Anita Berber- Creating our image of her before the famous painting.

We were given a brief to create Anita Berber how we thought she would have looked before she had her portrait painted by Otto Dix.
For me I imagined her not yet to have been to bed. In a way I could picture her forgetting she had the painting scheduled and rushing around last minute.
Her hair would be untidy as she was a dancer on the stage I picture it to be up yet falling down from lack of care and partying all night.
Her makeup would be the same as what she wore the night before as she hasn't taken it off. With this is mind it would have to be quite vampy as she was preforming on the stage. The dark eye makeup she would have worn that night I could imagine has started to slide underneath her eyes from the sweat she has produced with the stage lights being on her and the heat of being around lots of people taking drugs and drinking(obviously she would be joining in). Her skin would have slight redness from her constant drinking and 'drinking veins' would start to show.
Her lips would be very thin and a dark colour nothing too bright as I see Anita Berber to be a mysterious person and dark colours works well with that.

Redness from drinking. 

Inspiration For Final Image

 From this picture I took inspiration for the hair. I like how flat it was at the top of her head then the curls by her ears were so big and frizzy.






















Her eyeshadow really intrigued me here to me it looks like two different tones. I'm going to try and use two different tones in my final design.

First Assessment

The skin is shiny from the lights in the club. The lips are fading and lipstick look gross. The eye shadow has started to fall underneath her eyes. However the redness on the cheeks hasn't shown up as much as I would have liked it too. 

Second Assessment

Continuity wise I feel I've done alright. The lips are different as in my first image I've made the bottom lip bigger. The hair on my models left side is also a bit bigger in my second picture and not as flat the the head. Apart from those two slight tweaks i'm proud of what I've achieved, 

My Model

Sinister or Creepy?

I've got to consider whether I want my Emcee to have a sinister manner or be creepy. When thinking of these words to different characters come to mind. For creepy it makes me think of the child catcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, he's very sly and sneaks around tricking children and people with his lies. In some ways the Emcee is like this tricking his audience into thinking they are having a good time but yet still telling them the truth in a comical way.
When thinking of the word Sinister the character that comes to mind it the Slender Man from the computer game. He has long extended ligaments and wears a suit. He lurks in the dark and jumps out at you. When you see him up close he has no face. The word sinister to me also means scary, something to scare you and make your heart race. Even though I want my Emcee to be skinny and have long arms I don't want him to be scary or sinister as if he was like this he would attract people into the club.

I want my Emcee to have elements of both of these mannerisms however for me the Emcee is mostly creepy as he touches the girls all the time and try's to allure the audience. Yet just hiding underneath all of this is his sinister side of drugs and and his long limbs.

The Child Catcher- I consider him to be creepy. 

Slenderman- To me he is sinister.

Audience now Audience then...

Within the 1920's there was an comic downfall people weren't living the best lives, they all had little money and tried anything to just get by. I feel that going to see Cabaret for them was a way escape what was going on. While watching it they became part of it, and enjoyed the whole performance and experience. People could leave their troubles at the door come in side and be anyone they wanted to be.
However compared to modern society, it's more of a one night thing than going most nights every week. We get excited of the thought of dressing up like they use to and making drinks just like the old times. It is a very similar moto about leaving your troubles at the door and being in a world where you don't have to think about anything else. Just for society today it isn't a way of escapism it's a different way to meet up with friends and socialise.

Divinely Decedent

Meaning- A place with such magnificent and such an amazement yet within in a place of such decay and downfall.

Conrad Veidt

Conrad was a famous actor in Berlin during the time Cabaret was set I feel that the Emcee would have taken a lot of inspiration of Conrad as he is very expressive with his movements within the films. He knows how to show his feelings with just his eyes.

Conrads first film he was in was called Caligari where he was a murder who killed innocent people. He was being controlled by another man so that he wouldn't get the blame. In the film his eye makeup is very heavy and he has dark lips with his hair quite floppy. To me in this film he looks quite weak but this very creepy and scary looking just by the use of his eyes. For me a modern day version her reminds me of is Edwards Scissor Hands.

The Second film he was in was 'The Man Who Laughs' within the film he played a man who was born with a disfigured smile which is massive. His makeup within the film is very similar but brought mack just a little bit his eyes are still dark but looks like the use of powder so not as intense. His lips are dark and very thin. This is what i feel gives him the evil creepy look. His eyebrows are bushy, I like this its against the norm for the look at the time. Hair looks light as if it was just about to turn grey and is all scraped back but not slapped down to the head there is volume within the look.

Conrad out of his characters is very swarve, he has that manner about him without even meaning it. Always dressed impeccable with a smart dinner suit on and just that tilt of the eyebrow to suggest something. His hair is dark a slicked straight back he hasn't got the side part like most men did at the time. When he got older he started to get white side burns in his hair. I like the idea of the white on his hair. I also considered adding white onto the middle of his lips.

