Response Essay: Caspar David Friedrich and "The Stages of Life"

Upon watching the presentation on Caspar David Friedrich, I was absolutely fascinated with the incredible paintings that he created. Unfortunately, I was too engrossed in a lot of the paintings to really take in a lot of the information. I ended up spending the rest of that afternoon looking at a lot of his paintings, and with each one, I fell more and more in love with his work. I decided to read more about his life and what other things he contributed to Germany and the Germanic people aside from such beautiful paintings.

He is known as one of the largest figures in Romantic painting, so I decided to start with that. German Romanticism was the dominant style in Europe around the late 1700s and early 1800s, right around the time that Friedrich lived. Born out of the German Enlightenment of the late 1700s, Romanticism also focused on the individual and their place in the larger world. There was a greater interest in folklore and legends of the middle ages. This was evident in Friedrich’s paintings as he painted vast landscapes and waterscapes.

I was actually surprised to see that Romanticism was a much larger movement. I had taken a few art history classes prior, and for some reason, Romanticism was always passed over as if it wasn’t as important. We did see some paintings, such as Friedrich’s own Wanderer above the Sea of Fog, his most famous work. However, a lot of this period is glossed over. It seems my professors favored the Baroque or Expressionist periods. Which is dumb, because I have found a lot of interest and beauty in these Romantic photos. I was also very surprised to see that the Romantic movement expanded beyond paintings, and that there were some very significant names that were attached to the movement. I had already been aware of and had loved some artists that were mentioned to have been involved in the movement, such as Ludwig van Beethoven, Richard Wagner, Heinrick Heine, and even Goethe.

If I had to pick a particular favorite piece that spoke to me, it might have to be Friedrich’s last painting, The Stages of Life, which is posted below. The staging of the painting alone is enough to stare at for a few minutes, but the lighting and color choices are so intricately made. The beauty of the yellow and blue clouds is very calming, suggesting the thought of an afterlife heaven. The ship and boats suggest the death, coming for the old man who is in the foreground.

Each character represents another stage of life as well. The two children represent the youth, obviously in their age, but also in the fact that they focus mostly on the tiny flag in their hands. They’re more focused on the immediate life around them rather than some of the much larger things happening in the world around them. The adults, presumably the parents, represent the young adults to the middle age. They represent two things felt by many of people their age. The woman looks on to her children, representing the nostalgia for childhood, a time when things were fresh, new, and simple. The man looks towards the old man, his father. This possibly suggests him looking out into the world around him, but I see him looking at his father, the man he is going to become. Both of these adults are focused on the past and the present, like I feel a lot of people my age and only a few years my senior feel. The old I also think it’s interesting how none of these characters are looking at the boats, suggesting that we never truly accept death in most of life’s stages. The children simply are not aware of the boat, and the younger adults are clearly aware of it, but are choosing to not look at it. This suggests that while they’re aware of their deaths, they choose to ignore it, either because it scares them or because they feel it does not concern them.

The  one man that can see the whole picture is the old man in the foreground. He is taking it all in. The ships, the clouds, his younger family, and the world around him. He is walking toward the ships, accepting his death. He’s lived his life, and he’s ready for what’s after, whatever it may be.

It’s beautiful, and this is just one of his many artworks. He produced so many works, some which contain just as many ideas and interpretations as just this one. I fully intend to look more in depth at his other works. They’re all so very personal and still so vast and larger than life. I think Caspar David Friedrich is one of, if not my new favorite artist.

Word Count: 801

Response Essay: Maus and Maus II

I have always had a soft spot for graphic novels, and was excited to learn that we would be reading the Maus books for this class. I had seen them and had been interested, but hadn’t yet read them. This was a really good push for me to do so, for obvious reasons.

As much as I loved book II of Maus, it was book I: My Father Bleeds History that really drew my attention and fascination. Most Holocaust stories that I’ve read would cover mostly what happened after the Jews were in the concentration camps, and this narrative spent a lot of time around Vladek’s journey evading the Nazis. That, combined with the other narrative of Art learning all this from Vladek made the presentation of the story very fresh. This did continue on to book II, as well, but I feel that a lot of the narrative’s strength was in this first half. As a lot of the book is Vladek narrowly evading capture right under the German noses, it creates a tension that is not usually seen in Holocaust stories. In particular, the scenes that place Vladek in ornate hiding places. Seeing how these were laid out visually and not just having to infer from words was really helpful. These claustrophobic scenes just made the whole story much more horrifying.

