Today was my last day of school. I arrived ten minutes late because I missed my bus from the Wuppertal Hauptbahnhof, where I was hurriedly putting together gift bags for my friends and teachers. We continued watching The Big Labowski in English and then when the class period was over, I gave Frau Köhler her little envelope with a note and some chocolate and thanked her for the year. She promised me something as well, which was ridiculously sweet.

At the Christmas party, I handed out the gift bags to all the closest friends I had at school. Luisa, Viki, Laura, Abby, Lena, Jolina, Tala, Tanja, and Katha. Katha told me she’d miss me and Tala said we should definitely watch more movies together. We share a similar taste and sense of humor, and she was the perfect choice to watch Wicked with, so of course I agreed.

From there, I tried some punch (alcohol free Glühwein, which is a type of hot spiced wine) and it was completely delicious. Then I played a couple rounds of Werwölfe. The first round I was the Hexe, and the second I was the Prinz. I love how passionate everyone is about the game. Every discussion is rife with tension and manipulation and accusations that are only supported by mob mentality. I hope to bring the game back to my American friends, since it’s similar to Mafia but has an arguably better and more easily understood system.

After school I went to an Italian bakery with Melina where I tried two overpriced desserts (the second had a kumquat on it, which was surprisingly the best part of the dessert). We then visited the city townhall, where we tried out a series of curious elevators. Our final destination was the museum. I thought Melina, with her dry, sarcastic humor, much like mine, and her intolerance for over-directness and insistence on upholding polite norms (also much like me), would hate the idea of abstract art. But we lingered together over the art of Lucio Fontana, reading each inscription as if it answers the mysteries of the universe. From slashes in canvas (from Fontana’s “Expectations” collection) to holes molded into bronze, Fontana’s work reflected the political climate in fascinating ways. I learned that during the Italian fascist regime, Mussolini recruited abstract artists—including Fontana—to create art for propaganda. This surprised me because it seems like they might do the opposite, especially considering that abstract is arguably the most free art style to exist. But with more reflection, I realized that from the regime’s standpoint, it’s actually a clever strategy to utilize the skills of artists. Perhaps by relying on such a modern art style, the propaganda made fascism seem like a new, modern reinvented thing that the people need. Chairman Mao portrayed his own regime in the same way: a new, modern way to live.

Reading all the descriptions on the walls on how art evolved to match the political atmosphere was truly inspiring. I want to be able to look at a piece of art and guess what might have been happening in the world. I remember in my history classes at school reading about the disillusionment of young people during the 1920s, and how it affected the art produced during the time. Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, served as a critique of the American Dream. Movements like expressionism and surrealism, dedicated to nonconformity, exploded across Europe. I think it’s important to learn these things because it gives us a paper trail of reactions to various historical events. By examining these artworks and recurring themes, we can analyze trends in how historical events play out and how people react to them.

Last modified on 2024-12-20