David Smith - medals for dishonor (1936-40) : : ein ikonografischer vergleich / / Cathrin Langanke.

• Superior document: KIT Scientific Publishing
• VerfasserIn: Langanke, Cathrin
• Place / Publishing House: Bonn : : KIT Scientific Publishing,, 2013
• Year of Publication: 2013
• Language: German
• Series: KIT Scientific Publishing
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (245 pages) :; illustrations.
• Notes: Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

The American steel sculptor David Smith (1906-65), best known in the United States for his abstract steel sculptures, began on his return from a nine-month trip through Europe to New York in July 1936 - one that was consequently high in political terms controversial time - working on his 15-part figurative medals series Medals for Dishonor (1936-40). Within this series, Smith depicts the horrors of war in a surrealistic way in general, but always uses various motifs to refer to the events of the time. Due to the genre as well as the combination of surrealist style and socially critical theme, the medals completely fall out of Smith's remaining, predominantly sculptural and abstract work. Compared to works by leading surrealists or artists close to surrealism, such as Salvador Dalí (1904-89), Max Ernst (1891-1976), André Masson (1896-1987), Joan Miró (1893-1983) and Pablo Picasso ( 1881-1973) it is also noticeable that these representations of violence are integrated into their works in order to express themselves in a socially critical manner. Can Smith's series of medals exemplify a new accentuation of surrealism in the 1930s?