Street Life. The Street in Art from Kirchner to Streuli - Astrid Ihle, René Zechlin

A place for representation, self-presentation and communication, resistance and protest – this lavishly illustrated volume investigates the multi-layered significance of the street in the art of the twentieth and twenty-first century as an interface for diverse walks of life and groups through international positions in painting, graphics, photography, film, performance and installation. Around 1900, the street moved into the focus of artists in the wake of industrialisation and urbanisation as an elemental component of life. Starting with the Futurists and the Expressionists, who made the street a symbol for modern life full of promises and conflicts, the subject runs like a thread through art: as a social psychogram; as the expression of collective and individual longings and fears; within the context of happenings or graffiti; and currently also redefined within the framework of ecology, sustainability and democratic movements. Selected artists Arman, Joseph Beuys, Brassaï, Daniel Buren, Sophie Calle, Gilles Caron, Martha Cooper, Latifa Echakhch, Valie Export, George Grosz, Peter Hujar, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Helen Levitt, Oskar Nerlinger, Olaf Nicolai, Adrian Piper, John Smith, Beat Streuli, Jacques Villeglé, Peter Weibel With contributions by E. Bohnet, D. Campany, Astrid Ihle, S. Gronert, K. Rottmann J. Stallabrass, M. Widrich