The saying, “A picture is worth a
thousand words,” becomes very apparent when looking at the assigned Dada
Berlin photomontages. The first image shows a man who is
“incapacitated” by his reading habits. This form of artwork is obviously
propaganda, serving to scare the public away from Bourgeois ideals. The
second photo, Dialogue at the Berlin Zoo, is somewhat difficult to
understand at first. Some research showed me that it’s represnting an
anti-semitic dialogue about the fate of the Jews. This type of photo
could have had resounding effects on the German youth, setting the tone
for future generations. The next photo, The Roving Reporter, shows us a
giant robot made out of “media.” Maybe the artist is trying to say that
the mass media has become too powerful, become all knowing, and holds
too much influence over Germany? The fourth photo, the collage, is a
clear satire of important German figures. It serves to disarm their
stern image in the eyes of the public. The fifth photo, the
self-portrait, showing a man who seems passionate about rejecting the
social and political developments that are going on around him. These
photomontages fall in line with Adorno’s, Horkheimer’s, and Benjamin’s
ideas. Adorno and Horkheimer believed that popular culture was mass
produced to calm and control the public, whiol Benjamin thought that art
has lost its “aura,” its innocence, and is now a tool for political
gain.
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