In 1925, MALIK-Verlag Berlin published a small volume of essays and drawings by George Grosz in collaboration with Wieland Herzfelde under the title “ Die Kunst ist in Gefahr“ (Art is in danger!). In the essay „Instead of a Biography“, written by Grosz as an discussion about art, its production and its producer in bourgeois society, it states:
„reality, ah, it is ugly, its din disturbs the delicate organism of our harmonious souls.“
It is this year’s contest motto for our art competition with the three categories photography, film and collage.
At the time of the essay’s publication, George Grosz, born Georg Ehrenfried Groß in Berlin on July 26, 1893, is already known beyond Germany as one of the most biting artistic chroniclers of the Weimar Republic. In the middle of World War I, he founded the Grosz-Heartfield-Werke together with John Heartfield, published in Malik his first portfolio works and was one of the protagonists of the 1st DADA Fair in Berlin in 1920. In the first half of the 1920s, Grosz created an almost unimaginable number of works with a hard line, pointed, which dealt with the prevailing social conditions, against social injustice, against war and hunger. Early on Grosz made clear the dangers of the rising fascism and its protagonist Adolf Hitler. His productivity cannot be stopped even by bans, censorship and court cases. This remained the case until the beginning of 1933, when Grosz experienced the NSDAP’s seizure of power in exile in America. This ultimately saves his life.
Grosz and his work cannot be understood without knowledge of his political involvement. Under the impression of the November Revolution of 1919, he joined the KPD. In 1921, Grosz was one of the first signatories of the call for „Hilfe für Sowjetrussland“ (Aid to Soviet Russia) initiated by Willi Münzenberg and thus co-founder of the International Workers‘ Aid (IAH), with which he remained associated until his emigration to the USA and on whose approval Münzenberg could always count in his initiatives. This was also the starting point for his trip to Soviet Russia in 1922. Here he took part in the 4th World Congress of the Comintern. At this time, a broad reception of his art also began in the Soviet Union, which abruptly broke off in the mid-1930s in the wake of Stalin’s cultural policy. From 1924 he was chairman of the „Roten Gruppe. Vereinigung kommunistischer Künstler „ (Red Group. Association of Communist Artists) and for years made works available for political work.
The exile, the world political events of the pre-war thirties with increasing fascization, the Stalinization of the Soviet Union and especially the beginning of World War II. World War II with its effects changed many things for Grosz. On the one hand, he – a U.S. citizen since 1938 – can continue to work artistically, and on the other hand, the developments confirm the darkest of his premonitions. This changes his view of the organized communist movement, to which he once belonged, and the Stalinist Soviet Union. The country of his exile also changes, especially after the end of World War II with the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the beginning of the McCarthy era. All this shapes his work and life until his return to Germany in 1959, where only a short time remains until his death on July 6, 1959 in his city of Berlin, where he was born, which shaped him and whose face he made famous.
Since spring 2022 there is in the Bülowstraße 18 in Berlin Das Kleine Grosz Museum (The Small Grosz Museum – DKGM), to whose sponsor also the Münzenberg Forum belongs. In changing exhibitions, the museum is dedicated to the many known and sometimes unknown facets of the artistic work of the political artist Grosz.
The 130th anniversary of his birth is the occasion to place George Grosz at the center of this year’s eighth art competition of the Münzenberg Forum. The results of the art competition will be shown at FMP1 at the interface between the two special exhibitions at DKGM, „The Grey Man Dances“ (the „Stick Men“ works) and „A Piece of my World in al World without Peace“ (The Collages).
The MÜNZENBERG FORUM BERLIN expects submissions in the individual categories that deal with today’s socio-political conditions and developments using the respective stylistic means in the context of the theme. The deadline for all three categories is 7 August 2023. We will award prize money of up to €5,000 in each category, the distribution of which will be decided by a jury.