After doing my original face charts I'm going to go back and amend them as I feel incorporating a sense of Conrad Veidt into my design would work well.

First Initial FaceCharts

For this Emcee I chose to do the eyebrows sleek and keep the 'Emcee look' with the blusher the big lips and smokey eyes. To keep to my original idea of the emcee being a alcohol and drug abuser. I've incorporated a bruise mark into my design.

I tried adding eyelashes to the emcee however this just looks to girly for the route i'd like to take him down and i felt the blusher was just took much. I like the idea of the chapped lips and want to try this out on my model. To keep my twisted side of the Emcee I've included scratch marks down the side of his neck.

Kept this look quite simple adding a slight ombre of the lips. but going more into detail with the scratches on the hand and the hand print bruise mark on the neck. Again i would like to try this on my model to see if it works.

For this Emcee I wanted to see what it would look like with light skin however it just didn't work. It's made him look severely ill. The eyebrows I kept them untamed yet I still don't think this worked. The lips i just kept a simple red colour.

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After speaking to my course mates and my lecture we all came to the conclusion I should look more into Conrad Veidt and his makeup. I've done a lot of research on him and realised that the Emcee would take inspiration from him. I also need to correct my face charts and make the lips thinner as a mans lips wouldn't be that full.

Feedback from Presentation

Good angle to take the Emcee, very interesting as not many people would take that angle.
Needle marks would look good to delicately incorporate drugs.
Great face chart, like the idea of the harsh reality, bruising would work well with your idea.
The pale skin may not work as well as they are from german and a bit more tanned.
Amend lips on face charts- tip ex the lips out and draw your own shape to fit your version of the emcee.
Thick eyebrows mixes things up that would be cool- also links in well with Conrad Veidt- which Sharon loves that you have researched into him. Don't over do it- Sharons words.
The emcee is the voice of the people and seduces people in.
Creepy or sinister-- Choose which way you want to portray him.

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Where to go from here

Make some new face charts with realistic skin tone and amending lips
Do a whole Blog post of Conrad looking into his hair and makeup.
Consider if i want the emcee creepy or sinister.

Artist- George Grosz

[ Johnathan Jones 2013] George Grosz was in the military when realised he came home to his town of Berlin to see such a change. Within his autobiography he says how he was shock and disgusted with how people were acting. It made me loathe Berlin.
He started drawing pictures of people on the street of Berlin, men puking people having fights.
He showed people for what they truly were and what they looked like underneath.

One of his most famous exhibitions was 'Ecce Homo' this consisted of 100 paintings capturing the ugliness and corruption of Berlin as a society.

This artist really inspires me to create my Emcee look in the style of his drawings. I think my Emcee has an underlying drug habit that you don't see with all the makeup and the clown act he puts on. Although I don't want my final image to be a painting I want it to have the feeling that it's inspiration is from George Grosz paintings.

What Will Happen If They Don't Get It Now?

The Emcee needs money to live and carry on with his lifestyle. If he doesn't get his money from selling the girls he may have to start selling his own body. I don't think he cares who he's with as long as he gets money and his needs are met.
In the economic downfall this could cause him to loose his room he rents and may try just sleeping out the back of the Kit Kat Klub. He would find it hard to eat and shower and would be a building he never really gets to leave. He would look weak and the women would think he doesn't have the dominant control over them anymore.

Why Do They Want It?

I believe the Emcee loves drugs and thats why he wants the money. He spends most of his money on drugs and sex, thats why he lives in such a basic room. The Emcee represents the underlying truth and he knows this life style isn't going to last forever with the Nazi's taking over. He lives his life as full and as extreme as possible.

What Does The Character Want?

Within this scene the Emcee wants to show off the girls he's got and making money off them. He wants the men in the audience to want the girls and to sleep with them. He is showing off what you could get if you had money.

The Emcee says;
You wonder where I get my money? I have something to sell; Love! For all shapes! For all sizes!

Where Have They Just Come From?

The Emcee doesn't have a storyline with in the play so it's hard to know what his life outside the Kit Kat Klub is like.
Before the scene with Emcee and the girls from around the world. Ernst has been talking to Cliff about going to Paris for him and smuggling some items back in a brief case and he will give him seventy-five marks. It then goes into the Emcee singing a song about how money makes the world go round.

From my point of view of the Emcee before going out on stage I imagine him doing drugs out the back before coming on stage and feeling up the girls wether they like it or not. I think the Emcee was one of the first 'pimps' who owns all the girls at the Kit Kat Klub.
Before turning up at the Klub the Emcee was in his dingy dirty room that he rents. It's very small with minimal furniture in there.

When Is It?

The scene is on a dark night around 11 in the middle of town on the corner of a street. The year is 1922 in the middle of November, there is an icy chill in the air. Everyone is wearing big coats and hat to try and keep warm. People defend on the Kit Kat club at night for a place to keep warm and have a good time.

