Who owns the world: Art and society in the Weimar Republic

The exhibition Wem gehört die Welt was shown in 1977 at the Staatliche Kunsthalle Berlin. The aim was to document the stance taken by artists in a specific historical period of open social and political conflict, siding with the majority of the population and supporting its demands and interests. The artworks in the show mainly sought to highlight social issues and raise political awareness, expanding and altering forms, techniques, and means of expression to create a new definition of art. Including many previously unpublished or obscure documents, the catalogue offered a profound insight into the mass culture of the 1920s in the fields of art, architecture, literature, journalism, workers’ theater, workers’ photography, film, radio, and music—in spite of the fact that much relevant material was destroyed or lost.

Ed.: nGbK

Work group: Edelgard Abenstein, Christian Borngräber, Michael Bühnemann, Thomas Friedrich, Peter Hielscher, Illa Kunze, Yvonne Leonard, Elisabeth Moortgart, Freya Mülhaupt, Gerhard Riecke, Ann Robertson, Johann Sauer, Gisela Stahl, Toni Stooss, Günther Uhlig, Karin Wilhelm