The works of all prize winners will be shown in an exhibition from 29 September 2023 to 12 November 2023, in the foyer of FMP1 (Franz-Mehring-Platz 1, 10243 Berlin). In addition, the winners‘ contributions will be published on the website and in the social media channels of the MÜNZENBERG FORUM BERLIN and in a supplement to the documentation.
PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION: „USE PHOTO AS A WEAPON“
The photography competition is open to all photographers in Germany and abroad who have not yet reached the age of forty by 01.04.2023. Up to three individual images or a consistent series/reportage of up to eight images can be submitted. These must be sent directly to foto@muenzenbergforum.de or via a fileshare platform (e.g. wetransfer.com) by August 07, 2023. Images must be high-resolution jpegs with an edge length (long side) of 3500 pixels. Do not send PDFs! The application should also include the titles of the photos, the year in which the pictures were taken, an explanation of the work on a maximum of one A4 page with reference to the competition motto, as well as a curriculum vitae showing the artistic development. Photo collages please take part in the collage competition.
A selection of the winners‘ images will be published on the MÜNZENBERG FORUM BERLIN website and its social media channels for documentation. In addition, we are planning a supplement with the works of the winners. Which works will be published will be determined in consultation with the photographers.
FILM COMPETITION: „CONQUER THE FILM“
The film competition is open to all filmmakers in Germany and abroad who have not yet reached the age of forty by April 1, 2023. A film with a maximum length of 30 minutes can be submitted. This must be sent directly to film@muenzenbergforum.de or via a fileshare platform (e.g. wetransfer.com) by 07 August 2023. The film should have HD resolution (720p or higher). Desired file formats are mp4, wmv, avi and mov. The application should include the title of the film, the year of release, an explanation of the work on a maximum of one A4 page with reference to the competition motto, as well as a curriculum vitae showing the artistic development.
The films will be shown at the award ceremony and published on the website of the MÜNZENBERG FORUM BERLIN, as well as its social media channels for documentation. At least one trailer of the film is required for this. We will also show the films as part of the exhibition. In addition, we are planning a supplement with the works of the winners. Styles from the film are needed for this.
COLLAGE COMPETITION: „TAKE SCISSORS“
The collage competition is open to all artists in Germany and abroad who have not yet reached the age of forty by April 1, 2023. Up to three individual works or a series of five works can be submitted. A high-resolution photo of the work must be sent directly to collage@muenzenbergforum.de or via a fileshare platform (e.g. wetransfer.com) by August 07, 2023. In this category of the contest, artworks of image and photo montage, as well as collage can be entered. Plastic collages/montages and sculpture are not allowed. The application should also include the titles of the works, the year of creation, an explanation of the work on a maximum of one A4 page with reference to the competition motto, as well as a curriculum vitae showing the artistic development.
Pictures of the winners‘ works will be published on the MÜNZENBERG FORUM BERLIN website and its social media channels for documentation purposes. In addition, we plan to publish a supplement with the works of the winners. Which works will be published will be determined in consultation with the artists. For the presentation of the premiered works, the original artwork or a good reproduction must be sent.
GUIDELINES for the art competition in all three categories
1) All participants of the competition assure that they own all copyrights to the submitted contribution (text, image, photo, etc.), that the contribution is free of third party rights and that the representation of persons and/or companies does not violate any personal rights of third parties.
2) The participants release the organizer of the competition from all liability claims based on an infringement of the copyrights in point 1.
3) The organizer of the competition shall safeguard the image and exploitation rights of the participants. The organizer reserves the right to publish competition entries free of charge as part of the competition on the organizer’s websites, social media channels and in a supplement. There is no right of injunction against the organizer by the participants.
4) Submitted entries and data will be stored for the purpose of the competition. They will not be passed on to third parties. Participants who receive prize money will be published on the websites and social media channels of the organizer with their (artist’s) name and, if applicable, a web presence.
5) Postal entries cannot be returned.
The legal process for the competition is excluded.
Data protection (valid for all three categories)
Personal data provided by participants will be stored, processed and used exclusively for the purpose of conducting this competition and contacting the winners. This data will not be passed on to third parties.