Postwar : art between the Pacific and the Atlantic, 1945 - 1965 : [Haus der Kunst, Munich, from October 14, 2016, to March 26, 2017

This unprecedented global survey of the art of the postwar era represents a comprehensive examination of the production of art across all continents, under the conditions engendered by World War II. Accompanying the exhibition Postwar: Art between the Pacific and the Atlantic, 1945-1965, this extensive catalogue presents the work of more than 200 artists from over 50 countries. Uniquely, it understands the term "postwar" as a truly global condition, focusing on the increasingly interdependent nature of the world as the result of new geopolitical affinities and technological realities. The catalogue illuminates how these epochal social changes manifested worldwide across the practices of painting, sculpture, installation, performance, cinema, and music, through eight thematic sections: Aftermath: Zero Hour and the Atomic Era; Form Matters; New Images of Man; Realisms; Concrete Visions; Cosmopolitan Modernisms; Nations Seeking Form; and Networks, Media, and Communication. Key historical texts, visual essays, color illustrations, and over 35 original contributions by leading international art historians, curators, and scholars offer new insights into the complex legacies of artistic practice and art historical discourses that emerged in the aftermath of World War II's devastation. Artists' biographies, a comprehensive bibliography, and chronologies of the postwar period further supplement what will become an indispensable resource for future research. Accompanying The Exhibition Postwar: Art Between The Pacific And The Atlantic, 1945 1965, This Extensive Catalogue Presents The Work Of More Than 200 Artists From Over 50 Countries. Uniquely, It Understands The Term Postwar As A Truly Global Condition, Focusing On The Increasingly Interdependent Nature Of The World As The Result Of New Geopolitical Affinities And Technological Realities. The Catalogue Illuminates How These Epochal Social Changes Manifested Worldwide Across The Practices Of Painting, Sculpture, Installation, Performance, Cinema, And Music, Through Eight Thematic Sections: Aftermath: Zero Hour And The Atomic Era; Form Matters; New Images Of Man; Realisms; Concrete Visions; Cosmopolitan Modernisms; Nations Seeking Form; And Networks, Media, And Communication. Key Historical Texts, Visual Essays, Color Illustrations, And Over 35 Original Contributions By Leading International Art Historians, Curators, And Scholars Offer New Insights Into The Complex Legacies Of Artistic Practice And Art Historical Discourses That Emerged In The Aftermath Of World War Ii S Devastation. Artists Biographies, A Comprehensive Bibliography, And Chronologies Of The Postwar Period Further Supplement What Will Become An Indispensable Resource For Future Research. Patron's Statement / Dr. Frank-walter Steinmeier -- Bavarian State Minister's Statement / Dr. Ludwig Spaenle -- Prefaces / Johannes Ebert, Hortensia Völcker, Alexander Farenholtz -- Director's Foreword / Okwui Enwezor -- Curators' Acknowledgments / Okwui Enwezor, Katy Siegel, Ulrich Wilmes -- Introductory Essays : The Judgment Of Art: Postwar And Artistic Worldliness / Okwui Enwezor ; Art, World, History / Katy Siegel ; Postwar: Denazification And Reeducation / Ulrich Wilmes ; Postwar: The Melancholy History Of A Term / Mark Mazower ; Legacies Of Bandung: Decolonization And The Politics Of Culture / Dipesh Chakrabarty -- Visual Essays And Chronologies : Visual Essay: Social And Political Events ; Chronology Of Social And Political Events ; Visual Essay: Arts And Culture ; Chronology Of Arts And Culture / Compiled By Damian Lentini And Daniel Milnes --^ Exhibition Sections. 1. Aftermath: Zero Hour And The Atomic Era : Section Introduction ; Imagining A City Through Photography / Yasufumi Nakamori ; Forms Disintegrate: Painting In The Shadow Of The Bomb / Stephen Petersen ; The Natural History Of Rape / Ariella Azoulay -- 2. Form Matters : Section Introduction ; The Dirt Paradigm / Emily Braun ; When Identity Becomes Form: Calligraphic Abstraction And Sudanese Modernism / Salah M. Hassan ; Material Facture / Geeta Kapur ; 0 To 1 / Richard Shiff ; Abstraction And Ideology: Contestation In Cold War Art Criticism / Terry Smith -- 3. New Images Of Man : Section Introduction ; Germany's Postwar Search For A New Image Of Man / Yule Heibel ; New Images Of Man: Postwar Humanism And Its Challenges In The West / Sarah Wilson ; Remembering Fanon: Self, Psyche, And The Colonial Condition / Homi K. Bhabha --^ 4. Realisms : Section Introduction ; Whatever Happened To Realism After 1945?: Figuration And Politics In The Western Hemisphere / Alejandro Anreus ; Commitment To Humility / Ekaterina Degot ; Exchangeable Realism / Anneka Lenssen ; The Historical Logic Of Chinese Nationalist Realism From The 1940s To The 1960s / Gao Minglu ; Realism As International Style / Nikolas Drosos And Romy Golan -- 5. Concrete Visions : Section Introduction ; Out Of Words: The Spacetime Of Concrete Poetry / Pedro Erber ; Simultaneous Abstractions And Postwar Latin American Art / Andrea Giunta ; The Necessity Of Concreteness: A View From The (global?) South / Mari Carmen Ramirez --^ 6. Cosmopolitan Modernisms : Section Introduction ; Baghdad Modernism / Zainab Bahrani ; Plural Modernities: A History Of A Cosmopolitan Modernity / Catherine Grenier ; Exiles, émigrés And Cosmopolitans: London's Postwar Art World / Courtney J. Martin ; The Black Cosmopolitans / Tobias Wofford ; Cosmopolitan Contaminations: Artists, Objects, Media / Damian Lentini -- 7. Nations Seeking Form : Section Introduction ; Channels For Democratic Iteration / Galia Bar Or ; After Bandung: Transacting The Nation In A Postcolonial World / Atreyee Gupta ; Fanon, National Culture, And The Politics Of Form In Postwar Africa / Chika Okeke-agulu -- 8. Networks, Media & Communication : Section Introduction ; Art In The Network Of Technological Media And Mass Communication: New Tendencies / Ješa Denegri ; True Grid / Walter Grasskamp ; Reframing The Independent Group / Anne Massey ; The Cybernetic Vision In Postwar Art / Pamela M. Lee And Fred Turner. Edited By Okwui Enwezor, Katy Siegel, Ulrich Wilmes. Catalog Of The Exhibition Held At The Haus Of Kunst, Munich From October 14, 2016 To March 26, 2017. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. The exhibition examines the vibrant and turbulent postwar period as a global phenomenon for the first time in recent exhibition history. In eight dramatic chapters, the exhibition guides visitors through the first 20 years following the end of World War II, demonstrating how artists coped with and responded to the traumas of the Holocaust, the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki; how the two political blocs of the Cold War exploited the arts and created competition between realism and abstraction, and how displacement and migration produced new cosmopolitan contexts across the world. The postwar period also marked the end of European colonial systems; the rise of nation-building, decolonization and liberation movements; the partition of countries in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East; as well as the civil rights movement in the United States. These changes unleashed an incredible energy visible in the art of the time. New technologies began to pour into everyday life; the space age fascinated artists as well as the masses, opening up a completely new and dynamic field of artistic consideration. As an in-depth, global study, the exhibition shows painting, sculpture, installation, collage, performance, film, artist books, documents, photography, in total more than 350 works by 218 artists from 65 countries. -- publisher's statement