Montage: Activity 2

Activity 2: Blog Entry
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.

Photo by: Alice Matkins

In this example of a political photomontage, they are trying to communicate how Hitler only let people of his Aryan race compete in the Olympics. The artist of this photo has put dog collars on the athletes with Hitler, who is shown as a small powerless child, holding the leashes. It shows how the competitors were under Hitlers control and did not really have a choice in the matter. It also shows how proud Hitler was of his Aryan race, even though Jesse Owens beat them in the Olympics. 

Photo by: John Heartfield

In this photomontage, Adolf Hitler's face is cropped into a monkey's body and wearing a war helmet with a sword in hand. My interpretation of this image is that Hitler is being depicted as a wild and untamable animal. The photographer is showing their feelings of what they think they truly represent. I feel that this photographer could have cropped this character into a zoo or location with large amounts of animals to show the uncontrolled nature of this subject.