Ostalgie as Verfremdungseffekt in Neo Rauch’s Paintings [‘Nostalgia for East Germany’ as an ‘Alienation Effect’ in Neo Rauch’s Paintings]

The 47 year ol Leipzig painter, New Rauch1, would not normally be considered next to such an obvious Ostalgie2 persona as the 1988 Olympic gold medalist, Katharina Witt, who in 2003 was a moderator of the RLT television program called the "DDR Show: von Ampelmännchen bis zum Zentralkommittee."3 His paintings are not as assessable as Ostprodukte and consumer-Ostalgie mainstays, like tiny Tabant replicas, Vita Cola posters or Mitropa coffee cups. However, within his work lies an implicit connection to Ostalgie. One finds an underlying role of Ostalgie in Rauch's paintings through a Brechtian Verfremdungs-Effeckt.