The past week or two has seen the nations press in a state of frenzy (perhaps slightly overstated) over the comments made by Bryan Ferry to the German newspaper Welt am Sonntag. For those who have been living in a bubble, the controversy surrounds his appreciation of the architecture of Albert Speer and the films of Leni Riefenstahl. The moral outrage has resulted in calls for M & S (that bastion of conservative middle class England) to rid themselves of the modelling contract with Ferry as an 'olive branch' to the people that he has insulted. For instance, Victoria Coren, writing in the Observer said that, 'they should drop the lame-brained Geordie ponce.'
Now I am not not going to make some apologist stance for Bryan Ferry. His comments, although probably meant in sincerity, were completely ill conceived. To go on about a facet of the Nazi regime, that was an intrinsic part of the way that Hitler and Goebbels intoxicated 1930's Germany with lies and deceipt was plain stupid. Especially without putting the thoughts into context. I'm sure most people realise that the iconography goes hand in hand with the political beliefs. But to say that nobody can admire the works of Speer or Riefenstahl for their 'quality' is equally misguided. Speers work was revolutionary. Riefenstahls films before the Nazi stuff were also very good. If we are going to argue that to admire their work is off-limits, then we should be equally severe with Wagner, Ezra Pound or W.B. Yeats.
The Nazis were evil. Hopefully, the vast majority of the worlds population know that. And of course we should never forget it. I hope that Bryan Ferry has not got any sympathy for them because I have long admired his work. But the debate, much like that over Joy Division, leaves a sour taste in the mouth. It just shows you how the shadow of some long dead tyrant like Hitler can linger very long.
Songs for today:
Belle and Sebastian - The Boy Done Wrong Again (mp3) Buy
Heaven 17 - We Dont Need This (Fascist Groove Thang) (mp3) Buy
OMD - Joan of Arc (mp3) Buy (from Architecture & Morality of course)
4 comments:
Nicely done - Dire Straits and Nazis in one week but I think you pulled it off! Excellent songs too.
Does the content of this post mean I am not allowed to say that I thought the graphic art of some of the Nazis' propaganda posters was absolutely phenomenal? Well it was, so there.
I downloaded some of the images a while back to use on a CD cover and I probably remain on an MI5 watch-list to this day.
It hardly implies any sort of tacit approval of the message to say that the work was good.
Ever been to Washington DC?
I am not sure that Nazi art and architecture can ever be objectively divorced from its political context. This is namely because so much of what was produced was sheer propaganda, designed to glorify the Nazi regime. It is difficult to even contemplate how Riefenstahl could deny producing films without this in mind as she is considered to be the most influential Nazi propagandist. Is it possible to accidentally make Nazi propaganda?
But perhaps this may follow a similar route to the Romans. Perhaps after a few thousand years, people can look upon the remaining pieces of Nazi art and architecture and develop some kind of objective appreciation for it. I can't imagine appreciating it myself just yet. I cannot easily forget the reprehensible atrocities associated with the Nazis.
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