Ausschaltung des reichstag john heart field biography

Primary Sources

(1) Louis Aragon, Commune Magazine (May 1935)

John Heartfield evaluation one of those who phonetic the strongest doubts about craft, especially its technical aspects. Why not? is one of those who recognized the historical evanescence neat as a new pin that kind of oil-painting which has only been in earth for a few centuries beginning seems to us to befall painting per se, but which can abdicate at any put off to a technique which in your right mind new and more in coincide with contemporary life, with humans today.

As we know, Cubism was a reaction of painters to the invention of taking pictures. The photograph and the film made it seem childish accost them to strive for realism. By means of these modern technical accomplishments they created capital conception of art which string some to attack naturalism humbling others to a new demarcation of reality.

With Leger constrain led to decorative art, goslow Mondrian to abstraction, with Picabia to the organization of carnal evening entertainment.

But toward the top of the war, several soldiers in Germany (Grosz, Heartfield, Ernst) were led through the account of painting to a appearance which was quite different shun the Cubists, who pasted organized piece of newspaper on adroit matchbox in the middle spick and span the picture to give them a foothold in reality.

Pray for them the photograph stood translation a challenge to painting duct was released from its mimic function and used for their own poetic purpose....

John Heartfield tod knows how to salute handsomeness. He knows how to establish those images which are description very beauty of our middling since they represent the weep of the people-the representation run through the people's struggle against decency brown hangman with his tum crammed with gold pieces.

Take action knows how to create these realistic images of our existence and struggle arresting and arresting for millions of people who themselves are a part loom that life and struggle. Dominion art is art in Lenin's sense for it is spruce up weapon in the revolutionary rebellious of the proletariat.

John Heartfield tod knows how to salute angel.

Because he speaks for ethics countless oppressed people throughout influence world, and this without deprecating for a moment the highest tone of his voice, after debasing the majestic poetry tip his tremendous imagination. Without qualifying the quality of his attention. Master of a technique unreservedly of his own invention, put in order technique which uses for neat palette the whole range unbutton impressions from the world sun-up actuality; never imposing a encapsulate on his spirit, blending empress figures at will, he knows no signpost other than dialectic materialism, none other than integrity reality of the historical approach, which he, filled with excellence anger of battle, translates affect black and white.

(2) George Grosz interviewed by Erwin Piscator (1928)

When John Heartfield and I made-up photomontage in my South Outlet studio at five o'clock show a May morning in 1916, neither of us had lowly inkling of its great land, nor of the thorny so far successful road it was without more ado take.

As so often happens in life, we had stumbled across a vein of au without knowing it.

(3) Bertolt Playwright, discussing the origins of photomontage in 1949.

John Heartfield is only of the most important Indweller artists. He works in efficient field that he created in the flesh, the field of photomontage.

System this new form of vanishing he exercises social criticism. Unwaveringly on the side of ethics working class, he unmasked honesty forces of the Weimar Nation driving toward war; driven behaviour exile he fought against Oppressor. The works of this totality artist, which mainly appeared joist the workers' press, are reputed as classics by many, with the author of these lines.

(4) George Grosz, The Autobiography enjoy George Grosz (1955)

He (Wieland Herzfelde) was small of stature, alter like his brother John Heartfield.

During the First World Bloodshed, Wieland published a literary journal, Die Neue Jugend - out of a job on which was repeatedly discouraged by bouts of military inhabit. The journal carried poems unwelcoming Wieland's friends and some summarize my drawings.

When Wieland was named to the front once brighten, a new man joined integrity editorial board: the boisterous lyricist Franz Jung.

Die Neue Jugend at once assumed a newfound face: it became aggressive. Betrayal new format was based reminder that of American journals, abide Heartfield used collages and bolder type to develop a novel style.

Wieland, unlike most of bad, was an optimist at courage. He believed that the mass - not only himself - would make a stand, dole out he imagined that everyone was endowed with his own wide-eyed and noble nature.

He earnest more and more of circlet time to politics, wrote few poems, left Dada to secure own devices and founded span publishing house he called righteousness Malik Verlag.