The Webmasters. (2005). Greta Garbo Timeline 1920-1924. Available: http://www.garboforever.com/Timeline-02.htm. Last accessed 16th Oct 2014.

Where are they?

The Emcee will be on stage inside the Kit Kat club with girls all around him.

5 Senses


Sight
There will be small tables all around the room with people crowded around each one telephones on each table. The floor would have been tiled in a beautiful design but left grubby from dirty feet coming in from the streets. Small side lights on the side of the big room are high up, producing enough light for people to see where they are walking. At the back of the room in a long bar with mirrors behind with the kit kat club etched into the mirror. The bar is a dark stone colour. Rose of glasses are by the mirrors with spirits decanted into fancy bottles. The men behind the bar and wearing shirts with braces and bowler hats. The curtains on stage are a dark blue velvet and becoming tread bear at the bottom from where they have been pulled backwards and forwards for many years. On the tables were table lamps so the audience could see the numbers they were dialling on the phone. Some of the glass on some lamps have been smashed through and panels were missing but had not been replaced. The walls were a dark burgundy with chips in the wall where the odd scruff and fight had happened. Pictures hung on the walls of previous cabaret dancers who had preformed there in the past. Hanging from the ceiling were stage lights shining perfectly on the stage, in front of these beams of light you could see the fog from the smoke of the cigarettes just sitting in a layer just above peoples heads.

Hearing

The sound of phones ringing from one table to the next. Voices talking in dull tones and the odd laughter. The main band playing their instruments and retuning if not doing performance. The entrance door slamming everything a new person walks into the room.

Taste

The air taste of damp and old cigarette smoke. With a hint of different perfumes infusing together which tried to musk the smell of sweat.

Touch

The stone bar was cold to the touch yet the seats were soft as they were crushed velvet. The tables were sticky but covered in table clothes so didn't really matter.  The lights were dusty and hadn't been cleaned in a long time.

Smell

The smells of cigarettes lingers in the air as well as the absinth used in the drinks of the night. The room is hot and producing a lot of body heat so they smell of sweat and peoples perfumes is in the air. 

Who are they?

I've chosen to base my historical character on the Emcee, in the film 'Cabaret' he works at the Kit Kat Club introducing the girls onto the stage and offering light relief and laughs to the audience.

The Emcee was there to relax the audience and make them forget about the politics and the economic crisis they were in!

The clubs he would be working in would be dingy, the audience would all be sitting round tables watching with telephones on each table to phone each other if interested. I would imagine the air to be foggy and thick from everyone smoking in there and the furniture to look worn and off colour from the cigarette smoke.

[Perrottet.T. 2012] Men in the 1920's would mostly be seen wearing good quality suits. The men would wear bright coloured shirts with big cravats. 

During this time one famous actor that would have been a big influence on the Emcee is Conrad Veidt. [Caroline. 2012] One of his most famous roles was in The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. In this film the director used striking makeup and lighting. This was something never seen before in the movies which made him become so famous. Every film he was in he was very expressive with his face. I feel the Emcee would have taken a lot of inspiration from the movement of his eyes and how he can tell the audience things through his eyes without speaking. 

Caroline. (2012). The Good German: The Life and Legacy of Conrad Veidt. Available: http://garbolaughs.wordpress.com/2012/03/09/the-good-german-the-life-and-legacy-of-conrad-veidt/. Last accessed 15th Oct 2014.

Choose a Scene

I've chosen the Scene where the Emcee has just been singing about Money making the world go round. After finishing the song he reveals he makes his money by selling girls to men. He brings out girls from all around the world covered in money from their country. I would like to portray my Emcee holding all the money from the girls.

Cabaret the Emcee

My first encounter of seeing the Emcee was watching a YouTube video of Cabaret the play. The role is played by Alan Cumming, when watching him he made me feel uneasy. He really gave me the creeps. His hair was very glossy and sleek. His makeup was paled faced with dark lips and dark eye shadow it really made his eye look sunken into his skull.
For me he resembled the Child Catcher.

Jared.J. (2014). ALAN CUMMING - LATEST NEWS, PHOTOS, AND VIDEOS. Available: http://www.justjared.com/tags/alan-cumming/. Last accessed 9th Oct 2014.

The second time was reading the 'Cabaret' script, reading what he says made me think of him to be such a seedy man. I would image him feeling up all the girls behind the scenes. He sings one song about how he sleeps with two girls and likes having a threesome with them. Again I still pictured him to look like the child catcher. In my head was really tall hand long features and a big nose.

Casting.J. (2010). Wheel of Time Casting Call, Part 1 – Fourth Tier Characters from The Eye of the World. Available: http://atreacherousmemory.wordpress.com/2010/09/16/wheel-of-time-casting-call-part-1-fourth-tier-characters-from-the-eye-of-the-world/. Last accessed 9th Oct 2014.