I was drawn to many things in these book, but if I had to choose one particular thing that drew me in, it would be the art style and visual metaphors. There is the obvious visual metaphor between cat and mouse, but the way Spiegelman draws these characters and scenes adds a lot of atmosphere to the books. The angled and simplified character designs contrast with a lot of the scenes of brutality depicted in the book. The scenes give a very distorted look that barely looks real, as if these horrors were simply imagined. These horrors were, of course, not imagined at all, but seeing these almost cute characters go through horrible events, as pictured in page 72 and 95 of Book II seem even more brutal. The hatching and heavy shadows are raw, haunting, and shocking, managing to be easy to interpret without losing any of the horror that the scenes depicted should have.

The biggest section of art that stood out to me was the Prisoner on the Hell Planet, the short comic that Art made discussing how his mother’s suicide still grips him. I’m sure that this is his real artwork, but seeing such a vastly different drawing style helped bring this particular section of narrative ahead of the rest of the story. It shows how big of an affect Anja’s suicide had affected her son. The different drawing style, while showing a neat shot of how Art’s drawing style evolved, also symbolized how this one emotion was so big and daunting, and how it had such a distinct effect on him emotionally.

Overall, these books were incredible and I would recommend them to anyone without a second thought. The attention to detail, the simple yet powerful storytelling, the subject matter, and even the empty themes of family and loss are universal, and this is one of the most unique and brilliant ways of conveying a story that is told so often it almost doesn’t bite as hard.

555 words

Untranslatable German Words (11/18)

• Kehrwoche: Week of cleaning. Sort of a Spring Cleaning, but for Germans.
• Schnapsidee: An idea had while drunk.
• Drachenfutter: sort of a peace offering.
• Schadenfreude: Happiness at the misfortune of others.
• Knoblauchfahne: Breath that smells like garlic
• Fernweh: desire to see foreign places
• Warmduscher: a wimp

completed with Dalton S.

GERMAN FESTIVITIES AND FOOD

The German events and foods that interest us were:

• Oktoberfest
• Karneval
• Weihnachtsmarkt
• Currywurst
• Spaetzle
• Weisswurst mit Brezel
• Sauerkraut und Sauerbraten

Cultural Comparisons (11/16)

DRIVING

• It was surprising that gas is twice as much and that there are much fewer automatic transmission cars in Germany.
• We knew that there were no speed limits on the autobahn.
• I personally really like that there are more manuals in Germany.

DINING

• We were a little weirded out that it is common to share tables in busy restaurants.
• The drinking age is lower and they serve beer in McDonalds.

OTHER

• Church-sanctioned marriage is not legal in the eyes of the State ni Germany.
• Prostitution is tolerated in Germany, which was surprising.
• Americans address by first name when first introduced, often.
• No Gay marriage in Germany yet.
• When asked what their name is, Germans will usually respond with their last name.
• Germans rarely eat with their hands.
• Germans keep hands on table, but also no elbows.
• Germans don't drink tap water, which is strange.
• There will be an attendant (usually female) in public restrooms who expect tips for keeping the bathroom clean. This is rare in America.
• Bathrooms in general are just weird in Germany
• Americans don't like watching dubbed or subtitled movies.
• Germans are rarely religious
• Despite this, most German holidays are religious and there is no separation of church and state
• Shopping is a lot less of a fun thing to do in Germany.

We'd really like to go to Germany because we'd see dogs everywhere, even in restaurants. The autobahn would be cool to visit, and the beer and wine is supposedly better, regardless of how good the US beer has gotten. However, Americans seem to be more friendly and less blunt and straightforward, which is a good and a bad thing at the same time.

Completed with Kayley P.

