Volume 3 of the series Kokoschka in Focus is devoted
to Oskar Kokoschka's work as an educator and his intensive engagement with questions of education and upbringing.
Kokoschka's
early work as an art teacher at Eugenie Schwarzwald's private school in 1911 ended in scandal – the school authorities had
him dismissed. His teaching methods were considered too unorthodox and insufficiently academic. This stands in stark contrast
to the international success of his "School of Seeing", founded in Salzburg in 1953.
Kokoschka's teaching focused on
the figurative representation of moving models. The working methods in his painting class and the tremendous impact of his
personality became a formative experience for numerous students.
With contributions by Régine Bonnefoit, Oskar Kokoschka,
Bernadette Reinhold and Anna Stuhlpfarrer
Oskar Kokoschka Dokumentation Pöchlarn, Kokoschka
Museum Pöchlarn
Anna Stuhlpfarrer, Bernadette Reinhold, Oskar Kokoschka Centre, University of Applied Arts
Vienna
LECTURE AND BOOK PRESENTATION
Oskar Kokoschka.
On Seeing, Learning and Teaching
Friday, 26 September 2025 – 7 p.m.
Kokoschka Museum Pöchlarn
Regensburger Straße 29
3380 Pöchlarn
With a repeat exam in physics, Oskar Kokoschka ended his school days
in 1904, not gloriously, but definitively. Shortly afterwards, he studied at the Imperial and Royal School of Applied Arts.
As is well known, he did not become a drawing teacher as planned, but art and education remained central to him throughout
his life. He repeatedly slipped into the role of teacher, always using unusual methods.
The lecture and book presentation
entitled Oskar Kokoschka.On Seeing, Learning and Teaching sheds light on Kokoschka's own learning and teaching experiences
and his intensive examination of the artistic and political significance of pedagogy in the context of the time: Enlightenment
literature on "becoming human", progressive art education as established by Franz Čižek at the School of Applied Arts, and
the fascinating experiments in Vienna, which was considered the "capital of children" until the Anschluss in 1938. Kokoschka
counters black pedagogy and political (fascist) indoctrination with visions of a supranational school and peace education
in the spirit of Jan Comenius and his teachings on seeing, recognising and ultimately humanistic action.
The
event will be held in German.
An event organised by the Oskar
Kokoschka Zentrum, University of Applied Arts Vienna, in collaboration with the Kokoschka
Museum Pöchlarn within the exhibition OSKAR KOKOSCHKA. Schule des Sehens (May 10 to October 26, 2025).
Oskar Kokoschka – School of Seeing
Anna Stuhlpfarrer, Bernadette Reinhold, Oskar Kokoschka Documentation
Pöchlarn (Hrsg.)
University of Applied Arts Vienna, 2025
ISBN: 978-3-903525-14-6
To
the book
