German Expressionism : the graphic impulse /

This is the catalogue for a 2011 exhibition of German Expressionist graphics organized by MoMA. It is difficult to consider the value of the publication apart from the importance of the exhibition, MoMA's first major project to focus exclusively on works from this movement in almost 50 years. Although other important exhibitions of Expressionist art organized by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and more recently, the Palazzo Grassi in Venice, have produced substantial publications and introduced significant scholarship, the weight of the MoMA imprimatur is hard to ignore. And in this case the publication represents the institution and the subject of German Expressionism well, particularly for a general readership. Some 250 works by 30 artists are featured. The exquisite plates convey the energy and revolutionary spirit of this art movement with an immediacy that erases a century of German experience between its inception and one's encounter with the images today. The catalogue also features an explanation of the role of graphic arts and publications in Expressionist Germany, written by exhibition curator Figura (MoMA), and an essay by historian Jelavich on the importance of dance and dance imagery in the art and lives of many Expressionists. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower- and upper-level undergraduates; general readers. W. S. Bradley Mesa State College