Satire like John Heartfield
Satire like John Heartfield
Satire for ad's sake
John Heartfield has been described as “the greatest political artist and graphic designer of the twentieth century.”
After art school in Munich and Berlin, he begun to work as a commercial artist. He was staunch in his belief that the purpose of art was not to glorify or increase the cache of the artist, but to serve the common good.
And this utilitarian belief would be exploded upon meeting the artist and eccentric genius George Grosz. Together they would become two of the most famous German producers of flagrantly anti-Nazi art.
They were also icons of the German Dada Movement, whose smart surrealist statements would go on to influence much in advertising, culture, politics and society.
Heartfield’s love of photomontage was born out of some early experiments with Grosz around 1917 and this would lay the groundwork for his incendiary work to come.
From 1930 to 1938 he turned his full attention to the rise of Hiter’s Nazi Party. His most famous political art appearing repeatedly on the covers of the AIZ – a popular illustrated leftist magazine.
His work appeared on street corners, on bus stops and adorned news stands. The magazine also had one of the highest circulations in Germany at the time, reaching nearly half a million people.
This art irritates fascists
Humour, irony, exagerration and sometimes ridicule – all can be utilised to satirise category, competitors or the culture writ large.
We can create work that is self-aware, work that pokes fun at advertising and marketing tropes, work that enters the political consciousness or makes political statements.
And as with all great work and great satire, there’s a raw biting truth at the heart of it.
Probably one of the greatest political ads. Truly a great line:
And of course it become so famous, that it was subsequently satirised:
Using one brand to satirise another 👏 Guardian.
Two very easy political targets, but a lovely bit of craft from JBL:
Project Runaway' was created by the Filipina woman's organization Gabriela as part of the annual woman's suffrage celebrations and to express displeasure with the exiting President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo:
Ouch! Miss Piggy going in hard.
A deliciously dry bit of class satire from Parker Pens:
Another class bit of humour here from Heineken:
And finally, It would be rude not to. Carlton Draught taking a shot at the famous British Airways spot as well as as every other hyperbolic big set-piece of TV advertising:
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Thanks for reading,
Jonathan ✌️
How to crash a Nazi party
Want to hear about the time John Heartfield escaped an SS Goon Squad by hiding in a bin? Listen to his episode of Kunst Please: