Royal Bavarian Arts & Crafts Munich. Helmut Herzfeld – John Heartfield Background, 1908

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1891 1899 1905 1908 1912 1913

“There are a lot of things
that got me into working with photos.
The main thing is that I saw
both what was being said and not being said
with photos in the newspapers …
I found out how you can
fool people with photos, really fool them …
You can lie and tell the truth
by putting the wrong title or wrong captions
under them, and that’s roughly
what was being done …”
German Dada & Political Artist Activist John Heartfield
German Dada & Political Artist Activist John Heartfield

Royal Bavarian Arts & Crafts, Munich Heartfield Studies Art, 1908

In 1908, Helmut Herzfeld (John Heartfield) studies at Königliche-Bayerische Kunstgewerbeschule (Royal Bavarian Arts & Crafts School), Munich.

His early influences are commercial designers Albert Weisgerber and Ludwig Hohlwein.

He begins to understand the nature of photographic propaganda. How the character of a person in a photograph can be manipulated simply by catching them in a certain expression or adding a caption.

Professor John J Heartfield is John Heartfield’s paternal grandson. Professor Heartfield presented Art & Politics, Politics & Art at the DADA WORLD FAIR in San Francisco. Please write to him about his live presentation regarding the relevance of his grandfather’s life and work to current events.

Professor John J Heartfield is John Heartfield’s paternal grandson. He gives live interactive presentations around the world that focus on his grandfather’s life and work and modern political art. Please write to him to request his presence at your event or ask any question. He is always pleased to hear from exhibition visitors.