Thursday, March 26, 2009

Art Propaganda


I feel like art through propaganda is the most creative way to publish your message. After Tuesday’s presentation about John Heartfield, I felt like he was a revolutionary. He used the dada movement as medium to show his objection about the war, the vice and political leader Adolf Hitler. His work, as we learned, influenced many artists such as Shepard Fairey or Andy Warhol. His art got through many generations, proving he accomplished a strong movement. He dedicated his career protesting against Hitler and the Nazi regime with his photomontage originality. He put together pictures from newspapers for example, assembled them to express his discontent with the German army. It is an ingenious way of expressionism as the artist sends hints and it’s up the viewer to interpret the art work. It demanded a lot of courage going up against the most powerful regime at the time. If his underground movement was discovered or if people had decided to turn their back on him, he would have been murdered without hesitation. His work is dark and gray with suggestive message, probably with the swastika in the background, if not exposing Hitler directly. At the end of day, Heartfield proved Hitler and his army’s intention were no secret and he showcased it very well.

1 comment:

  1. I agree, maybe we are in need of a Heartfield in today's work because I feel like we are in the dark about our political reality as well.

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