RINA HYSENI
Hannah Höch
(1889 - 1978)
Biography
Hannah Höch was part of the Dadaism art movement.
The Dadaism art movement combined art with political concepts, addressing issues in a mocking manner, especially those focused on nationalism and the First World War, from which it potentially emerged. The style of art reconstructs everyday objects and arranges them in a way that gives the art a voice that challenges society's norms. These ideas later made huge modern art influences.
Höch worked alongside other dada artists like George Grosz and Johannes Baader.
She was born in Germany in the city of Gotha on November 1st 1889. She studied glass design in the School of Applied Arts in Berlin, and later continued graphic arts at the School of the Royal Museum of Applied Arts after the first school closed due to the First World War. She stayed in Berlin to continue her own work during the dadaism movement.
Höch’s work was inspired by Pablo Picasso’s own collages, from which she adapted a similar style of unusual placement of body parts. She also took inspiration from Kurt Schwitters, who had a similar dynamic and layered style as Höch.
https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-hannah-hoch-artist
https://www.theartstory.org/movement/dada/
https://berlinischegalerie.de/en/collection/specialised-fields/artist-in-focus/
'The Beautiful Girl" is a collage that Hoch made in 1920.
The first area of emphasis that is noticed when observing the artwork is the color. Throughout the artwork, a yellow hue is matched within every element. The warmth of the yellow is seen within the hair, the wheels, the legs, as well as the hands. While there are still components of other hues within the subjects, like the green and the orange of the wheel pattern, their similar saturation still keeps the yellow in the lead. The only exception that doesn’t complement this hue is the bright color lying on the emphasized light bulb, as well as the face in the background. These figures appear more bright in the work, and have a cooler and more saturated tone which creates a huge contrast with the brownish tone seen throughout the artwork.
Another element which appears to repeat itself throughout the artwork is shape. Each object has a similar circular shape that makes up the whole geometric construction of this drawing. The hair, face, umbrella, wheel and all the patterns in the bottoms are made up of very circular similar proportions. The artwork still consists of triangular shapes that pop out from the circles, seen in the tools and background, but the geometric layout is still kept throughout the artwork, which integrates this artwork into a well formed composition.
In addition, texture is created by displaying a variety of lines that are put on top of the collage pieces suggesting the use of ripped, which matches the old theme that all the objects and color present.
This harmonious use of elements creates unity within the artwork. All the elements complement each other in the way they are arranged, and the way they are all shaped in a similar nature, like the same hues and values that are matched within each object, the same texture they display as well as all the general construction of a geometric shape that all subjects work together to create. This way of arrangement adds a nice effect to the artwork that makes every object feel as if they’re put in the correct place where they belong.
Despite the similarity of this artwork, contrast is still kept. In the midst of all the warm values and rough textures, the old sensation of the elements is juxtaposed with the newer and cleaner feel that is used specifically in two elements: the light bulb and the face in the background. These two elements are much brighter than other ones, and they have cooler values and blue hues, which makes them pop out in the composition. They also don’t have the lines that create the rough texture in the paper, which is why those pieces feel newer in comparison. However, their round shape is still kept, which makes them feel that they belong in the composition. The contrast they create actually makes the artwork more interesting, because it removes the bland look that the similar values in the drawing would have otherwise created.
"The Beautiful Girl", Hannah Hoch, 1920, Collage
