C This class will be taught in person, in the classroom at the Red Cross building.
The American Red Cross pandemic protocols may limit the enrollment for this class.
Registrants will be informed in advance, and a waitlist will be available.
Strongly influenced by the emotional art of Vincent Van Gogh and Edvard Munch, a group of artists called the Expressionists in the first half of the 20th Century challenged the status quo, and created art that rejected fidelity to nature – art that heightened or distorted reality to elicit strong emotional reactions from viewers. This presentation focuses on seminal Expressionist artworks and films created in Germany and Austria. We will learn how to recognize the characteristics of the Expressionist style. We will also see that Expressionist art was not only an attempt to convey personal emotions, but a response to turbulent and often catastrophic social, political, and economic events. We will discuss the artwork of independent Expressionists and members of secession groups, and hear commentary on haunting cinematic masterpieces such as The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, The Last Laugh, and Metropolis.
Richard Rubenfeld received his master’s degree and his Ph.D. in art history from The Ohio State University. He is Professor Emeritus of Art at Eastern Michigan University (EMU), where for many years he taught a wide range of classes on modern and post-modern art to both graduate and post-graduate students. Richard has curated or co-curated several exhibitions of comic and other pop culture art forms.
Henry B. Aldridge is Emeritus Professor of Electronic Media and Film Studies at EMU. He is an incorporating officer of the Michigan Theater Foundation, and has served for many years as one of the theater's staff organists.
