Christmas Selfies Recording History
It could now be considered a work of art. For 42 years Richard and Anna Wagner took a Christmas portrait of themselves in their apartment in Berlin : Christmas Selfies Recording History
Look carefully and you can see a fantastic story of the changing times and lives. Affluence to austerity. Peace to wartime. Look at their Christmas presents – household goods for her, ‘man’s stuff’ for him. Look at the spreads on the table, how times and circumstances affected the fare. The style of clothes for both of them dramatically shows how couture changed. Warmth in 1915, cold in 1917 – we all know what was going on.
Same net curtains for many years, a little change of wall-paper. 1942 – just 3 years before the Russians came.
The photographs were recently discovered and are now safely housed in a museum in Berlin.
A very telling story of one’s couple’s journey through life during a dramatic half century in a country and town that saw it’s fair share of that drama.
Source: There are several articles online about this story. The best I’ve found is from ‘The Atlantic’
Art-Tales is a magazine blog site following the journeys and reflections through the art world of artist, sketcher, art historian and critic Al Beckett.
Merely to amuse, inform and entertain, Art-Tales is aimed at people who simply wish to dip a toe into the art world, share an insight, smile at a joke and maybe even be informed a little.
Al regularly visits the major galleries in the UK and whenever possible, mainland Europe and the USA. He keeps up to date by subscribing to many periodicals, viewing documentaries and the news in general.
Al paints and sculpts himself and frequently sketches in-situ. He has written a book ‘The Primacy of Your Eye’ designed to give people some insights to enhance their experiences in galleries. Fully illustrated with 400 sketches and drawings of major art works and their artists, the book takes the reader on a journey through topics to perhaps consider to enrich the viewing experience.
To many, the art world is daunting, to others it holds little interest. A gentle submersion at a depth to suit the individual can produce rich and rewarding results.
That’s the purpose of Art-Tales.