Introduction

A photo-montage is a collage constructed from photographs. The technique has been used historically to make political statements and gained popularity in the early 20th century (World War 1-World War 2). Many Artists such as Raoul Haussman , Hannah Hoch, John Heartfield employed cut-n-paste techniques as a form of propaganda as well as Soviet artists like Aleksander Rodchenko and El Lissitsky. Photo-montage is a type of collage art. It is composed primarily of photographs or fragments of photographs in order to direct the viewer’s mind toward specific connections. The pieces are often constructed to convey a message, whether that be a commentary on political, social, or other issues. When done correctly, they can have a dramatic impact

History

Soviet Propaganda 

The photo-montage technique appeared in Russia and Europe during WWI and developed particularly in Moscow. The main creators of the genre were Alexander Rodchenko and El Lissitsky. After the revolution, their work got a boost from Vladimir Lenin after he declares that ‘photography is a super-powerful propaganda tool in a country where 70% of the population cannot read’. During the civil war he even makes plans to give every soldier a camera in order to ‘let them use it as a weapon able to demonstrate visually and precisely the political changes’. Although the idea wasn’t pushed any further, due to technical difficulty. The photo-montage would then be used to portray a cheerful “reality” and bright future. The medium combined the realism of the photography with the revolutionary ideas. Some examples:

Aleksander Rodchenko

El Lissitsky

Pop Art and the Dada Movement

Pop Art was born in Britain in the mid 1950s, the technique of photo-montage then emerged and was also used a great amount by various Pop Artists in the mid 20th Century in order to explore and react to abstract expressionism, it also tackled   popular consumerism, advertising, branding and marketing techniques. Some politcal concerns were also focused on such as war and gender roles.

The Dada movement was created in Germany after World War I. It attempted to create a new kind of art that was valued primarily for its conceptual properties rather than focusing on aesthetics or skills. Dada quickly spread to France and the US (to Paris and New York in particular), but many of its main creators (who worked with photography) still remained in Germany. One of the main ways in which the ‘Dadaists’ challenged traditional art was through photo-montage.

Artists such as Max Ernst and Hannah Höch used scissors and glue to cut up found (and some original) photographs from a number of sources and reassemble them, using contrast to emphasize their message. The use of photo-montage as an art technique was one of the most influential ways in which the Dadaists shook up the traditional ways of the art world.

Hannah Höch, ‘Cut with the Dada Kitchen Knife through the Last Weimar Beer-Belly Cultural Epoch’ in Germany (1919)

Further Examples:

David Hockney 

Andy Warhol

The Stenberg Brothers

‘The Stenberg Brothers’ Georgii and Vladimir Stenberg were Moscow-born graphic designers from Russia who produced film posters for the Soviet Union during the 1920’s. During this time they created over more than 300 posters with their constructivism style. The two would create street art and propaganda posters with young artists, the two were highly regarded within in the ‘avant-garde’ scene of Moscow at the time. This propaganda style can be seen throughout their posters from the 20’s. Their work was very important for the Soviet Union at the time, as film was used as a powerful propaganda tool to promote their principles to a mostly illiterate country. The brothers also had to communicate this through imagery using clear photographs and typography so that everything can be understood universally.

Examples of their propaganda film posters:

Analysis of Key Poster

‘Gossip’ The Stenberg Brothers

TECHNICAL -VISUAL-CONCEPTUAL-CONTEXTUAL

The striking poster above was created for a film in 1928, in the Soviet era by The Stenberg Brothers. The poster was for the film ‘Gossip’ which attempted to show the danger of careless talk, suggesting that those who spoke about things they didn’t understand or which didn’t concern them would fall victim to fear and confusion. Gossip was used as a propaganda tool across the Soviet Union, its poster was utilised to reiterate the film’s message on the people.

In the foreground, a man can be seen gazing into a street car in open mouthed horror, his expression is seen by the fearful face of a female passenger.  The layout is simple and 2D, this helps to make the point and meaning of the propaganda to come across direct and without confusion, it also seems to be set out as a scene from the film which further reinforces this. The colours used in the poster are generally vibrant primary colours which creates an eye catching poster, and are helpfully seperated by black and white lines to make the intentions and scenes clear to see, this technique is also used with the titles and the writing sections.

Introduction to Tableaux Vivants

Tableau Vivant is the French term for a ‘living picture’. It is a static scene containing one or more actors or models. They are stationary and silent, usually in costume, carefully posed, with props and/or scenery, and may be theatrically lit. It therefore combines aspects of theater and the visual arts.

Examples:

Creating a Response

To create my own Tableau Vivant I have chosen to re-create one of Tom Hunter’s photos (which will be on another blog post), and also re-create some of the iconic scenes from Stand By Me. Stand By Me was a coming of age film released in 1986, it was directed by Rob Reiner. The film is based on Stephen King’s 1982 novella The Body. Its title is derived from Ben E. King’s song, which plays over the ending credits. Stand by Me tells the story of four boys in a small town in Maine, USA who go on a hike to find the dead body of a missing child. The film was nominated for one Academy Award (for Best Adapted Screenplay) and two Golden Globe Awards (for Best Motion Picture-Drama and Best Director, respectively).

These are the stills from the film which I have chosen to re-create:

Apart from the obvious plot of the film, it is mainly about friendship and loyalty. This can be seen through the photos I have chosen, especially the first one where Chris is comforting Gordon and the other photos where the boys are seen together, laughing and joking with each other. This creates a nostalgic childhood atmosphere upon first glance which fades once the film continues and the insecurities between the boys start to appear.

For the location of my shoot I have chosen to do it on an old railway walk as this is the closest I can get to the actual film, it includes a wide road and lots of trees which matches the background in the photos. For the models I am going to have a different number of them (3) and I am going to use all girls instead of all boys. Below are my final outcomes for each re-creation:

Outcomes: