Like many other female artists, Hannah Hoch paid close attention to the role of women in society. What seperates her from other masters, however, is her focus on what Venetian Red calls the "New Woman." The coolest part about this concept I think is that it keys in on a transformation as its happening. Throughout her images there is always movement and fluidity, and a woman is always melding among the other parts of the image, particularly with parts of photos that suggest male qualities.
What's so refreshing about her style is that she takes a well-known, much talked about issue, something we've already seen addressed by Barbara Kruger, and puts her own spin on its portrayal. Right after World War One in Germany, women were finally starting to play bigger roles in society, slowly but surely. All of the sudden there became an awareness of the "New Woman," someone equal to men in every way.
One prime example of this is her 1930 piece Dompteuse (Tamer). Here, we see a womans face (soft and delicate) on a mans biceps. Here, Hoch is playing with the idea of man vs. woman. It's as if the photomontage shouts "we're just as strong! we're just as strong!" but in a very subtle, slightly comical way. The femininity of the woman's face sharply contrasts the intense strength of the arms, and maybe this signals a feeling of discontent or unknowingness within the mind of women at the time, struggling to figure out what they want and who they are in society.
I think all of this art is so successful because it's drawn from Hoch's personal experiences as a woman involved in the Berlin Dadaist movement. Surrounded by men with huge ego's and sexist ideals, Hoch was able to thrive on her yearnings for equality and create pieces of art with a clear message and feeling beneath them. It amazes me that Hoch was the original experimenter of the photomontage technique, one that was later adopted by other artists in her day including John Heartfield, but still faced opposition because she was a woman.
Chloe Stagaman
I think it's interesting that you bring up the fact that Hoch blends the images of women into other images and objects in her pieces. Perhaps this alludes to the reality of the woman in this era. Slowly and subtlely, but surely, women are progressively gaining more power in the world of men, material, career, etc.
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