With its proximity to the cultural hub of New York City and its quieter suburban and rural landscapes, Connecticut was fertile ground for artists and writers in the period of Modernist movements between 1913 and 1979. Many of these cultural figures are well known through biographical and critical studies. Creative Places seeks to show how place played a significant role in creative work, and how in turn the artists and writers influenced communities in Connecticut.
Hans Richter
Painting/Drawing, Theatre/Dance/Film
1888 – 1976
Dada painter and filmmaker with connections to the artists of the Silvermine and Roxbury enclaves.
- Biography/Description of Work
Richter was a German avant-garde artist and part of the Dada movement in 1916. He began creating abstract paintings, but in 1921 made his first abstract film. Richter emigrated to the US in 1940, and settled in Southbury in 1941. He became a teacher at the Institute of Film Techniques of the City College of New York. In 1957, he collaborated with artists Jean Cocteau and Fernand Léger to create ‘8 x 8: A Chess Sonata in 8 Movements,’ partially filmed on the lawn of his summer house in Southbury. Others involved included Paul Bowles, Alexander Calder, Marcel Duchamp and Max Ernst. The same year, he completed a film with original poems and prose by five Dada artists, entitled ‘Dadascope,’ and directed a short about Alexander Calder in 1963 called ‘From the Circus to the Moon.’ He spent part of each year in Southbury.
- Sources view
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Richter_(artist), http://www.lacma.org/art/exhibition/hans-richter-encounters, http://www.artnet.com/artists/hans-richter/, http://lacma.wordpress.com/2013/03/25/between-art-and-politics-hans-richters-germany/, http://www.dada-companion.com/richter/, http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/2006/dada/artists/richter.shtm Hans Richter Article - New York Times - 1968-2-2, Hans Richter Article - New York Times - 1968-2-3, Hans Richter Article - New York Times - 1973-11-24, Hans Richter Article - New York Times - 1979-3-25, Hans Richter Obituary - New York Times - 1976-2-3
- Associated Resource(s)
- n/a