When studying Dadaism in art history during high school, I am surprisingly certain Hannah Höch was not covered in my teacher’s presentation. It is a shame I did not learn about Höch earlier because her pieces are both enticing and historically significant in terms of Berlin’s history. Höch’s pieces do not only represent Dadaism, but also serve as a cultural artifact for the roots of women and their contribution to the art world. What struck me in Höch’s work were a) the political context and b) her use gender in her pieces.
The post describes how “[t]he Dada movement gelled in Berlin around 1918 as a statement against the unstable political and social situation brought on by the destruction wrought by WW1”, which ultimately is evident in Höch’s work. When looking closely at “Cut with the Kitchen Knife Dada through the Last Weimar Beer-Belly Cultural Epoch of Germany”, Höch’s political context is evident through the use of both images and text. The piece allows the viewer to feel the chaos associated with the Dada movement and in turn the destruction from World War 1. The sepia color is also important in setting a tone of disorder.
What I find personally more interesting than the political context of her pieces is how she incorporates and views gender. The early 1900’s were an important time for women and their rights. The reading describes “Höch’s lifelong preoccupation with gender identity and relationship between the sexes” and how her fellow Dada artists discredited her because of her gender. Her artwork plays with the concept of gender, as she places heads of men on women’s bodies – acting as social commentary.
Höch’s work reminded me of feminist artist Judy Chicago and her installation “The Dinner Party”, which pays tribute to women in society. Höch is actually recognized in the piece.
I also found it interesting how she incorporated her view on gender roles within her artwork. In my opinion, a lot of her work in that gallery did not seem to impose much on gender. Upon further observation, you notice the little details she puts in there that relate to gender. She cleverly places her ideas into her work and that is just astounding.
ReplyDeleteI really like the comments that you made about gender - I find them to be really interesting! I've always been drawn to the idea of taking women's studies classes, because I think it's really cool to see the impact that women specifically have made on art, literature, etc.. It's the kind of thing that you might not notice right away, but with time, the viewer really gets the vibe that the artist (Hoch) is a woman, and it offers a really unique point of view, as most of the work we see from this time is done by men.
ReplyDelete