Hans Richter

New Living (Das Neue Wohnen) was the title of an exceptional architectural propaganda film created in 1930 by German avant-garde artist and filmmaker Hans Richter. It showcased exemplary modernist buildings and furniture--some of which were on view shortly after in the prestigious exhibition The International Style--and contrasted them with the impractical, unhygenic living spaces that were the norm. Visually diverse and full of experimental montage techniques, New Living pioneered a radical method of portraying architecture on celluloid.

Hans Richter was born in Berlin in 1888. Throughout his career, he was involved with the Blue Rider group, the cubists, "Die Aktion", the Zurich Dadaists, the November group, and De Stijl. In 1921 he made the first abstract film, "Rhythme 21" and in 1957 finished "Dadascope". Richter died in 1976.