Mein Weg Nach Deutschland Response (11/16)

1. The German Workplace
• In terms of what life is like in the German workplace once you get a job, it's very similar to how it is in America. You eventually talk to your coworkers in a much less formal sense, while still talking to your boss almost exclusively in a more formal way. The only difference that I saw was that the time you have to notify your boss is three months instead of two weeks. I also remember hearing that you get more paid vacation in Germany (and Europe in general), but that wasn't mentioned on this page.
2. Marriage
• Admittedly, I don't know a whole lot about marriage in Germany, but this also seems to be very similar to how marriage is done in the US. The page seems to place a lot more importance on getting the marriage officially and getting the paperwork, though. It seems that the German culture is less of a religious-minded culture than the US is.
3. Leisure
• Leisure time seems to be a bit more different than how it is in the United States. They have Adult Education Centers, which seem to be cheaper and more varied than US alternatives. They also have to register their TV and Radio. TV seems to be more like how the US treats Cable or Satellite TV, but having to pay a prescription fee for regular radio just seems so weird to me. I wouldn't pay anything for radio here. 
4. Civil Rights and Public Life
• Civil rights and public life, at least on paper, are exactly the same in the US and Germany. However, I know that there still is a lot of embedded racism and inequality that seem to have been embedded into our daily lives and seem next to impossible to change, regardless of how much we try. We still are fighting a very real fight against discrimination, and at least from what I read on Gastarbeiten, Germany may still be facing some similar problems as well.
5. Housing
• Again, the US and Germany are pretty similar here, but there still are a couple differences that I've noticed. One, that you have to pay for things left by previous tenants, like a fridge. I would hope it's cheaper than buying a fridge on your own, but that just seem strange to me. Another thing I noticed is that many housing places instill a form of quiet hours. I've only seen that in dorm life, and not in the real world. I'd be all for making quiet hours more common. I hate noisy neighbors.

I chose this article because I am interested in how Germany is reacting to the events that occurred this past weekend in Paris. I was saddened but not surprised to see that the Islamic faith has taken a massive hit, and how the actions of a tiny group have affected the reputation of so many. However, it is i a relief to see that people like Hamideh Mohaghegi are peacefully calling for the world to still treat the greater, more peaceful people who share this faith with love and compassion.

11/11: German and Europe

I really liked the first article I read, because it provided two very well-polished arguments. I agree with the argument that German products are not being forced to be bought. While there is a distinct problem with German products getting bought constantly, I don't think that Germany should be forced to change anything with how they make and distribute their products. Apple seems to dominate the smartphone market, but no one is forced to buy an iPhone, so would it make sense if Apple stopped making products? If Germany is the same way with automobiles, appliances, and more, we should follow the same principle.

I do agree with the angle of the second article. Whether the German people like it or not, they have a lot more responsibility to the EU than they either think or feel they should have, and big changes need to happen with Germany and its infrastructure. 

11/11: Fictional Bio

On February 16, 1929, Anja Kraus was born to parents Ernst and Emma Kraus in southern Berlin. Her family was neither particularly rich or poor, but they survived pleasantly. As the Nazi Party rose to power and eventually started to threaten the world around them, the family did nothing out of fear. Ernst managed to avoid conscription into the Wehrmacht, but in 1943, he could no longer and was sent out to the Western Theatre, where he was killed by advancing Allied forces in late 1944. Anja and her mother managed to survive the war and bombings of Berlin, but once the war ended, both were asked to join the Trümmerfrauen. While both were not exactly eager to join, the Trümmerfrauen got the one of the highest-valued ration cards, and as there was no one at home anymore who could provide work, the two decided to join up with them.

Anja specifically worked in organizing the materials gathered by other Trümmerfrauen, separating piles of bricks and other building materials. It was rough work, but she was glad she didn't have to actually get the materials, which was her mother's duty. She worked to help rebuild the Southern parts of Germany for about nine years. During that time, the restrictions on women labor workers were lifted throughout Germany, allowing her to continue her work in the streets and even getting her more rights as a worker once she finally finished around age 25.

When she had finished, Anja was glad for the break, and while she never truly enjoyed her hard work in the rubble, and she was a little resentful that she lost the first half of her 20s for rebuilding, she still had a small sense of pride in knowing that what she did was for a great cause and that thanks to her and her fellow Trümmerfrauen, she would be able to secure a better job.