PRINTMAKING - Käthe Kollwitz

Käthe Kollwitz ( 1867 - 1945) was a German Artist who worked mainly with painting, printmaking and sculpture. Her most famous works depicted the effects of poverty, hunger and war on the working class.

I came across a woodcut self portrait that i liked.

Frontal Self-Portrait (Selbstbildnis von vorn)-1922

I firstly love the black and white contrast of this. I like how it is isolating her face. Her face looks so serious. tired and unhappy. Then i came across a series of woodcuts called Krieg ( war) in 1919. These were response to the aftermath of World War 1. The Woodcuts focus on the mothers, widows and children left behind.

The Sacrifice (Das Opfer) (plate 1) from War (Krieg)

The Volunteers (Die Freiwilligen) (plate 2) from War (Krieg)

The Parents (Die Eltern) (plate 3) from War (Krieg). (1921-22, published 1923)

The Widow I (Die Witwe I) (plate 4) from War (Krieg)

The Widow II (Die Witwe II) (plate 5) from War (Krieg)

(1922, published 1923)

The Mothers (Die Mütter) (plate 6) from War (Krieg)

The People (Das Volk) (plate 7) from War (Krieg)

These prints are haunting and i found really hard to process them. The huge black and white contrast makes me really feel the greif and fear.

This one print stood out to me the most...

Die Freiwilligen (The volunteers)

This print is very different because it shows men being led forward by what i think could be death. It is very symbolic and it gives me mixed emotions about the idea or concept of honor and the true sacrifices of it.

Comments

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When i was a kid, i got asked to produce a drawing that expressed Autumn, the winner got the work in a calendar for the school. I worked and i worked on this drawing, expressing my feelings of Autumn. I won. I told my Mum and Dad that they could buy the calendar with my work in it, i was so proud. I showed my parents my work, and although they were happy for me told me they that although it was good, my sister's new drawing of a bird was better... more realistic. Through out all of my childhood and teenage years, i was told i was not as good as my sister and to this day i still do. I would constantly compare my work to hers, and eventually i gave up art completely. I had a pang of jealousy when i would see other peoples art work, and suppress the jealous feeling towards my sister and the anger i felt towards my parents. I felt even more guilt and as i grew i built up this wall around myself, i put on a mask of a confident girl, who did not feel jealousy, sadness or frustrat...

Dada Collage part 2

I released i was trying to copy Hannah Hoch's Das Schone Madchen/ beautiful girl collage instead of understanding it so i decided to research the artists and this peace of work i found out this is a photomontage made in the 1920's that deals with gender issues amidst the dawning of Germany’s New Woman. the hair and womans body is looking at beauty trends and expectations in women of that time and the Car parts are contrasting with the way society looks at women, even today. I started noting similarities in what i felt Hoch was trying to say was the modern women in the 20's and what is a modern woman today. trying to keep similar colours and tone, i chose a modern day hair style as well as a measuring tape and lipstick to suggest modern day female beauty standards, i chose the black and white woman at the top for minimalism but put the iconic 2015 brows over the top, i kept the BMW badge but c hanged it to the 2015 one as i felt their is still an ...

View point Task 1.

Conduct market research into the range of publications available for the target age group . Free and for sale. Contemporary and historical sources - visual and non - visual. I wanted to start my research with a range of publications. At this point i am unsure where i am going / what i want to do so i thought i would just start with exploring a wide range of publications as the brief says to try and find my interest. I started with a well known magazine that 18 - 30 year olds would look at, i thought about interests and started with fashion. Vogue I liked this cover above because it is very minimal, and i think that is more stylish and clean looking. I like the black and white look and the muted tones in it, like the title 'Vogue' i think works really well with the black and white. The magazine usually has more type in it.... I thought this was a good example of what an issue of vogue usually looks like, it is still quite minimal and loo...

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