August Robert Ludwig Macke (* 3 January 1887 in Meschede; † 26 September 1914 near Perthes-lès-Hurlus, France) was a German painter. He is one of the most important artists of German Expressionism and was represented in both exhibitions of the "Blaue Reiter".
Classical Modernism comprises various art and style movements of the first half of the 20th century. Especially across countries, there is a great heterogeneity of the arts, whereby not all artists and works can be clearly categorised. Classical Modernism includes not only the visual arts but also design, architecture and photography. The tremendous wealth of currents and tendencies in Classical Modernism shows similarities and differences and proves how strong the exchange among artists is beyond national borders and stylistic movements. Alongside the artists of Expressionism, Surrealism, Cubism, Futurism, New Objectivity and various other avant-garde movements, painters such as Marc Chagall, Marino Marini, Lovis Corinth, Marcel Duchamp, Egon Schiele, Hannah Höch, Maria Lassnig, Max Ernst, Robert Delaunay and Paul Klee belong to Classical Modernism.
The artist group "ZERO" was founded in 1958 by the artists Heinz Mack and Otto Piene. In 1961 Günther Uecker joins the group. The artists desire to break through various traditional genres of art. Usage of light as a medium and artistic element is intended to produce a spatial pictorial language, whereby entirely unconventional visual effects are achieved. They experiment with a wide variety of materials: by using illuminants, mirrors and other reflective materials, nails and fire, they create fascinating kinetic and expansive works that, in their interactive dynamics, are intended to entice viewers not only to look but to actively engage with the works themselves. In this way, the static character of traditional works of art is broken. In Germany and internationally, "ZERO" quickly enjoyed a broad audience and many like-minded artists, including Gotthard Graubner, Johannes Gecelli, Hans Haacke, Yves Klein, Jean Tinguely and Lucio Fontana.