When it came round to actually watching the film 'Cabaret' I was so surprised to how they has presented the Emcee. He was made out to look like a clown. He had lots of makeup on and eyelashes. He was very cheeky and pulled lots of faces.

Dr.Weinerbreath. (2012). The Emcee From Cabaret. Available: http://kenpdsnydecast.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/emcee-from-cabaret.html. Last accessed 14th Oct 2014.

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For me there isn't much on the Emcee but I find him really intriguing wondering what his life is like off the stage as we don't see any of that in the film or the stage production. I like how both Bob Fosse and Harold Prince created such different looks for the Emcee.  For me I want to go down the more sinister creepy route as thats how I see the Emcee to be and not clown like.

Colour meaning in 1920's Berlin

Although colour was still seen and symbolised the same way as in the book 'If It's Purple Someones Going To Die'. Prostitutes would wear certain colours so the men knew what kind of services they would offer. This is something I need to consider when designing my historical version as these colours could represent something that is completely different to the character.

[Gordon.M. 2008/09]

BROWN- The men loved boots and shoes to be worn during sex

COLBOLT BLUE- Women to be in control (dominating women)

GOLD- Physical torture 

GREEN- Psychological enslavement (mental manipulation)

RED- The men love to be spanked on the bum while they are tied up. 

SCARLET- Women dress the men up as transvestites for humiliation

There are also different meanings for the colour of the womens laces, however these are very extreme  and you won't be able to see the shoes in the picture so I felt this didn't matter as much as the other colours. 

In the film 'Cabaret' Sally Bowles wears Green nail varnish. If this is to be taken literal and from the meaning of the prostitutes which in Sally's case I feel matches her character she wears it because she is a mental manipulator. She makes all the men she is around fall in love with her and give her things without her having to do much for it! 

Lifestyle Of Show Girls

[Berlin Tourismus & Kongress GmbH. 2011-2014] Showgirls were seen to live care free lives they were allowed to do what they wanted and had their own way. Most show girls had short hair, this hairstyle was popular at the time because of the revolution of the Lesbians, many women cut their hair short to symbolise they were gay however it just became popular for women to do that. 

One showgirl with an outrageous lifestyle was Anita Berber. She was one of the first girls to dance on stage fully naked. She also pushed boundaries off stage and was quite frankly a nightmare! 

She classed her self as bisexual and was involved in many sex scandals, most the time on drugs. She took drugs every day and was a heavy drinker. 

Drugs were readily available within Berlin even prescribed by doctors for sexual fatigue. Drugs were often given to show girls as gratitude for a good performance like men would give roses nowadays. [Perrottet.T. 2012] As Berliners were experimenting more with drugs they were experimenting with different ways they would take it. One way was by soaking the petals of a white rose in chloroform and ether. This was Anita Berbers favourite kind of drug. 

Neike. (2006). Anita Berber (1899-1928). Available: http://keikai.blogspot.co.uk/2006/11/anita-berber-1899-1928.html. Last accessed 5th Oct 2014.

Show girls never really took off their makeup just adding more on top each time. When they had a bath they didn't really wash their faces. Their lifestyles were so full on, they were constantly going from one party to the next or between man to man they never really had time to take makeup off and let their faces breathe.
Their hair was cut short as this was the popular style of the time. Most women owned a chignon. This was a hair piece the attached to the lower back of their necks to create the look of a classy lower bun, most ladies wore these out at night times for meals or parties.  

Colours of the 1920's

[Session.D 2013] Most colours in the 1920's were muted or pastel shades ranging from dusty pinks to navy. Although patterns were around it wasn't a big thing some women wore floral or a striped skirts. Bead work and embroidery showed up better on solid colours.

What I know about 1920's Berlin.

In all honesty before this brief was set I hardly knew anything about 1920's Berlin. Obviously I knew about the War and Hitler but I didn't realise how seedy and into sex they were!

From the few clips I watched in my first class, I have come to the conclusion that Berlin became a place of sex and anything you wanted you were more than likely to find someone to do it for the right price. I also found out they loved their cabaret. However I don't know much about the lives of cabaret girl, ( this is something I would like to explore further).

One thing I did know already about the 1920's was the Art movements, there were two big art movements one being Surrealism and the other Art Deco. Both of these were completely different. Surrealism was to make you question what was going on, by adding two objects together that didn't go in juxtapositions. All Surrealist artist wanted an element of surprise within their work. Art Deco is more luxurious with geometric patterns and rich colours. This kind of design is mostly found on buildings.

I know don't anything about the films of the 1920's or what the fashion was like. There is lots I don't know but really do need to find out.

Link To Summer Blog

http://meganedwardsfindandseek.blogspot.co.uk