John Heartfield Grandson, John J Heartfield, John Heartfield Exhibition Curator
John J Heartfield
John Heartfield Grandson
My Journey Inspired By My Grandfather
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My Journey Inspired By My Grandfather
By John J Heartfield
My grandfather has always been my inspiration. He didn’t provide me with his brand of courage, but the way he lived was a lesson that fear should never serve as a valid justification for abandoning one’s convictions.
You can find samples of my songwriting and writing on in my studio.
I started music lessons at the age of eleven. My father made the unfortunate choice of accordion as my first instrument. After three years of ump-pah-pah, I was allowed to move on to keyboards. I’ve written more than 200 original songs.
I am currently composing a musical that chronicles the cinematic life and times of my grandfather, featuring exceptional musicians as collaborators. The musical One Hand! is in full development. I’ll feature trailers from the musical here and in my studio.
My other passion is writing, both fiction and non-fiction. I’ve always loved mystery novels. My mystery novel Controlling Time has been described as a cross between a Philip K. Dick novel and a Jason Bourne adventure. I’ll take that review.
Finally, I always joke it’s a good thing I didn’t inherit any of my grandfather’s ability in one area or I’d have fewer hours in the day that I do now. I literally cannot draw a straight line. However, I was inspired by my grandfather’s work to work with Photoshop. Check Out One Hand Art.
As curator of The Official John Heartfield Exhibition, A Powerful Art Museum it isn’t simply my only goal to increase my grandfather’s recognition and renown. Clearly, the message is his work, that fascism is inevitable when propaganda is mistaken for reality, is as relevant today as it was in the early 20th Century.
The German government institutions that hold the majority of my grandfather’s art have the belief that pieces of his work are treasured relics to be preserved. I know he would kick down the doors of those institutions to get his messages to the people. And, knowing him as I did, I wouldn’t want to be standing between him and those doors.