Indescribably feminine

Images of women in the GDR

10/05/—10/08/25

 

Leonore Adler, Ursula Arnold, Tina Bara, Falko Behrendt, Rudolf Bergander, Jutta Damme, E.R.N.A., Regina Franke, Lutz Friedel, Ellen Fuhr, Monika Geilsdorf, Erich Gerlach, Hubertus Giebe, Peter Graf, Rudolf Graf, Clemens Gröszer, Gerhard Großmann, Lea Grundig, Herta Günther, Harry Hachmeister, Angela Hampel, Rudolf Hartmetz, Sabine Herrmann, Eberhard Hückstädt, Hans Jüchser, Susanne Kandt-Horn, Gerhard Kettner, Thomas Kläber, Max Lachnit, Wilhelm Lachnit, Horst Leifer, Ute Mahler, Eva Mahn, Sven Marquardt, Florian Merkel, Rainer Mersiowsky, Michael Morgner, Gabriele Mucchi, Karl Erich Müller, Ludwig Rauch, Wolfgang Peuker, Christine Prinz, Curt Querner, Núria Quevedo, Evelyn Richter, Hans Theo Richter, Arno Rink, Günter Rössler, Christine Schlegel, Gundula Schulze-Eldowy, Lothar Sell, Gerd Sonntag, Katja-Regina Staps, Christine Stäps, Holger Stark, Ines Thate-Keler, Gudrun Trendafilov, Hans Vent, Kieu Minh Viet, Joachim Völkner, Jürgen Wagner, Trak Wendisch, Günther Wendt, Bettina Winkler, Willy Wolff, Karla Woisnitza, Axel Wunsch, Baldwin Zettl

 

Equality between women and men was defined as a central component of socio-political objectives in the GDR. Measures such as comprehensive support in education and employment aimed, among other things, to establish women as active contributors to socialist society. Women were now expected to function in multiple roles simultaneously – at work, in the political system, and in everyday family life. These requirements combined the demand for equal rights with an adherence to traditional notions of femininity.

 

The exhibition focuses on individual thematic areas:

In Schalthaus S1, the artistic exploration of politically motivated role assignments to women takes center stage. In addition to idealized depictions that corresponded to socialist ideals, more nuanced narratives become visible, some of which express contradictory experiences. At the same time, the exhibition area offers a glimpse into the diversity of women’s lives in the GDR. In addition to depictions of women who embody the harsh daily workload in industrial production, there are also those from more middle-class environments. Furthermore, figures from subcultural contexts – such as the punk movement or queer scenes – who operate beyond state-constrained role models appear on the scene.

 

In Schalthaus S2, the life phases of youth and old age are brought into focus as formative spaces of experience for female identity. The artistic works that deal with youth address both insecurities about one’s own body and processes of self-questioning as well as moments of playful appropriation of the self and the environment. In contrast, there are works that explore the phenomenon of aging in its physical and social dimensions. Depictions of physical changes are shown, as well as the specifically female experience of loneliness in later life. At the same time, individual works open up perspectives on aging with dignity – often combined with a conciliatory view of the life lived.

 

In the side corridor of Schalthaus S2, the focus is on depictions of the naked body. Among other things, it becomes clear that the female body in artists‘ nude depictions often appears as a projection surface for male desire – usually in a passive or subordinate role. Female artists, on the other hand, often use the body as an expression of self-empowerment and understand love and intimacy as encounters on equal terms.