Second Assignment Works of Art

Joel Alvarado

2/14/15

LEH 355

Second Assignment

                                                            Works Of Art

"Adolf the Superman: Swallows Gold and Spouts Junk," John Heartfield, 1932

John Heartfield was an artist from Germany that developed a unique method of appropriating and reusing photographs to powerful political effect. His unique technique called “photomontage” allowed him to turn photos into a weapon that triggered certain reactions from the public.

In this photomontage by John Heartfield, we see a black and white image of Adolf Hitler. The colors in this image are really dark, a symbolism of evil. As the context of the image, we see Hitler with his mouth open, it seems to be as if he is yelling but instead of yelling, it looks like someone was dropping coins through his mouth and it created his backbone or spine. We can see this because there is an x-ray collage that shows what the artist thought that Hitler was made up of inside. Underneath Hitler’s spine, there is a collection of coins that are piled up. The photo also shows that Hitler has a Nazi symbol in the left side of his chest instead of his heart. He appears to be in command because he has his uniform on; also his facial expression seems to me like he is giving order.

One of the things that John Heartfield was trying to reveal was the practice of Adolf Hitler’s pro-capitalist practices. The image was a symbolism of how Hitler was backed up by highly wealthy bankers, industrialist and other wealthy capitalist. The purpose of all of those individuals supporting Hitler was because they thought that Hitler was going to strive in the war against the militant workers and retain and eventually defeat the Soviet Union.

"Trench Warfare," Otto Dix, 1932

Otto Dix was born in Germany in 1891, When World War I began, and he was assigned to fight in the front lines of the battle filed. He quickly succeeded amongst the ranks of Vizefeldwebel, Staff Sergeant, before he was wounded in the neck and discharged of service. He then became traumatized by the suffering and drastic experience that he endured from the war. He then used his talent as an artist to paint works of art that would expose the hatred and desolation behind the frontlines of a war. With his paintings, he became a threat to the Nazi empire so he was removed from society and placed into jail for betrayal.

The painting of the “Trench Warfare” is a full vivid, three-dimensional painting of a war zone. In the painting we see a lot of dead bodies everywhere, we see diseases attached to the body, diseases caused by the toxins of the chemical weapons. In the left section of the painting we see a man with a gas mask and a cloak, lurking as if he/she was scavenging for things. On the right hand side of the painting there are a few individuals that are dead, they seem to have insects coming out of their body parts including their faces, legs and the internal organs. In the middle portion of the painting, there are remains of a body hanging from a pole. This painting of the Trench Warfare is the pure image of destruction and it has an emphasis of the brutality that is caused by conflict.

The colors in the painting are extremely vivid; the artist used such high and rich vivid colors to emphasize realism. The reason for the image being so graphic is because the artist wanted the public to see that he was not holding back when he showed how he image of the frontline really is. This painting is a good tool to demonstrate how members that once fought for their country do not have an issue fighting for what they perceived to be what was right.

"Dada Conquerors," Raoul Haussmann, 1920

Raoul Haussmann was born in July 12, 1886, in Vienna, Austria. His father trained him as an artist; he enjoyed being creative and expressing his ideals on paper. He was also very interested in philosophy and literature, which allowed him to publish several articles and poems in cultural magazines. In 1917, he became fascinated by the “Dada” movement and immediately became a part of it. Although he was also a painter, fashion designer, poet, pamphleteer and publisher, Raoul Haussmann used the photomontage to incorporate his works of art, many consider him the creator of the photomontage.

In this particular work of art there are multiple things that are going on at the same time. The first thing to notice is a male looking towards the left of the image; it looks strange because his brain is being shown. Behind him, there are three other gentlemen that are having a conversation but their body language and gestures impose that they are planning or preparing for something. In the middle of the work of art, there is a portrait of a city, sitting on a tripod. Above it, there is a globe with the words “Dada” on it. On the left hand side of the work of art there is a poster with some sort of human anatomy. All throughout the work of art there are random things such as a shoe, typographic machine, a basketball, and something that resembled a satellite.

The artist was interested in different things that were included in the panting such as a shoe because he was a designer. The artist also had a huge concern on science and technology. That is a really important ideology because technology dominates our current society and these artists knew the importance of it.

The “Dada Conquerors" work of art walks amongst the ideas of Dadaism because it is a way of expressing one's thoughts and ideas without it necessarily having to make sense.