Draft 2 PhD Introduction - ResearchSpace@Auckland

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light as an Expressionist technique”. 152 Ward himself discussed some of those
influences in an interview for the San Francisco Examiner in which he stated that:
“Because my mother is German, I got interested in the German lighting tradition, in
Fritz Lang, and I got interested in expressionist painting”. 153 He mentions the German
Expressionist painter and lithographer Käthe Kollwitz as being of particular interest to
him. It would be a mistake, however, to attempt to “pigeonhole” Ward as an
Expressionist in view of his reservations about being categorised and in view of the fact
that, as Willet has pointed out: “creative artists are often reluctant to admit anything that
might seem like dependence on such a movement [Expressionism]; their sense of their
own individuality is too strong”. 154
While Expressionism may be a useful starting point to discuss the type of film Ward has
produced, we need to be aware that the term has developed a number of different
associations and meanings. The remainder of this chapter will endeavour to examine
various understandings of the term “Expressionism” and to produce a version that will
be relevant to Ward’s early films in particular. Again, the concept is intended merely as
an initial way to orient ourselves, and it is hoped that by the end of the thesis we will
have developed a more complex and specific understanding of Ward’s distinctive films.
John Willett defines Expressionism as having three distinct meanings:
1. a family characteristic of modern Germanic art, literature, music and theatre,
from the turn of the century to the present day.
2. a particular modern German movement which lasted roughly between 1912
and 1922.
3. a quality of expressive emphasis and distortion which may be found in works
of art of any people or period. 155
The second definition of Expressionism is historical, relating to German Expressionism
as an art movement that began in the fine arts with the formation of two important
groups of artists, die Brücke and der Blaue Reiter. Since Ward has specifically stated
152
Lynette Read, interview with John Maynard, 29 September 1999.
153
Vincent Ward quoted in Nancy Scott, "Writing Poetry for the Screen," San Francisco Examiner 10 Feb
1981: E1.
154
John Willett, Expressionism (London: World University Library, 1970) 7.
155
Willett, Expressionism 8.