The agitator and the legacy of the avant-garde in the German Democratic Republic: Willi Sitte’s Rufer II (Caller II) of 1964

Lewer, D. (2007) The agitator and the legacy of the avant-garde in the German Democratic Republic: Willi Sitte’s Rufer II (Caller II) of 1964. Art History and Criticism, 3, pp. 62-69.

Abstract

This essay explores aspects of the tension between art and politics in the German Democratic Republic in the 1960s by means of a case study of Willi Sitte’s Rufer II (Caller II) of 1964 [fig.1]. By the time he produced this work, Sitte was already a controversial figure in the GDR and on his way to prominence as a painter of complex, monumental, often multi-panelled works allegorising themes of war, class struggle, and life under socialism. 1964, the year in which he painted Rufer II, was a crucial turning point for Sitte, marked by both public statements from the artist pledging his allegiance to the socialist way of the GDR, and by public recognition: he received the Kunstpreis der DDR (GDR Art Prize), and was elected to the central committee of the Republic’s Verein Bildender Künstler (Union of Visual Artists). He became the Union’s president in 1974 and held the post until 1988, during which time he was justifiably described as the most powerful artist of the GDR.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Lewer, Dr Deborah
• Authors: Lewer, D.
• Subjects: N Fine Arts > N Visual arts (General) For photography, see TR; D History General and Old World > DD Germany
• College/School: College of Arts > School of Culture and Creative Arts > History of Art
• Journal Name: Art History and Criticism
• ISSN: 1822-4555