Hannah Hoch

For not to be taken seriously as an artist by some of the greats including Heartfield and Grosz, Hannah Höch created profound pieces of artwork in the form of photomontages. For me her photomontages evoked a lot of personal emotion especially “The Coquette.” As described on the website, it depicted her and her married lover Raoul Hausmann. Pain can be felt in this piece through the clear separation of the two. It also hints at their inequality, however different from reality she placed herself on the pedestal that Hausmann placed himself on. I also enjoyed her sewing and embroidery patterns. I feel like they made her multidimensional as an artist. Her pieces were very abstract, but like her photomontages, packed with emotion.

    I really enjoyed her photomontage piece called “The Art Critic”. I feel like it depicted her ongoing struggle being a woman trying to successfully make it in not only a field of work but in a general world ran by men. As mentioned on the website, Höch’s focus was the female identity. This is clearly shown by having an image of a woman in the piece as well as including minor details that can be deemed feminine all the while have the central focus be a man. I feel as though she is pointing to the fact that in many ways the female identity springs up from man, but it does not necessarily mean that women must continue on with this cycle. Therefore, breaking the art critic, the man, down you are taking away some of the control he has on the male constructed female identity.