Autobahn
In the essay I argue that Autobahn reflects the state of German cultural, artistic, and musical identity and addressed aspects of German identity with references to the Nazi era. The German Autobahn itself symbolises individual mobility and freedom on a motorway system with no set speed limit. The Autobahn is further connected with car manufacturing, which formed the backbone of the post-war economy, as well as the quality of German engineering as captured by the marketing slogan “Vorsprung durch Technik” [advancement through technology.
The autobahn network has a total length of about 8,073 mi in 2016, which ranks it among the most dense and longest controlled-access systems in the world. However, I wanted to look into the links to the war which I discuss in the essay and discovered that Adolf Hitler enthusiastically embraced an ambitious autobahn construction project. As a result it would have benefited his war plan, and during the war, strips of the autobahns were paved over to allow their conversion into airstrips. Aircraft were either stashed in numerous tunnels or camouflaged in nearby woods. However, for the most part during the war, the autobahns were not militarily significant. Motor vehicles, such as trucks, could not carry goods or troops as quickly or in as much bulk and in the same numbers as trains could.
Visuals of the Autobahn
Constructivism
Constructivism is very much a Russian movement which started in the Soviet Union with the Russian avant-garde. It was not strictly an art movement, rather a trend in the arts that was closely linked to industry and manufacturing, architecture and the applied arts. It is appropriated in The Man Machine as Constructivism firmly embraced the new social and cultural developments that grew out of World War I and the October Revolution of 1917, similar to what Kraftwerk were aiming to achieve following WWII. The movement is concerned with the use of 'real materials in real space', the movement sought to use art as a tool for the common good, much in line with the Communist principles of the new Russian regime.
I wanted to learn the main characteristics of Constructivism if I was to portray it a new way. So I discovered that as with Futurism, one of the main characteristics of Constructivism was a total commitment to and acceptance of modernity. The art was typically totally abstract, with the emphasis on geometric shapes and experimentation. Constructivist art was optimistic, but would not tend to be emotional in any way and subjectivity and individuality were subsumed in favour of objective, universal forms.
A new order in art was being sought, with new media being experimented with. One of the characteristics of Constructivist artworks is that they would be reductive in nature, simplifying everything to the most fundamental level. The fact that the Constructivist art movement emerged immediately after World War One is no coincidence. The movement wanted to sweep away all that had gone before, all that had led to the catastrophic war. The new art for the new order would have to lead to greater understanding, peace and unity, which would impact on the social and economic problems of the day.
Visuals of Constructivism
Trans Europe Express
The TEE is a fine example of postwar European railway travel as eight railway companies cooperated to compete against emerging air travel. In 1957 the TEE network connected 70 cities and no less than 130 twenty years later. The TEE was innovative not only technically, but also in terms of design. In the design of Trans Europe Express by Kraftwerk they envisage the spirit of the times that called for European cooperation. The TEE eventually declined in 1979 with the German railways converting a number of TEEs into Intercity trains with other countries following soon after. However, from researching into the TEE, it was a sign of true modernity in travel but also design as the posters that accompanied the trains were a sign of modernist ideals.
Visuals of TEE
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