August Macke's "Woman with Umbrella": A Philosophical Reflection on Art, Memory, and Social Media

August Macke, Woman with Umbrella in Front of a Hat Shop, 1914

    The painting above, August Macke’s Woman with an Umbrella in Front of a Hat Shop, is one of the artist's most cherished works. This charming piece immediately captivates the viewer with its vibrant colors and elegant details. Its aura is so distinct that even a tiny reproduction is instantly recognizable among countless others. The woman in the painting, seemingly on a leisurely stroll, elegantly holds her umbrella aloft, immortalizing a seemingly ordinary moment. It is a moment that may or may not have happened, yet its reality is irrelevant. As a work of art, it has passed into history, repeating itself every second and representing for me a metaphysical instant, constantly accumulating new meanings.

    While the woman’s elegance and self-confidence are striking, the hat shop in the background invites the viewer on a nostalgic journey. For years, this exquisite artwork has been a daily presence in my life, hanging in a beautiful spot in my room. I looked at it more often than the wall clock, and strangely, it was the painting that truly made me feel the passage of time—a confirmation that I was still alive, living out "my lifetime." Each glance was an escape from routine, a surrender to its fabulous ambiance. Sometimes I would be lost in contemplation for minutes; other times, a mere glance was enough. I never wearied of looking at her until a few years ago, when a series of personal disappointments drastically altered my perspective.

    At first, August Macke's style might not seem particularly unique. One must immerse oneself in his work for a time to deeply feel his artistic creativity and exceptional imagination. To understand the painter is to cross a threshold into the world he created—at least, that was my experience. Macke demands a special effort, a spiritual subtlety, to engage with his vision. I can only imagine the dedication required to integrate such intuitive sensitivity with a high level of creativity. Like other artists of his era, he worked hard, thought deeply, and produced prolifically to establish his singular style.

    Clear differences exist between the themes and techniques of Macke's early period and his mature works, such as a keener focus on urban life, the alienation it engenders, and a sharper, more vivid use of color and line. It is fascinating to trace the evolution of his art alongside his understanding of the times. Similar stylistic evolutions are evident in the work of painters who came after the Die Brücke period, other Expressionists, and even the Spanish painter Salvador Dalí, whose relentless explorations led him to Surrealism. These artists experimented with different themes and techniques, shaped by the social and cultural dynamics of their eras. In painters like Gabriele Münter and Conrad Felixmüller, we see stylistic changes that developed over their lifetimes, contributing significantly to their artistic identities and allowing each to find their own voice.

    My reason for choosing this painting is the penetrating, multi-layered effect it has on me. This effect operates on two levels. The first is a lifelong love for color and the profound impressions it creates. I have always been fascinated by how colors can influence emotions, an effect that is partly unconscious and needs no explanation. Over time, however, I began to see a more complex structure in these feelings. The second level is critical, shaped by the radical theoretical texts of my youth. Thinkers like Guy Debord, Herbert Marcuse, and Michel Foucault introduced me to themes of alienation, power, consumption, and the "society of the spectacle." These ideas profoundly influenced my analysis of social dynamics, intensified by a ghostly feeling of "surveillance"—a sense of watching the world through a window, witnessing the fragility of society's foundations.

    But today, my focus has shifted again. What draws me to this painting is no longer its formal characteristics, its technique, or its commentary on consumer culture. These are well-trodden themes. Now, when I look at this picture, I am reminded of Hannah Arendt and her concept of the "banality of evil": insensitivity. Between acting and not acting, there exists a space ungoverned by legal or social norms, a space that is becoming increasingly vague: conscience. This painting now screams to me about conscience. How long is it acceptable to remain a spectator, to objectify, to watch without reacting? Images interact with us based on our own experiences, and for some time, this painting has been shouting this truth at me.

    The great film director Krzysztof Kieślowski once turned the camera on himself in a documentary and said, "In all my films, I tell a little bit about myself. You can only tell a meaningful story by going through it yourself." No phrase better captures the depth of art. An artist's work is a reconciliation of their inner world with that of their audience, transmitting not just a visual feast but the emotional and intellectual accumulations of our shared human experience. Unfortunately, today we face a different phenomenon: talking about yourself by pointing the camera at someone else.

    This is what the painting reminds me of now. It evokes the distorted, shallow world of social media, where being visible has been cheapened. Here, people are more interested in watching others, scrutinizing their lives, and "consuming" them as objects. This creates a fundamental emptiness—a superficial connection devoid of real interaction, where projections and fantasies magnify hatred. Pink Floyd’s "Welcome to the Machine" now seems almost naive. We live in an age where roughness is the norm, where we stare at people as if they were creatures in a cage. We consume them. We turn a human being into a spectacle and invent a thousand stories, ignoring their true identity, depth, and value. We are losing the beautiful introspection that art and literature demand. In comparison, August Macke's woman in a hat is so innocent.

    Indifference is not new, nor is its rationalization. But a human being should not be a hat, a coat, or a pair of shoes. Our gaze should not make a person ugly; it should beautify them, see them as worthy of compassion, and deepen their uniqueness by adding our own values. Yet we know, sadly, that our gaze can disfigure. As empathy for ourselves and others diminishes, we ruthlessly reduce each other to nothing.

Indifference is not new, nor is its "rationalization."
It's an intellectual sport!

    Look closely at the woman with the umbrella. She is the one disfigured by the gaze. Do you realize she has no face? She has become an object, emptied of meaning, philosophically erased. She represents the ugly void that alienates us from one another. Today, it takes immense energy—an energy shaped by intellectual knowledge and moral courage—not to become one of those disfigured by the gaze. Indeed, Macke's work speaks to all of us, as if to say, "You are human beings, brothers and sisters. You have at least as much honor as an umbrella!"

This is more than an artistic expression; it is a reminder of human value. Through art, may we find ourselves, truly see others, and live in peace with our emotions.

Written by Onur Aydemir
March/May 2025, Ankara