Hans Richter (Dadaist)

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Hans Richter (born April 6, 1888 in Berlin ; † February 1, 1976 in Minusio , Switzerland ) was a German painter, graphic artist, art writer and film artist.

He initially oriented himself towards Cubism and Expressionism . In 1916 Richter joined the Dadaists in Zurich . In 1921 he came to experimental film , whereby Richter significantly further developed its abstract variety (film as musical analogy). In 1940 Richter emigrated to the USA.

Life

Hans Richter in a group photo for the First International Congress of Progressive Artists in Düsseldorf , May 29 to 31, 1922

Hans Richter, son of Legation Councilor Moritz Richter and Ida Gabriela Rothschild, started his first graphic work at the age of 14. He began studying architecture in 1906. Two years later, Richter began his studies at the Academy of the Arts in Berlin and, from 1909, at the art school in Weimar . Richter quickly turned to the artistic avant-garde of his time, in addition to contacts with the expressionist Sturm , published by Herwarth Walden , he worked for the magazine Aktion . In the field of painting, cubist works such as cello (1914) were created. Richter was able to hold his first solo exhibition in Munich at the Goltz Gallery .

From 1916 to 1918, Hans Richter moved to Zurich. He came into contact with the local Dada movement ( Tristan Tzara , Hans Arp and others). In Zurich, Richter also met Viking Eggeling , who was eight years older than him, and under whose influence the first abstract “role” pictures were created. During this phase, both artists dealt with Ferruccio Busoni's musical counterpoint . The search for a universal artistic grammar preoccupied both artists equally. The exchange with Eggeling turned out to be productive. In 1921 Richter's first abstract film was made in Klein Kölzig with Rhythmus 21 . However, the dating of the film is controversial, as the title was also chosen later.

From 1922 Richter came back to Berlin . During this time he joined the De Stijl group and the Constructivists . A short time later (1923–1926) he edited the magazine G with Werner Graeff and Mies van der Rohe . Several innovative films were made in the period that followed. In 1926 Richter used components from the objective world for the first time in his film study , which he, however, converted into abstract stylistic elements through skillful assembly.

Richter was able to emigrate via the Netherlands and Switzerland in 1933, but it was not until 1940 that he succeeded in emigrating to the United States . Once there, he managed to get a teaching position at the College of the City of New York in 1941, where he became head of the film institute. In 1944 he began preparations for what is perhaps his most famous work, Dreams That Money Can Buy , the film was completed in 1947. Marcel Duchamp , Max Ernst , Fernand Léger and Man Ray contributed to this masterpiece . Another well-known film was made in 1956 in collaboration with Jean Cocteau . In 8x8 , Richter processed eight chess games on film, once again a prominent cast stood by his side: the artist Marcel Duchamp (in the role of white king), Hans Arp , Alexander Calder , Jean Cocteau, Max Ernst, Richard Huelsenbeck , who was also very successful as a chess player , J. Levi, J. Matisse, Dorothea Tanning and Yves Tanguy .

Richter took up painting again in the 1960s, creating works with a historical theme. Richter formulated his art-historical memories of the Dada period in the work Dada Art and Anti-Art: Dada's Contribution to 20th Century Art in 1964. In 1971 he received a gold film volume for his many years of outstanding work in German film. In 1973 he wrote Encounters, from Dada to the present day .

Along with Oskar Fischinger , Walter Ruttmann and the Swede Viking Eggeling, Hans Richter is one of the most important representatives of early abstract film in Germany.

Richter was married to the photographer Meta Erna Niemeyer (Ré Soupault).

Works

Movies

Publications

  • with the assistance of Werner Graeff : today's film opponents - tomorrow's film lovers. Hermann Reckendorf, Berlin 1929 (reprint with foreword by Hans Richter. (= Film Studies Study Texts . Vol. 2, ZDB -ID 2020529-6 ). Rohr, Zurich 1968).
  • The fight for the film. For a socially responsible film. Edited by Jürgen Römhild. Hanser, Munich et al. 1976, ISBN 3-446-12281-8 (written in 1939).
  • Heads and backs of heads. With eighty-five photos . Die Arche, Zurich 1967. (Autobiographical sketches)

literature

  • Jürgen Claus: The visual film: From Richter to Duchamp . In: Jürgen Claus: Art today . Rowohlt, Reinbek 1965.
  • Karin Festival, Sabrina Rahman, Marie-Noëlle Yazdanpanah (ed.): Mies van der Rohe, judges, Graeff & Co. everyday and design in the avant-garde magazine G . Turia + Kant, Vienna / Berlin 2014, ISBN 978-3-85132-736-6 .
  • Gisela Hoßmann: Hans Richter 1888–1976. The pictorial work. Cologne 1985 (Cologne, university, dissertation, 1985).
  • Mark Purves, Rob McFarland: Hans Richter: Biography. In: Christoph Bareither et al. (Ed.): Hans Richter's "Rhythmus 21": key film of the modern age. Königshausen and Neumann, Würzburg 2012, ISBN 978-3-8260-4861-6 .
  • Karl Riha, Waltraud Wende-Hohenberger (ed.): Dada Zurich. Texts, manifestos, documents (= Universal Library. No. 8650). Reclam, Stuttgart 1992, ISBN 3-15-008650-7 .
  • Thomas Tode: Hans Richter - director, painter, film theorist. In: Hans-Michael Bock (Ed.): CineGraph. Lexicon for German-language films. Delivery 35th edition text + kritik, Munich 2001 (loose-leaf edition).
  • Holger Wilmesmeier:  Judge, Hans Siegfried. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 21, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 2003, ISBN 3-428-11202-4 , p. 529 f. ( Digitized version ).

Movie

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ see English Wikipedia : Dreams That Money Can Buy
personal data
SURNAME Judge, Hans
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German painter and film artist of Dadaism
DATE OF BIRTH April 6, 1888
PLACE OF BIRTH Berlin
DATE OF DEATH February 1, 1976
Place of death Minusio