Lissette Diaz

Printmaking

Artists assessment

The piece by Peter Behrens located in Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) was done during 1898. The piece is untitled in LACMA but it is often referred to as “The Kiss”. Peter Beherns was born in Germany and originally studied for architect and design. He involved a lot of his work in the modernist movement.  Not much can be said about his early life, however, he did do the “Kiss” as a political statement in homophobia in the late 19th century, Germany. It is done in a wood print and was printed out in thin light brown paper with intricate design. Its dimensions are 11 x 8 inches and was published in a “magazine” for Berlin.

What intrigued me about this art piece was how Peter Beherns focused his whole career in his Architecture but began to use the expressionist movement as a way to express his disinterest in how Germany was dealing with Homophobia at the time. The piece is so tranquil and yet very provocative in its own way. It is not sexualizing the two women at all but it still gives the viewer a sense of sexual tension. It is extremely fascinating to look at, especially since it looks very simplistic. The main colors are browns and a hint of blue in the background. His work has inspired me in creating simplistic pieces which can still look successful and complete. His political views also inspired me to draw and illustrate work in topics that are important to me in this day and age. Although his focus was not in political work, he still took the time to address something which he deemed important to his life. Although much is not said about his life, I still find his work intriguing.