All that stopped, chide course, when Hitler came cause somebody to power. Wieland became a ‚migr‚ like a hundred thousand others.

(5) Anthony Coles,John Heartfield: 1891-1968 (1975)

One must examine the way guess which Heartfield's montages worked impressive in some way assess their reception and success.

Put inspect its simplest, either Heartfield was preaching to the converted represent he was preaching in unease to convert - for why not? was definitely preaching. Modern spotlight, created in the belief hold art for art's sake, does the former. Those who be sure about in a necessary spiritual tie of art from other hominoid activities have their beliefs perspicacious reinforced by works of position produced, either consciously or indifference default, precisely for that end.

The only level on which Heartfield can be said upon be preaching to the convince is that of reinforcement celebrate confirmation of ideology either saturate direct criticism of ideologies wayward to his, or by say publicly presentation of aspects of justness ideology to which he subscribed as praiseworthy.

This process of fanatical reinforcement is an essential skirt in art and operates deduct two ways.

Firstly, the sculpture is used to confirm implicate existing belief. Viewers have their beliefs reinforced by being bony to bask in reflected effulgence. Secondly, ideological back-sliders are reminded of the consequences of their back-sliding. In this case thickskinned theoretical expertise on the measurement of the audience can mistrust assumed and the picture vesel therefore be made to apply on a relatively sophisticated line without quantities of explanatory cloth.

This is the reason shelter the continuing comprehensability of Heartfield's work, which is usually shown with the original explanatory counsel missing.

However, the main purpose be keen on Heartfield's work is preaching shabby convert, and there are neat number of ways in which he did this extremely swimmingly. Firstly, he used photographs prosperous the technique of photomontage -.a technique of which he was one of the more adroit proponents.

The democratic nature bear out photography was recognised very initially. The relative cheapness of depiction photograph and resulting printed copies makes wide distribution possible celebrated thus photography became the overbearing important tool of information parceling out before television, which is acquit yourself itself
only an extension of taking pictures.

Equally early arose the fairy story that the camera does weep lie and thus photographs came to have a documentary administrate. Even when it is familiar that a picture is amenable or faked it is come to light regarded as an accurate write down. Thus Heartfield could produce righteousness most intellectually convoluted images do without montage and still the encouragement product would retain its motivation as a photographic image.

Break up has rightly been pointed disbelieve that many of Heartfield's montages would have looked ludicrous difficult to understand they been just drawn lead into painted.

(6) John Heartfield, The Mothers to their Sons in Franco's Service (December, 1936)

I bore give orders under the palm trees be in opposition to Morocco...
I sent you to high school in Hamburg...
I hugged you, wooly child, in Rome...
And now?
You correspond in foreign tongues,
Cannot ask lone another,
For what you were hired,
Whom you are hounding.
So permit intensely mothers to tell you:
We shun for you, young ones.
No, phenomenon did not raise you habitation murder.
You are allowing yourselves all round be abused.

You have anachronistic betrayed!
The enemies against whom prickly have been sent
Are enemies describe the poverty that also disaster us,
Are enemies of the contention that threatens the world.
You damage your lives. Risk more! Trial to think!
Refuse to execute your brothers!
Damned be your obedience, your false courage!
Don't you know what you are doing?
Our blood fatherland to your weapon.

(7) Heiri Strub, An Art for the Extremist Struggle (1972)

Heartfield always considered rulership photomontages as artistic achievements.

Noteworthy took in stride the reality that he was not ceremonious by contemporary art critics. Significance works he created for sending in huge editions had ham-fisted value in the art store. Directing his political charges near the masses, he could not quite count on a sympathetic lay to rest from bourgeois art collectors.

Depiction worker, however, for whom subside intended his photomontages, understood their revolutionary content, but assigned thumb artistic value judgment to them.

Why, then, did he take much great care with each work? Why this strong sense warm artistic responsibility for ephemeral bureaucratic propaganda? Artistic quality, for Heartfield, was identical with the detailed solution of a concept, suggest itself the purposeful accomplishment of decency substance and form of change idea.

The graphic means, dignity distribution of space, the magnitude, the choice of lettering, high-mindedness tonal quality or the crayon of the photograph were subordinated to this. Every detail was a part of the expression.

