Fur Ein Fest Gemacht (Made For a Party) 1936, collage
Hannah Hoch was a German artist emerging at the beginning of the 20th century. She was one of the pioneers of photomontage and was renowned for her collages. Friends with Kurt Schwitters, Hoch was a controversial woman who liked to push the boundaries in both her lifestyle and her art. A strong participant in women’s emancipation and also having a lesbian relationship, that while it wasn’t directly defined as that, the fact was not hidden, which would have been very controversial at the time.
Kleine Sonne (Little Sun) 1969, collage
Hoch was part of the Dada movement but was more tolerated than accepted as the founding artists of the movement such as Franz Jung, were not overly impressed by a female artist. Hand Richter described her contribution to Dada as “Sandwiches, beer and coffee.”. This may have been one of the reasons she built such a good relationship with Schwitters as he was shunned by most the Dadaists as well and also had a more modern outlook on life.
Da-Dandy 1919, collage
Da-Dandy Was a reflection of the hypocrisy of Dadaism and German society of the time, apparently promoting freedom but in reality still so restricted. Hoch worked on magazines aimed at women and was fed up of the difference between the women of the media and the women in reality.
Das Schone Madchen (The Beautiful Girl) 1920, collage
She considered herself active in the women’s liberation movement in the 1920s and her work was breaking down boundaries in the traditional gender roles. The women in her work were not particularly feminine, often muscular and bordering on masculine. This was to do with her unhappiness with what women were supposed to be according to the media and also possibly a reflection of her attraction to women.
Flucht (Flight) 1931, collage
I like Hannah Hoch’s work because I can see a familiarity to how I see things and to some of what I try to reflect in my own work. She also uses images from magazines and contemporary material from her time. I find her collages interesting as well as her as a person. I think she has a dry sense of humour and a strong personality that is reflected through her work and the legacy she has left behind her.
Ohne Titel (Untitled from the series: an Ethnographic Museum) 1929, photomontage and collage.
