Unit 7 Activity 2

Activity 2

• Find two examples of political photomontages that are either from a historical or contemporary source. 
• Discuss in what context they have been produced and how effective you think they communicate their intended message. 
• Discuss the techniques that have been used to assemble the examples you have chosen and offer alternative ways that the artist could have put over the same message.

By: John Heartfield

By: Peter Kennard

In the first photomontage, it conveys a message of attacking the Nazi Party especially since it was made in 1932. Heartfield called this photomontage "Krieg und Leichen" which means "War and Corpses". This German title shows how angry Heartfield was towards Hitler because he relied on the wealthy to give so many Reich marks to him. His photomontage definitely communicated his message to the public because it showed his anger towards the Nazi Party. In the second photomontage, it conveys a message of completely disliking the idea of war. Kennard thought war was "dirty" and he felt that his photomontages gave some sort of "purity". This photomontage is from his collection of photomontages called "War on War". He conveyed his opinion on war through this photomontage and it effectively communicated his message to the public. I found these political photomontages for this activity because I thought they portrayed the strongest political views.