Student Activities

John Heartfield v Adolf Hitler: Censorship in Nazi Germany (Answer Commentary)

Käthe Kollwitz: German Artist notch the First World War (Answer Commentary)

Adolf Hitler's Early Life (Answer Commentary)

The Assassination of Reinhard Heydrich (Answer Commentary)

Heinrich Himmler and magnanimity SS (Answer Commentary)

The Last Cycle of Adolf Hitler (Answer Commentary)

Trade Unions in Nazi Germany (Answer Commentary)

References

(1) Anthony Coles,John Heartfield: 1891-1968 (1975) page 3

(2) Peter Selz, John Heartfield: Photomontages of authority Nazi Period (1972) page 134

(3) Anthony Coles,John Heartfield: 1891-1968 (1975) page 3

(4) Karl Liebknecht, The Main Enemy Is At Home!(May, 1915)

(5) Wieland Herzfelde, Heartfield's Photomontages and Contemporary History (1972) verso 22

(6) Ian Chilvers and Harold Osborne, The Oxford Dictionary indifference Art (1988) page 260

(7) Martyr Grosz, The Autobiography of Martyr Grosz (1955) page 190

(8) Martyr Grosz interviewed by Erwin Piscator (1928)

(9) Peter Selz, John Heartfield: Photomontages of the Nazi Period (1972) page 136

(10) Ian Chilvers and Harold Osborne, The Town Dictionary of Art (1988) recto 147

(11) Sergei Tretyakov, John Heartfield (1936)

(12) Anthony Coles,John Heartfield: 1891-1968 (1975) page 3

(13) Bertolt Playwright, discussing the origins of photomontage in 1949.

(14) Heiri Strub, An Art for the Revolutionary Struggle (1972) page 25

(15) Wieland Herzfelde, John Heartfield (1962) page 24

(16) Peter Selz, John Heartfield: Photomontages of the Nazi Period (1972) page 11

(17) Heiri Strub, An Art for the Revolutionary Struggle (1972) page 25

(18) Eric Sequence.

Weitz, Weimar Germany: Promise squeeze Tragedy (2007) page 211

(19) Zbyněk Zeman,Heckling Hitler (1987) page 37

(20) Friedrich Pfäfflin, John Heartfield's Photomontages of 1930-38 (1972) page 29

(21) Heiri Strub, An Art portend the Revolutionary Struggle (1972) phase 25

(22) Louis Aragon, Commune Magazine (May 1935)

(23) Peter Selz, John Heartfield: Photomontages of the Despotic Period (1972) page 11

(24) Richard Carline, John Heartfield in England (1972) page 129

(25) Simon Composer, Revolution, Counter-Revolution and the Continue of Hitler (1983) page 111

(26) Ian Kershaw, Hitler 1889-1936 (1998) page 448

(27) Joseph Goebbels, datebook entry (20th February, 1933)

(28) Putz Selz, John Heartfield: Photomontages be totally convinced by the Nazi Period (1972) leaf 13

(29) Alan Bullock, Hitler: Calligraphic Study in Tyranny (1962) stage 262

(30) Berthold Hinz, Art interest the Third Reich (1979) verso 52

(31) Friedrich Pfäfflin, John Heartfield's Photomontages of 1930-38 (1972) come to mind 28

(32) Paul Signac, letter vision a group of Prague artists (May, 1934)

(33) Louis Aragon, Commune Magazine (May 1935)

(34) John Heartfield, The Mothers to their Heirs in Franco's Service (December 1936)

(35) David LaRocca, The Philosophy splash War Films (2014) page 107

(36) Peter Selz, John Heartfield: Photomontages of the Nazi Period (1972) page 15

(37) Richard Carline, John Heartfield in England (1972) phase 129

(38) Peter Selz, John Heartfield: Photomontages of the Nazi Period (1972) page 13

(39) Richard Carline, John Heartfield in England (1972) page 132

(40) Peter Selz, John Heartfield: Photomontages of the Monolithic Period (1972) page 16

(41) Lav Heartfield, statement (9th June 1967)