direct testimony about the world which surrounded other people at other times. In this respect images are more precise and richer literature” (10). John Berger allowed others to see the true meaning behind certain art pieces in “Ways of Seeing”. Images and art show what people experienced in the past allowing others to see for themselves rather than be told how an event occurred. There are two images that represent the above claim, Arnold Eagle and David Robbins’ photo of a little boy in New York City, and Dorothea Lange’s image of a migratory family from Texas; both were taken during the Great Depression.

The Guerrilla Girls are a group of women formed in 1984 after an art exhibition hosted by the Museum of Modern Art in New York City where it became clear to them that the art industry was gender bias with women artists not being acknowledged. Since then they have been devoted to fighting sexism and racism within the art world, their mission to bring gender and racial inequality within the arts into focus. They have done this by producing factual and humorous posters that comment on these issues and that challenges and confronts society to realise the injustice.

From 1890 to World War I, U.S experienced an era of social unrest, racial concerns, and questioning of true democracy. Many of these problems arise from the economic problems faced by growing American middle class. Because economy and politics are close linked, political parties and party platforms were inevitability affected by these changes in social patterns. A new political party, populists’ party, gained widespread acknowledgement from Americans while democrats and republicans set out to remake their platforms to fit the ideals of the common man. Faced with growing economic and expansion problems in American society, these three major influential parties of the era had their own distinct economic visions as well as similar interests as time progressed on.

The carnage of world war one was the result of the clash between new technologies, but old strategies. Blitzkrieg warfare would be the first form of modern military tactics for it fully utilizes the technological advancements of that time. The term “Blitzkrieg” was not invented by the Germans, but by an English magazine that described the invasion of Poland (Showalter). While many accredit the invention of Blitzkrieg warfare to Heinz Guderian, Germany's Chief of Mobile Troops during WWII, it was actually invented far before that. In fact, it was developed right after WWI after seeing the devastating effects of trench warfare(Showalter). Ironically, the basis of Blitzkrieg warfare was also laid by German Field Marshall Alfred von Schlieffen of the famous Schlieffen plan of WWI(Showalter). The basic essence of Blitzkrieg warfare was built upon the belief that Germany was always going to be out resourced and out numbered in every war and thus in order to win it, the Germans must strike hard and fast and penetrate deep behind enemy lines(Showalter). Thus, Blitzkrieg warfare was the most effective military tactic of its time because it utilized all of the technology of its time, it not only utilized physical warfare, but also psychological warfare, and because Germany’s opponents were not prepared for this kind of warfare.

Germany dedicates one of its central monuments, the "Neue Wache," or New Guard House, to "the victims of war and tyranny." Inside is a classical statue of a woman cradling her grown, slain son, an enlargement of one of German Chancellor Helmut Kohl 's favorite works. Critics

Dada was an art movement described by Dada poet Tristan Tzara as “not the beginnings of art, but of disgust.” The movement came into existence through a small group of artists and poets in Zurich who eventually wrote a set of strategies and philosophies aiming to revolutionise visual art, performance and poetry, as well as revolutionary ideas about the politics and social values. Dada came into existence amid the first world war. For the artists the war was evidence that the break down of social structures, corrupt nationalist politics, and unquestioning conformity of culture and thought led to such violence. (Moma.org, n.d.)

Abstract: This essay reflects on the relationship of photographs, history, and memory based on a found and mutilated photo album. Photographs provide opportunities for disrupting and restructuring history with their attraction to memory; they privilege the subjective, creative power of the personal explanation and provide an emotional and even ideological grounding for memory. Photographs as manifestations of memory assist in the process of understanding the present.

Tremendous technological advance and tremendous slaughter leave an artistic waste land of atrocity, emasculation and pointing posters used to manipulate the public into recruiting men to join the military around the globe. Skilled illustrators in America, less inventive but artistic allegory’s in Canada and France and plain typography in Britain leave many artists busy with supporting the war effort. On the outskirts of war were a contingency of international peoples with little means and a negative view of European culture and war that chose to defect to Switzerland where they created the art movement known as Dada.

promoted the use of collage and assemblage, in particular artists such as Kurt Schwitters and Hannah Hoch as well as artists of the movement such as Man Ray being the first to adopt photographic materials for artistic purposes. Dadaists broke down the boundaries between art and everyday life, for they were concerned with provoking the public into reacting to their activities and Rauschenberg too “did not want to create enduring masterpieces for an elite but to further a perpetual process of discovery in which everyone could participate”

This is an example of German propaganda, that focuses on the Russian enemy. It was published throughout the German home-front, as a means of emphasising anti-Bolshevik public opinions. This piece of propaganda shows a large, monster-like creature, carrying a knife - the overlaid text reads; ‘Bolshevism brings war unemployment and starvation, unification to the struggle of bolshevism.’ This is a means of dehumanising the enemy, and creates fear and apprehension within the German populace. Economic and social difficulties that were rife within German society is essentially blamed on the Russians, representing them as an enemy alien that has caused widespread suffering. This piece of German propaganda has used iconography to present Russian’s

Kimmelman, Michael. “Review/Art; George Grosz, Elicitor of the Weimar Era.” Query.nytimes.com. 7 April, 1989. The New York Times. 26 January, 2008.

World War II was a war that was forever etched in history as a result of it destruction and overwhelming body count. But who would have thought that this war would have found a way to impact art before it’s time. Before Hitler rose to power, he used the civil war in Spain around 1936 as his personal field test. In response, arts took to their trade to cope with their frustration and express their opinions. Then as war was on the verge of beginning, Hitler stole modern art from Jewish artists and put them in his own show. His show was titled “Degenerate Art,” and it portrayed the artist as demented people who were a hindrance to society. He felt sane people were incapable of producing such abstract art. He went on to sponsor another

Art, in essence, is one of the most crucial pieces of cultural history. It transcends language, emanates emotion, provokes thought, and stimulates imagination. In other words, art is of monumental value in its scope of what befalls under its umbrella. It was no wonder why during the Nazi regime from 1933 - 1945 that the Nazis would thieve some of Europe’s most treasured works but also those deemed “degenerate.” Egon Schiele’s Portrait of Wally is a perfect example as to what “degenerate” art would be considered and what the Nazis would have been interested in seizing, but why?