The First World War was followed in 1923 by a year of chaos marked by hyperinflation. One-mark bills, for example, were used for wallpapering because they were cheaper than wallpaper. A currency reform brought temporary stability, but high unemployment persisted. The Weimar Republic era was marked by extreme contrasts, revolutionary ideas, the advancing emancipation of women, and further upheavals, such as in fashion. After the war-induced ban on dancing, dance halls flourished. Art and culture experienced a golden age in which boundaries were radically broken. But not everyone welcomed these social developments; it was as if society were torn apart. The great artist George Grosz, for example, was still on trial for »offenses against public morality« and blasphemy. Conservative views are just as often overlooked in the reception of the so-called Golden Twenties as the impoverished population: for most people, the Twenties were not golden. The Lenbachhaus in Munich now presents a more realistic view of those legendary years: A Long-Distance Call: Scenes from the Weimar Republic focuses on specific stories and tangible details. The artworks in the exhibition will be on view in Munich from May 12 to September 27.
The exhibition features works by Max Beckmann, Rudolf Belling, Käte Hoch, Heinrich Hoerle, Karl Hubbuch, Lotte Jacobi, Willy Jaeckel, Grethe Jürgens, Alfred Kubin, Jeanne Mammen, Gabriele Münter, Herbert Ploberger, Max Radler, Christian Schad, Georg Schrimpf, August Sander, Rudolf Schlichter, and Christoph Voll, among others. A prominent example of a concrete, realistic detail of the time is the eponymous statement by Kurt Tucholsky: A long-distance call should be conducted as clearly and dialect-free as possible; otherwise, the surveillance officers cannot follow the dialogue.
