Frame and Preparation
Conceptual Frames and Background
- Photographer
- 1920 & 1930s
- Female identity
- Portraiture
- Neue Frau
Introduction
Breslauer is most famous for the portraits and group photos she took of her artistic and modern female friends, for capturing the excitement and exhilaration of the Neue Frau at her heyday during the Weimar Republic. Selected photos should thereby reflect this aspect of her work, many of which can be found at the online archive of the Fotostiftung Schweiz. Important ones include her self-portraits and the very popular photos of her lesbian friend-author Annemarie Schwarzenbach. Depending on which photos are selected, you may want to provide short biographies of the women portrayed in each photo.
This lesson opens a discussion on female self-presentation, the relationships between female identity and visuality, the dialectic between being an object and subject (erotic, artistic, or otherwise), and the position of women in Weimar culture and society. Some suggested portraits include:
Selbstporträt, Berlin, 1933
Annemarie Schwarzenbach, Berlin, 1932
Beate Freese, Berlin, 1933/34
Freizeit eines arbeitenden Mädchens, Berlin, 1933
The Sacrow series, 1934
Beate Freese (Kaffemühle), Berlin
Akrobatikschule, Berlin, 1934
Autofahrerin (Maud Thyssen), Ascona, 1933/34
Discussion Questions
- What sorts of women are portrayed in her photography? How do they present themselves to the camera? How are they framed by the artist?
- What sorts of identities are captured in the photographs, especially of the modern, emancipated woman?
- What is the difference between a “female gaze” gazing at women and a “male gaze” doing the same?
- Can women be both objects and subjects without giving up their agency or self-actualization?
- How does the identity and the intents of the artist effect the captured objects and our reading of them?
- How important is visuality and being seen—and self-presentation—for one’s identity? And for women?
Further Notes
A supplementary lesson could turn to her street photography as a secondary angle to explore urbanity in various cities. This could include: Paris (1929), Foire an der Route d’Orléans (Paris, 1929), Weihnachtsmarkt (Berlin, 1930), Lützowufer Bridge (Berlin, 1930), Untitled (Annemarie Schwarzenbach crossing the Eiffel bridge over Oñar river) (Girona, 1933)
