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Explain what the Dadaist Movement was. Why did it begin and what was its purpose?
- Dadaism was an artistic movement that originated in Europe throughout WWI. After seeing first hand all the damage and hysteria brought on by the traumatic effects of the war, in protest, the artists and writers chose to form a group, they called themselves The Dadaists. Situated in Zurich, Switzerland, they began using their work to protest not only against the war, but against rationalism, racism, materialism and any other ‘-isms’ they believed contributed to Great War. As they were not satisfied with the progression of the society they lived in, they decided to continue the ir work in the form of non-art as they were considered non-artists. Their goal was to create shock and thought-provoking art, their one rule, follow no rules!
What was the role of Hannah Hoch, John Heartfield and Raoul Hausmann? What was unique about their art?
- Hannah Höch was a german Dada artist who used collages and photomontages to critique the failed Weimer German Government. She would rearrange text and images from the mass media to send out strong messages of her disapproval to the public. Höch preferred metaphoric imagery to more direct, text-based confrontational approach used by her fellow artists. Despite her political messages though, she liked to focus more on gender issues and the sexism towards women in the European Society. For some time, she was the fellow Dada artist Raoul Hausmann’s partner.
- John Heartfield was the pioneer of modern photomontage techniques. Working in the time period between the World Wars, Heartfield expressed his views of the tumultuous German political scene with his agitated photographs. By using images found in the mass media of powerful politicians and current events, the artist was able to create loaded anti-Nazi political statements, seen by most of the public. The latter was the greatest impact that Heartfield made: the art of photomontage was turned into a powerful tool of mass communication, greatly in part to his efforts.
- Raoul Hausmann was a founding member of the Berlin Dada group and was a great contributor as an artist, a photographer, a poet and a writer to the Dadaist movement. He helped organize the first Dada events, such as the First International Dada fair and also edited the journal Der Dada. Hausmann also worked a lot on photomontages and collages with the artists mentioned before and used them as a tool of political protest. Furthermore, he loved to blur the lines between visual arts, poetry and music as he created “optophonetic” poems, which used words as well as images to express their meanings. Hausmann was Hannah Höch’s partner for many years and was all in all a key artist in those chaotic times.
Choose one art piece by each artist to post. Explain the artists’ messages.

“The Art Critic” – Raoul Hausmann

This collage is one of Hausmann’s most well-known art pieces. It features a grumpy art critic staring out of the frame with a German banknote tucked behind his neck and a boot on his forehead among other odd things. The hidden message behind these symbols represents Dadaist work being criticized by a critic hidden behind a mask in order to conceal his identity, whilst controlled by the German capitalist forces.

“The Bride” – Hannah Hoch

This photomontage by Hannah Hoch, depicts a woman of many different races. She uses the neck and shoulders of a caucasian, face and eyes of an african american and the mouth of someone of Asian descent. The lace in the photomontage represents that of bridal lace, symbolizing marriage. The juxtaposition of the three different races forces the viewer to try and make a connection in order to figure out the real race of the woman. Therefore, this photomontage represents that no matter what her race is, a woman is a woman and has the right to marriage.

“Whoever Reads Bourgeois Newspapers Becomes Blind and Deaf: Away with These Stultifying Bandages!” – John Heartfield

This photomontage by John Heartfield is well known among other Dadaist work. The piece includes newspaper which is covering up the man’s face as well as leather straps around him, possibly holding him to a chair. The newspaper represents the propaganda found in the media throughout the Great War. It covers his face in order to represent how society was forced to take in the stories told by the media, making them blind and deaf to prevent them from knowing the truth. The straps could also represent how they were fed this information by force by publishing nothing but fictitious propaganda.

Choose an –ism ie. sexism, ageism, racism,etc. Explain why you chose this -ism.
- The -ism I’ve chosen is sexism. I chose this -ism in particular because I feel as if it’s very popular and widespread throughout today’s society. One way or another, everyday we are confronted by it, whether it be verbally, through other peoples actions or most notably through the media. It surrounds us. Wherever you go in the world, whenever you look back in history, one sexe has always been considered to be superior to the other. As unfortunate as it is, the rate of sexism does not seem to be diminishing, rather it seems to have taken more unnoticeable approaches. – But it’s still there, and it must be brought to light.
Layer What are some images which you relate to your chosen ism.

1. What type of photography does Leibovitz typically shoot to earn a living?

Leibovitz is recognized for and typically shoots portrait photography.

2. What magazine did she work with in the 1960′s?

In the 1970’s, she started working for the Rolling Stone Magazine as a staff photographer. Within 2 years, she was promoted to chief photographer, a position which she held for the following 10 years.

3. What photo assignment did she shoot that propelled her into the spotlight as a photographer?

When she was on tour with the Rolling Stones

4. Which famous photographer was she friends with and photographed his portrait?

Richard Avedon was another famous photographer as well as Leibovitz’s close friend, whose portrait she photographed.

5. 4 famous photos shot by Annie Leibovitz.

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