John Heartfield (born Helmut Herzfeld) was a German photographer best know for his work in photo-montage. Much of his most famous works were anti fascist/Nazi statements. He used the political nature of his photography as a form of visual art to use as a “political weapon”. John was a prominent figure in the style of photography known as dadaism.

Some of his photo-montage featured various pieces of artwork in conjunction with various photographs. the majority of his photography is borrowed however combines the photos/artwork into a powerful political statement.

“The cross was not yet heavy enough”

This piece uses explicit religious imagery to convey the Nazi’s as an enemy of Christ.

Not much can be said for the technical aspects of John’s photography since much of the photographs used are borrowed however the photos are put together simply by cutting and pasting while occasionally painting/drawing directly onto the frames.

“Whoever Reads Bourgeois Newspapers Becomes Blind and Deaf: Away with These Stultifying Bandages!”

This piece is much different to the rest of John’s work as it doesn’t utilize traditional photo-montage and instead is a more traditional photo as this was a photo-shoot that was setup primarily for this shot and isn’t a combination of images. The photo is framed like many portraits taken of Nazi officials however it features a German newspaper wrapped around his head suggesting that the German people are so absorbed by the news that they are a slave to the media, this is also implied by the attire of the subject which suggests that they are being incarcerated. The photo is essentially telling the viewer that the Bourgeois news was heavily biased and will leave the reader with a closed mind.

2 portraits of Erwin Rommel of similar composition to the piece by John