OUGD601 - Practical theory research

To look more into the theory behind the idea and the connection with the essay, further research was undertook to help me figure out a singular goal for the practical. I looked more into the origins of Kraftwerk, post war German identity and music in general from the 70s, which all relates back to my idea. This research was key in distinguishing theories about their reputable visual culture how it helped change perceptions of German identity.

"It's hard to appreciate how alien Kraftwerk appeared back then. The first advert for Autobahn in the black-and-white NME looks particularly shocking: a bright blue sign from the future, under a feature on country music divorcees. At the time, the song was dismissed as a gimmick by the press – but not by fans who made it a No 11 hit.
Then came the xenophobia. The war was still a recent, scorching cultural memory, so perhaps it's not a surprise that a Barry Miles live review was headlined "This is what your fathers fought to save you from". The NME reprinted a feature by US critic Lester Bangs, in which Hütter was asked if Kraftwerk was "the final solution" for music. The image with the piece was even more tasteless: a press shot superimposed on to a Nuremberg rally."

These piece highlights the importance of Kraftwerk's desire to find 'historical alternatives' which I discuss in the essay, relating to both Autobahn and Constructivism. It also shows why Kraftwerk did this, as they were aiming to connect with a different culture and its politics such as Britain and the US.

"But to really understand Kraftwerk, you have to go to Dusseldorf, where the band was formed, in 1970. Like most German cities, it was flattened by the RAF and rebuilt in a hurry, in an anonymous, functional style. This was the cityscape that shaped them, and the functionality and anonymity of their music is as much a portrait of a place as Hardy’s Wessex. As Kraftwerk’s Ralf Hutter once put it, ‘We are the children of Fritz Lang and Wernher von Braun.’ Apparently the Aston conference is already sold out. Never mind. Far better to book ahead for Kraftwerk’s concert cycle in Copenhagen at the end of February, where they’ll be performing all their albums back to back. However, young West Germans had their own reason to experience a new dawn of anger – the first generation to come of age and be conscious of the crimes of their forefathers during the Third Reich, unmentioned for decades around the family table."

"Scholars argue that, in a complex way, Autobahn “reflects upon the state of German cultural, artistic, and musical identity” and “explicitly addressed aspects of German identity loaded with references to the Nazi era and beyond.” After all, the German Autobahn symbolized individual mobility and freedom on a motorway system with no (official) 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]."

This potentially brings to light how the war shaped Kraftwerk, and asks the question in my opinion that would Kraftwerk be the same band if they were British or American. They wouldn't have to aim to change perception through design, therefore in my practical piece I must evaluate whether or not it is relevant to use the same ideals of Kraftwerk's that aimed to challenge stereotypes.

Frederic Jameson writing in 1983, summarised the prevailing of cultural obsession with the past. All the styles ad worlds that can be invented by writers and artists have already been invented he argued. And after 70 or 80 years of classical modernism, the result is exhaustion. This means that contemporary or postmodernist art is going to be about art itself in a new kind of way, this is similar to how Kraftwerk repurposed art in a time of stylistic exhaustion.