Thursday, September 25, 2014

Discovering Franz Kafka Writings And Kafkaesque Art

By Karina Frost


Kafka was a major figure in his day. His writings include several well known publications. Two of these being The Trial and The Metamorphosis. While these are two of his most well known works, he left behind a large body of work at the time of his death. In fact, much of his other works have since been published posthumously. A number of artists have now incorporated images from his writings into work known as kafkaesque art.

Most of his work expresses concerns about current events, one being the rapid growth of capitalism and corporate greed. Franz may very well have been a writer ahead of his time. Or, one which could have provided a great deal of insight as to how the world would be in the future. Whatever the case, kafkaesque is a label that has now been given to artwork by a number of artists who paint or create photographic images based on his writings.

Whether the writer proclaimed to be religious or otherwise, he had a strong belief that if God did exist, he was dead. He did not buy into the stories of the Trinity, the crucifixion or the ascension. Still, he fell short of identifying as Agnostic even though it appeared he did somewhat believe in the existence of a higher power.

Current events and concerns about the future figured prominently in the writings of Kafka. He believed, or at least portrayed a belief that the world was void of meaning and purpose. As a result of this belief, the writer provided an ideology that most societies are less than hospitable in most situations.

While at Charles University, the writer focused on multiple areas of study. These interests being chemistry, law, science and English. Later, he became involved with a literary group at the school which ignited his interest in writing. He also believed that with the varied knowledge he would gain, there would have more career opportunities than if we were to have only focused on one area of study.

Franz delved into a number of different interests. At first, he was admitted to Charles University where he studied chemistry. Later, he switched to law. In doing so, he felt there would be far more career opportunities. It was at Charles University where he also joined a literary group and developed a love for writing. With a combination of English, chemistry, law and science, it almost seemed as if the sky was the limit when it came to opportunities.

With some artists, anxiety and depression are inspiring conditions. While this is the case, it is both good and bad for the success of artistic works. The writings of Kafka often provide dark horrific images and surreal scenes. Images which can often evoke either a positive or negative reaction.

Franz, like many artists, suffered a serious mental illness. Whether this illness only included those diagnosed as anxiety and depression, or something more severe is unknown. Though, it certainly seems to some in the mental health profession that the ongoing darkness and images he painted with words may also have indicated the presence of schizophrenia.




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