Unfolding Heartfield in Words
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Unfolding Heartfield in Words
John Heartfield was a major influence in the photomontage form of art. Heartfield had many different social, economic, and cultural contexts of his work. Heartfields works had different ethnic and aesthetic values. There are numerous ideas in the montage that I was assigned, many of which were influenced by his political beliefs. Heartfield published his works for different reasons and for different audiences.
In the montage that was assigned to me Heartfield was mocking many different Germans. The montage was of a beefsteak being arrested and taken away. The beefsteak has a sign around his neck, that after being translated, says “I am an alien beefsteak, I have violated German Stomachs.” The beefsteak montage suggests about “Beefsteak Nazis”, which were Communists and Socialists that became Germans. There were many metaphors in the montage including; “Only the Marxist subhuman wants beefsteaks and cutlets,” which means that real people do not want beefsteaks and if you do you are against the Germans. Another metaphor is; “Still all too many alien filet steaks, beefsteaks and rump steaks are knocking about in Germany,” which means beefsteaks do not belong in Germany. “A diet of meat reduces the fertility of women,” which is just trying to show the power over the people, by saying that it reduces fertility means that women probably would not eat it or there husbands would not let them. “The mission of the German art of cookery is to bring indigenous country dishes back into the menu,” the way I interpret it is just saying that the Germans are trying to get the old meals back into style in Germany. An “with the participation of representatives of the Reich food minister, party and reich authorities, a tasting of whale took place, at which it was approved that the meat of the whale is quite edible,” which again is showing the power over the people, if they say it is good, then it is good. Heartfield is trying to show everyone the power that Germany has over its people.
There are many different ways that Heartfield shows his hatred towards Germany and Hitler. First, Heartfield tried to change his name from Helmut Herzfeld to John Heartfield because of the way he felt about Germans, which was he thought they were idiots, and John Heartfield sounded less German. The Kaiser did not actually let