Weimar Women: Photography and Modernity in 1920s Germany

The book aims to spotlight the Weimar era’s fascination with women as both subjects and objects of photographic representation and as ‘icons’ of modernity. It will focus on the ways in which women as subjects and objects of photography were implicated in the experiences of Weimar culture, specifically the visual arts, sexuality, fashion, celebrity, dance, sport, advertising, journalism, film and the illustrated press. It will be structured around six separate but inter-related chapters: ‘new women, fashion and androgyny’; ‘artists, writers, celebrities and film stars’; ‘the body beautiful, dancers and athletes’; ‘avant-garde experimentation’; ‘advertising and the illustrated press’ and ‘classifying human types.’ It will include a consideration of the fate of some key Jewish photographers during the 1930s, including those who were forced into American exile, which will help to bridge the divide between Europe and America for transatlantic readers. The book will offer a fresh look at the era by showcasing the richness, variety, technical brilliance and visual allure of women in German photography between the wars. It will be the first publication in English to bring together the latest research on women and photography in Weimar Germany.