Magic Realism: The ‘New Objectivity’ That Changed Modern Art

For the S/S 2011 print issue of .Cent, the photographer and filmmaker Minnie Weisz guest-edited an issue titled The Seeing Stories, Telling Pictures. A master of the camera obscura, Minnie acts as an explorer of ‘houses of memories’ capturing the hidden souls of forgotten buildings. From the streets of King’s Cross to abandoned interiors, her work humanizes the architectural void, blending cinematic mystery with a romantic touch. Moving beyond the lens to explore the storytelling and imagination of an artist who finds magic in the ruins.

Art has always possessed the unique power to look beneath the surface of daily life, uncovering the eerie, the unexplained, and the wondrous. This blurring of boundaries defines Magic Realism, a genre that captures the everyday world but bathes it in an unfamiliar, dreamlike dimension, proving that mystery is deeply woven into our reality. Here, guest editor Minnie Weisz reflects on how this enduring craving for the extraordinary shaped her own creative journey:

‘As a teenager I started to read books by Italo Calvino and realised they had their roots in magic realism. I like the idea of magical things happening out of context: not appearing and not being explained, just being there. Here we look at magic realism through the art work of the Neue Sachlichkeit movement, which arose in 1920s Germany and has gone on to inform and influence magic realism in art today.

We have a piece written by the artist Claus Brusen and examples of the art from Otto Dix, an artist from the early years of the movement, and Andrea Kowch, a contemporary painter and illustrator who draws on Neue Sachlichkeit.’

Minnie Weisz

Magic Realism Definition

Claus Brusen: In my eyes, magic realism has existed since medieval times as a form of expression, which includes a mixture of photographic lookalike and caricature, the exaggeration of symbols and figures and objects placed in perfect harmony. In medieval times, Bosch and Bruegel were the painters who described reality with a twist of absurdity and they still influence many artists today. Bruegel created ordinary life scenes from the villages of the Netherlands and Bosch’s work was a mix of dream and nightmare, from absolute beauty to extreme horror. This was a way of describing the Bible in those days, as many peasants couldn’t read. So, in order to instill the fear of straying from religion, magic realist painters were needed to describe the Bible as they wanted it to be presented.

Christ Before Pilate (c. 1520) by Hieronymus Bosch

New Objectivity Art Movement

Claus Brusen: Moving forward hundreds of years, the new objectivity, called ‘Neue Sachlichkeit’,was a magic realism art movement that arose in Germany in the early 1920s, which came about as an outgrowth of, and in opposition to, expressionism. The movement essentially ended in 1933 when the Nazis rose to power. The main characteristic of this ‘new objectivity’ is the representation of domestic indoors or scenes of everyday life expressed in an unreal dimension. The main protagonists in Germany were Max Beckmann, Conrad Felixmuller, George Grosz, Otto Dix and Christian Schad. The movement used contemporary subjects, often in cool detachment and sometimes injecting an eerie atmosphere. They attempt to show us the everyday world in new and unfamiliar ways. They remind us that there are still many mysteries in life.

Modern Magic Realism

Claus Brusen: In the present day, magic realism is a movement that is growing rapidly. It’s as if there is a need for the magic, the absurd and the storytelling after many years of nonfigurative art. However, I believe this is not without other influences. I can mention lots of things which made art turn to magic realism again, such as rock album cover art from the sixties and seventies and, in the eighties, computer games which began to grow in quality from Pacman into visual works of wonders with role-playing games. Later came films such as Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and The Golden Compass, to mention the best known. All this could only grow because there was a need to feel the magic again.

Surrealism Painting

Claus Brusen: My influence as an artist came from a mixture of surrealism and fantasy art from the comic world and the music industry. Later I was influenced by decadent Victorian art by artists such as Richard Dadd, John Anster Fitzgerald and Sir Joseph Noel Paton, but they had already made their versions of old fairytales. So, for me, it became interesting to create my own world. Which I called ‘Nactalius’,a name which came out of nowhere back in 1981. Besides being a magic realism painter, I have now for some six years arranged large international exhibitions to promote this genre. This has led to a biennale, held in Denmark since 2005. The next installment is planned for the autumn of 2011 and is based around the theme ‘The Freakshow’.

The Captive Robin (c. 1864) by John Anster Fitzgerald

Modern Art

Claus Brusen: What the Victorians considered freaks are today ordinary people walking among us. The extreme has become a symbol for a lot of people to make their mark and state that they are different. People get implants, piercings and tattoos to the extreme, so as not to look like everybody else. It is, today, possible to actually look like Barbie girl or the Incredible Hulk. In some sense, you can say that this movement has become a part of life, as well as a part of art. So it would be very strange if we didn’t see this art represented as a genre in all museums in the future. It’s like it has been brewing in the underground forever and now is being recognised as a movement that exists and has done so since at least the year 1400. Magic is truly born again!

Magic Realism: The ‘New Objectivity’ That Changed Modern Art reminds us that the world is far more mysterious than it appears. From Bosch’s nightmares to Claus Brusen’s ‘Nactalius’, this movement proves our enduring need for the absurd and the magical. Just as Minnie Weisz finds the soul in forgotten ruins, these artists show us that magic is ever-present, waiting to be recognized. As it moves from the underground to the museum, this genre serves as a lasting inspiration: magic is truly born again.

If you enjoyed reading Magic Realism: The ‘New Objectivity’ That Changed Modern Art, then why not read Berlin: Full Circle

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