Hannah Höch

A German Dadaist photomontage artist who created work inspired by feminism and beauty, based on her job working for a women’s magazine in Berlin. She was belittled by other Dadaist artists for being a woman, and described as her contributions being the food and drink she provided the artists, despite being a pioneer in the development of the movement. She would create art that subverted womens’ status as second-class citizens, including making brides into mannequins and creating androgynous characters.

Her powerful photomontages and use of collage to incite social change were why I chose to research this based on my current (loose) theme – german expressionism and collage. 

Johannes Itten

Itten was a teacher at the bauhaus and introduced a foundation course, where he would encourage students to nurture their creative process before starting studies in their chosen art. They would learn his colour theories and create work out of mundane and geometrical objects, not unlike Schwitters' collages. Itten is credited with introducing the idea of a foundation course for all art students, something still used now. He used progressive and experimental teaching methods, including refusing to correct mistakes and playing music to begin a class, based on his previous job as an elementary school teacher. This caused him to be scolded by his colleagues in the bauhaus and he left in spring 1923. He went back to teach children.

"on the whole there is nothing wrong and nothing right, it simple lives and materializes through the interplay of forces..."
- Paul Klee

refs
"bauhaus" arranged by Wurttembergischer Kunstverein Stuttgart (book accompanied a gallery exhibition of bauhaus work)