"A painting is not thought out and settled in advance. While it is being done, it changes as one's thoughts change. And when it's finished, it goes on changing, according to the state of mind of whoever is looking at it." Picasso4
This can be said for everything in this module. Every time I looked at a picture/graphic in both the textbook and "Graphic Design History, A Critical guide" by Drucker & McVarish, I feel this way. They look different each time! Some are so hard on my eyes that I can't seem to really LOOK at them. They seem meaningless to me at first glance.
Below are some samples of John Heartfield's and Käthe Schmidt Kollwitz's work.
John Heartfield (1891-1968)Notice the difference between this early Dadaist work and his later photomontage made for political propaganda purposes. In order to get that message across, it had to be clear. People had to "get it".
Dada-merika
1919
George Grosz and John Heartfield
An example of Heartfield's earlier Dadaist work. This is "an almost random mixture of printed ephemera, deliberately lacking all of the attributes of a traditional easel painting."The aim of Dada-merikawas to insult painters and their audiences, who are committed to art as personal creativity.
http://www.lineargirl.com/heartfield/links_sources.html
Heartfield's later work used traditional methods to project a message.
Some say this is his first "mature" satirical composition. You can see the anti-war message clearly..
Heartfield exhibited this photo montage, titled “After 10 Years – Fathers and Sons,” in Berlin in 1924, on the 10th anniversary of the outbreak of World War I. It’s an outstanding example of photography employed as a weapon – in this case against what Heartfield saw as a corrupt and warmongering status quo.
http://www.robertlpeters.com/news/?p=1282
Fünf Finger hat die hand. Mit fünf packst Due den Feind. Wählt Liste fünf kommunistische Partei!
The hand has five fingers. With five you seize the enemy. Vote List five Communist Party!
May 13, 1928"Heartfield supported the Communist party which was 'List 5' on the election ballot. This piece represented a slogan to support the number 5. "
http://www.lineargirl.com/heartfield/dada_beyond.html
Doesn't he look so unhappy in this one? All his other pictures of show this same unhappy look. Does being a political activist make one unhappy? I have yet to see a happy one.
Heartfield and police president Zörgiebel — Use photography as a weapon
A-I-Z, vol XVIII, no 37, 1929"This montage shows the artist removing the head of Zörgiebel, the Berlin Chief of Police, held responsible by Communists for the killing of May Day demonstrators in 1929."
Käthe Kollwitz (1867-1942)
"Her silent lines penetrate the marrow like a cry of pain; such a cry was never heard among the Greeks and Romans." 2
German Dramatist Gerhart Hauptmann
The Cry of Every Woman would be a good name for her work.
Kaiser Wilhelm II called her work "art of the gutter."2 In some ways I can see way. Dark, Deary, heavy, obsessive, sad, and alien like faces. However She dry with a idea to convey emotion and you can feel it. Especially in her "Woman with a Dead Child" engraving which was done before she lost her son in World War I.
Käthe Kollwitz, Outbreak, 1921
Käthe Kollwitz, Woman with a Dead Child, 1903
Käthe Kollwitz, Never Again War, 1924
This is a much copied piece. Note the express of almost defiance and pleading with the heavy underlining to score the point.
She made eight lithographs call "Death" in 1934-35 The cycle culminated in her own self-portrait in Call of Death. Käthe Kollwitz, Call of Death, from the series "Death", 1934
She seemed to be obseeion with death and sad things. I hope her life was happier.
Käthe Kollwitz, Self-Portrait, 1923 when she was producing very dark contrast.Anom., Käthe Kollwitz, 1927 (She looks so sad. She even has a tear in her eye in this photo.)
This portion of the blog is not a very happy one. These two are not my favorite but they were important in inspiring graphic artists to express ideas through their medium whether it be phontomontage or through engraving or whatever media. The courage it took to tell the world what was happening was admirable and something we can all practice. With that being said, how far does one go? There is ALWAYS going to be a problem in the world in every area. In certain cases, it is needed to speak up (Hitler, poverty, etc) BUT if its just complaining, I think it just adds to the noise of the world.
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