Jazz-Symphonie

I animated this film for the Neue Nationalgalerie Berlin/Staatliche Museen zu Berlin and the commemorative event Hamburg liest verbrannte Bücher in 2023.

This film interprets the painting Jazz-Symphonie by Sascha Wiederhold, an artist who fell into oblivion due to National Socialism and was only recently rediscovered. The large-format work from 1927 shows a costume ball that took place in Berlin in 1925 and was attended by the artist himself. An inscription on the work ...he may come again... remains a mystery to this day. It is interesting to note that Wiederhold's signature C is painted in the same pattern as the dancer's costume in the center of the painting. It is rumored that the dancer represents his future wife, whom he met that evening. The film was shown as part of the commemorative event Hamburg liest verbrannte Bücher at the Metropolis Kino Hamburg.

The film was echoed in articles in the Jahrbuch der Berliner Museen 2022 and the Marginalien – Zeitschrift für Buchkunst und Bibliophilie (edition 2023/4).

Take a look at the translated version.

Illustration of a costume ball in the Roaring Twenties, inspired by Wiederhold's painting Jazz-Symphonie
Photo of the cinema screening of the animation Jazz-Symphonie

The movie in the cinema

The film was shown in June 2023 at the Metropolis Kino Hamburg at the commemorative event Hamburg liest verbrannte Bücher.

Poster for the event Hamburg liest verbrannte Bücher
Movie poster for Jazz-Symphonie featuring three trumpeters from the animation
Movie poster for Jazz-Symphonie, featuring Wiederhold with a dancer during the costume ball

Echoed in articles

Dr. Dieter Scholz, curator of the Neue Nationalgalerie Berlin, wrote an article about the film Jazz-Symphonie in the Jahrbuch der Berliner Museen 2022, which was also published in Marginalien - Zeitschrift für Buchkunst und Bibliophilie (edition 2023/4).

Photo of the 2022 Berlin Museums Yearbook featuring an article on Jazz-Symphonie
Photo of the 2022 Berlin Museums Yearbook featuring an article on Jazz-Symphonie

Drafts and process

Before finishing the film, I conducted research, prepared a mood board and a few sketches. Some of them you see here.

Illustration of stylized figures in the style of Sascha Wiederhold.
Illustrations of various jazz dance styles.
Illustration of stylized dancers in a hidden object image.
Illustration for brainstorming about the artist Sascha Wiederhold: Who was Sascha Wiederhold?
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