but rather the inadequate life.”
<< HEARTFIELD CHRONOLOGY - ALL YEARS1921 1923 1927
“Do not fear death so much
but rather the inadequate life.”
Many Bertolt Brecht theatre works used minimal props and stark stage sets. John Heartfield’s spare, evocative stage designs were ideally suited to Brecht’s narratives.
Heartfield’s stage design was a vital element in the early plays of Bertolt Brecht and Erwin Piscator. Heartfield created stage sets, costumes, and stage projections.
This incident likely inspired Bertolt Brecht to develop the Alienation Effect (Verfremdungseffekt), interrupting plays at critical junctures to encourage the audience to be part of the action and not lose themselves in it. The Alienation Effect (Verfremdungseffekt) reminded spectators that they were experiencing an enactment of reality and not reality itself. Many famous theater groups later used the Alienation effect, including The Living Theater and Joe Papp’s Shakespeare productions.