Olympia

OLYMPIA To coincide with the 100 year commemoration of the out break of the Great War 1914-1918 the so called “War to end all wars “ and the upcoming Summer Olympic games, Thomas Dellert has created a series of anti- war photomontages depicting an female athlete doing her exercise with a ball resembling the earth. The some times disturbing background images from world war one, leads us into the dark dead end alley of the Weimar Republic and soon the NSDAP. The athletic poses of the girl in the Olympic gymnastic routines reflects the military machineries’ rearmament and training programs as well as the growing fascism of the 1920’s, leading to the outbreak of world war two only 20 years after the first , with its death toll of over 60 million people. The 1936 the Olympic games in Berlin was to became the world first large propaganda number. The artist Thomas Dellert’s grandfather was an eyewitness at the opening of the Berlin Olympic games. His recollection of memories from this time was the original inspiration for the artist’s fascination of this period in time. As a later artist Thomas has consciously worked with irony as one of his main tools, and in “Olympia “ he has let himself use some of the images once created by Leni Riefenstahl. Miss Riefenstahl made the famous Olympic movie “Olympia…….. “ and won many awards including the 1939 Gold medal at the world fair in Paris. Just months before the out brake of WW2 The torch is an excellent embodiment of all that the Olympic Games have come to symbolize - a celebration of the human spirit. Its not about winning or conquering , but about participating in Peace. At the same time the torch was also used in the Nazi rallies and parades making it a controversial symbol lighting up the night. The torch on the art woks by Dellert is carried by Berlin Cabaret Performer Fru Pepper. These photographs where taken in Utopia Berlin 2012 Camera: Canon EOS 1 A limited series of direct prints on metal are available.

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OLYMPIA by Thomas Dellert

To coincide with the 100 year commemoration of the outbreak of the Great War of 1914-1918, the so called “war to end all wars“, as well as the upcoming Summer Olympic games, Thomas Dellert has created a series of anti- war photomontages depicting a female athlete doing her exercise with a ball resembling the earth. The sometimes disturbing background images from WWI leads us into the dark dead-end alley of the Weimar Republic and, soon, the NSDAP. The athletic poses of the girl in the Olympic gymnastic routines reflects the military machineries’ rearmament and training programs as well as the growing fascism of the 1920s, leading to the outbreak of WWII only 20 years after the first, with its death toll of over 60 million people.

The 1936 Olympic games in Berlin was to become the world's first large propaganda number. The artist Thomas Dellert’s grandfather was an eyewitness at the opening of the Berlin Olympic games. His recollection of memories from this time was the original inspiration for the artist’s fascination of this period in time.

As a later artist, Thomas has consciously worked with irony as one of his main tools, and in “Olympia“ he has let himself use some of the images once created by Leni Riefenstahl in her famous Olympic movie “Olympia: Fest der Völker“, which won many awards including the 1939 Gold Medal at the World Fair in Paris just months before the outbreak of WWII.

The torch is an embodiment of all that the Olympic Games represent and have come to symbolize, a celebration of the human spirit.
It was unfortunately introduced by Adolf Hitler and used for the first time in the Berlin Olympic Games in Berlin 1936

It's not about winning or conquering… but about participating in peace.
At the same time the torch was also used in the Nazi rallies and parades, making it a controversial symbol lighting up the night.

The torch on the artworks by Dellert is carried by Berlin Cabaret Performer Frau Pepper.
These photographs where taken in Utopia Berlin 2012