Chapter Four: Colonialism – Black German history
Colonialism – Black German history
The academic, author, activist and artist Natasha A. Kelly (born in 1973) created an installation that is part of the exhibition and positions Otto Mueller in the context of German colonialism.
Stereotype
Mueller portrayed himself as a black man in some of his works, which allows various interpretations.
One possible explanation is his fascination for the stereotypical masculinity of black men, which he rendered in an exotic manner in various paintings.
Not interested in the identity or personality of his black models, he portrayed them as dancers, thus focusing on the role ascribed to them in Germany in the 1920s and ignoring their real lives.
Who was Milli?
Natasha A. Kelly tried to answer the question as she gathered information on this black woman who lived in Imperial Germany and modelled for artists of the Die Brücke group.
Das Bild „Schlafende Milli“ von Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (1880–1938) entstand um 1911, als auch Otto Mueller Mitglied der „Brücke“ war.
Die damit verbundenen kolonialen Klischees finden sich entsprechend auch in den Werken von Otto Mueller wieder.
In the film Milli’s Awakening, eight black German women talk about the ongoing colonialist prejudices and their experiences with racism in the German art and culture industries.
Knowledge is power
The poison cabinet of the colonial era
Kelly’s ”knowledge pharmacy” contains various interesting facts about black German history. Terms from various epochs with racist connotations are locked up in a “poison cabinet” to substantiate the impact of German colonial history that persists to this day.
Chapters: More about Otto Mueller
Basic concept – Close to nature
A constant – Partners
Contours – Biography
Classic subject – Bathers
Context – Romani people
Kaleidoscope – Viewpoint
