Heartfield began his regular contributions to the AIZ with this image, at right. See this image in the context where it originally appeared. Whoever Reads Bourgeois Newspapers Becomes Blind and Deaf: Away with These Stultifying Bandages!, 1930 The leader is seen as a puppet whose now-infamous gesture reads as the acceptance of monetary influence. In this cover for the AIZ, Heartfield used a difference in scale to dramatize Hitler's relationship to Germany's wealthy and financially supportive industrialists. These montages parody Hitler's most iconic poses, gestures, and symbols to create the impression that one need only to scratch the thin surface of Fascist propaganda to uncover its absurd reality.

Heartfield unleashed his sharpest satire on Hitler's Führerkult (cult of the leader), the basis of German Fascism. The Meaning of the Hitler Salute: Little Man Asks for Big Gifts, 1932 This montage made such a strong impact that it was reproduced as a leftist political poster in 1932.

The artist's contribution is noted with the words 'X-ray by John Heartfield' at the top right. This issue was dedicated to the coming national elections, with images that argued against National Socialism. This and many more of Heartfield's montages appeared in the magazine, Die Arbeiter-Illustrierte Zeitung ( Workers' Illustrated Magazine or AIZ). Heartfield's image reveals the contradictions between Hitler's financial support and his workingman rhetoric. The caption reads, 'Adolf, the superman, swallows gold and spouts tin.' Here, Heartfield refers to the large contributions that wealthy industrialists were making to the Nazi Party (National Socialist German Worker's Party) despite its alleged basis in socialism. To create the image at right Heartfield overlaid a widely published photograph of Hitler with a chest X-ray. See the photograph of Hitler that Heartfield used to create this montage. The result could have a frightening visual impact, as in this image warning that the country's rearmament exposed a dangerous impulse toward war and its profits.Īdolf, the Superman, Swallows Gold and Spouts Tin, 1932 Heartfield's strongest work used variations of scale and stark juxtapositions to activate his already gruesome photo-fragments. He then disassembled and rearranged these images to radically alter their meaning. To compose his works, he chose recognizable press photographs of politicians or events from the mainstream illustrated press. Photomontage allowed Heartfield to create loaded and politically contentious images. War and Corpses: The Last Hope of the Rich, 1932 In the image above, a disembodied fist becomes a radio antenna for a Communist-affiliated station in Czechoslovakia that broadcasted into Fascist Germany. His images of clenched fists, open palms, and raised arms all implied bold action and determination. Heartfield devised photo-based symbols for the Communist Party of Germany, allowing the organization to compete with the Nazis' swastika. The impact of Heartfield's images was so great that they helped transform photomontage into a powerful form of mass communication. In this climate, communists, Nazis, and other partisans clashed in the press, at the ballot box, and on the streets. Working in Germany and Czechoslovakia between the two world wars, he developed a unique method of appropriating and reusing photographs to powerful political effect.Īt a time of great uncertainty, Heartfield's agitated images forecasted and reflected the chaos Germany experienced in the 1920s and '30s as it slipped toward social and political catastrophe. John Heartfield was a pioneer of modern photomontage. © 2006 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn The Voice of Freedom in the German Night on Radio Wave 29.8, 1937 Agitated Images: John Heartfield & German Photomontage, 1920–1938

Define photo montage