OBJECTIVE: Use Photoshop's select and crop tools to create a photomontage/collage that communicates your message about a social, cultural or political topic.
Introduction to Photomontage
A photomontage is an image that has been assembled from different photographs or from a single photograph that has been altered. By adding or removing information in the form of words or images the final meaning is altered. The resulting photomontage may be artistic, commercial, religious or political.
A political photomontage is often used as a means of expressing political dissent. It was first used as a technique by the dadaists in 1915 in their protests against the First World War.
Photomontage, as invented by John Heartfield and George Grosz, served as a device for social commentary, mashing up images of the ruling classes and forcing them out into mass media. |
Things the Dadaists wanted us to notice and think about:
Peter Kennard A gas mask covers the globe with the mouth piece vomiting up an excess of nuclear missiles or being choked by war. The eyes are replaced with an American Star and Stripes on what would be West on a map and its counterpart, the East, replaced with the Soviet Hammer and Sickle. Kennard has been making satirical photomontages since the 1970s, first through his work for the Anti-Vietnam movement and then, famously, through his images for the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. |
Thematic Techniques for Photomontage
1. Recognize the familiar. The viewer should recognize some of your images.
2. Contradiction. Contradiction in the content and meaning of images causes the viewer to think about the message.
3. Seeing through the lies. Many photomontages invite the viewer to look behind the surface to gain greater insight into your message.
4. Exaggeration of scale. Altering the scale of images can exaggerate your message.
5. Figures of Speech. Visualize figures of speech to spell out your point. Puppet on a string, playing with fire, house of cards, the camera never lies, etc.
2. Contradiction. Contradiction in the content and meaning of images causes the viewer to think about the message.
3. Seeing through the lies. Many photomontages invite the viewer to look behind the surface to gain greater insight into your message.
4. Exaggeration of scale. Altering the scale of images can exaggerate your message.
5. Figures of Speech. Visualize figures of speech to spell out your point. Puppet on a string, playing with fire, house of cards, the camera never lies, etc.