In a timely reminder that leaders have always used art and literature censorship to control the masses, Luna Palace brings this disturbing and eye-opening documentary to the big screen.
The parallels to the current political landscape are disturbing and hard to ignore: the war against modernity and the forced return to classical art aesthetics, the quelling of homosexuality, the eschewing of “other” – be it race, identity or ability.
Hitler’s Big Fear: The Trial Against Degenerate Art outlines the bleak time in 1937, where artists including Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse and Marc Chagall, had works destroyed, labelled degenerate for not aligning with Aryan ideals. Directed by Simona Risi and framed by the recent exhibit at the Musée Picasso in Paris, “Degenerate” Art: Modern Art on Trial Under the Nazis, this powerful documentary makes for a compelling watch.
Featuring interviews with expert curators and historians, rare footage, including speeches (denouncing “cubists, futurists, Dadaists and the like”) and even the voices of survivors, we piece together another perspective into the injustice of the time. Together with the visuals of the controversial artwork, we are presented with a multi-layered portrait of repression.
With a sense of foreboding and dread, I am reminded of the fragility of artistic and creative freedom. This powerful work not only documents the past, but challenges us to recognise the echoes of repetition before they grow louder.