Hirschfeld-Mack, Ludwig

Description

Agent TypePersonPlace of BirthFrankfurt am Main, GermanyPlace of DeathSydneyActivities & OccupationsArtistsTeachers, artHistoryBorn in Frankfurt-am-Main in 1893, son of Ernst Hirschfeld and Clara Mack, Hirschfeld-Mack studied art at Munich before World War I, in which he served with distinction. Subsequently he studied at Stuttgart, and from 1919 at the Bauhaus. Hirschfeld-Mack delivered the first dedicated course on colour at the Bauhaus (as an unofficial course) in the winter semester of 1922-23. He remained there until 1926 and conducted experiments in light projection, developing the "Farbenlichtspiele" (colour-light play), a demonstration of the application of colour theory. The apparatus combined moving projections of coloured light through mechanically operable geometric stencils displayed to music created by Ludwig himself.

From 1925 Hirschfeld-Mack taught art in schools in various parts of Germany, until his part Jewish heritage forced him to emigrate to England in 1936. There he taught unemployed miners in Wales, at the Pioneer Settlement and at Dulwich College, London. Deported to Australia on the ship HMT Dunera in 1940 as an enemy alien, Hirschfeld-Mack continued producing artistic works whilst he was interned in camps at Hay, Orange and Tatura. Released through the efforts of Dr. James Darling, he was employed as art master at the Geelong Church of England Grammar School until his retirement in 1957. He continued to teach at the University of Melbourne, the Council of Adult Education and elsewhere until his death in 1965.Search records of this agent

Dates

DateBetween 11th July 1893 and 7th January 1965

Names

Given NameLudwigFamily NameHirschfeld-Mack

Description Control

Source of DescriptionTim Fisher, 'Hirschfeld-Mack, Ludwig (1893–1965)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, published first in hardcopy 1996, accessed online 19 October 2023.

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Hirschfeld-Mack, Ludwig