Hannah H̦ch РWhitechapel Gallery
I have never been particularly interested in politics or economics which is maybe why I find it difficult to contemplate Höch’s work within this context. What is much more intriguing from my point of view is her process of collage. Whilst the materials used evidently play a significant role in communicating social aspects of the times the artist lived through, it is the compositional aspect of the work which lures me in.
In previous artworks I have dappled in various collage and layering techniques, as demonstrated in Two-headed Woman (2012) and Bridesmaids Number 1 (2012). Whilst my works differ greatly from Höch’s, what becomes apparent within the exhibition is this potential for variation that can be produced from using such diverse materials – the possibilities really are endless.
For me Höch’s collages embody both formal and expressive qualities. It is the combination of these which creates pieces which are playful and full of character. The works I found most intriguing exemplified both collage and drawing or collage and print. This links in closely with my previous work which has explored various methods of collage and layering. I have not, in the past, thought a great deal about the relationship between different layers of an artwork I have produced. By looking at Höch’s work, however, I am beginning to consider the balance between formal and expressive elements within my own pieces and how best to execute this given the subject matter.
Mixed media is something which always seems to weave its way into my work. Perhaps this is through my own cognition that a paper collage or print does not feel finished until it is combined with something else. I believe this lends itself to my own attitude towards my work in that I am rarely completely happy with what I produce and so feel the need to keep changing it. On the other hand, as i think about this in greater depth, I think there is often a struggle in my artwork between wanting to be more formal and also wanting to be expressive. Perhaps it is through collage and layering which I am able to achieve a happy medium.
Catalogue foreword to Höch’s 1st solo exhibition at the Kunstzaal De Bron, The Hague, 1929.
‘I would like to blur the firm borders that we human beings, cocksure as we are, are inclined to erect around everything that is accessible to us. […] I want to show that small can be large, and large small, it is just the standpoint from which we judge that changes, and every concept loses its validity and all our human gestures lose their validity. I also want to show that there are millions and millions of other justifiable points of view beside yours and mine. Today I would portray the world from an ant’s-eye view and tomorrow, as if the moon sees it perhaps, and then as many other creatures may see it. I am a human being, but on the strength of my imagination – tied as it is – I can be a bridge. (…)’
Hannah Höch
