Get curated editors’ picks, peeks behind the scenes, film recommendations and more.
All the achievements of contemporary artistic genius from Cézanne to Picasso — the product of the ultimate in freedom, strength and human feeling – have been received with insults and repression. We believe that it is mere idiocy and folly to reduce modern art, as some desire, to a fanaticism for any particular religion, race or nation.
These were the searing words of a group of 37 Cairo-based artists and thinkers known as Art and Liberty in their manifesto ‘Long Live Degenerate Art’ (1938). At the time, totalitarianism and repression was on the rise across Europe. In 1937, the Nazi Party had confiscated modern artworks across Germany and displayed them in Munich at a ‘Degenerate Art’ exhibition, meant to frame abstract and expressionistic art as harmful to the national character. This brief animation from Tate recalls how Art and Liberty stood in defiance of oppression and censorship, creating works and spreading ideas that challenged the cultural norms and politics of their time. In doing so, the piece challenges the common understanding of Surrealism as a predominantly European artistic movement.
Video by Tate
Animator: Gemma Green-Hope
video
Wellbeing
Born in China, Zee seeks a gender-affirming life in the American Midwest
11 minutes
video
Rituals and celebrations
A whale hunt is an act of prayer for an Inuit community north of the Arctic Circle
8 minutes
video
Music
The peculiar beauty of a song caught between composition and improvisation
3 minutes
video
Rituals and celebrations
A beginner’s guide to a joyful Persian tradition of spring renewal and rebirth
3 minutes
video
Politics and government
How it looked to Afghan women to see the Taliban return to power
33 minutes
video
Love and friendship
Love looks a bit different for a chain-smoking couple in a small apartment
11 minutes
video
Biography and memoir
Passed over as the first Black astronaut, Ed Dwight carved out an impressive second act
13 minutes
video
The ancient world
The six priestesses who kept the flame of ancient Rome alight at risk of death
5 minutes
video
Engineering
A close-up look at electronic paper reveals its exquisite patterns – and limitations
9 minutes