More inspiration

We looked at a few more inspirational things last week. The most hilarious was a couple of American videos introducing modern art - the pitch and the language were ridiculous, and the most telling bit for me was when the presenter (Denise) declared "you must understand...". I see, we MUST ...

We also watch some extracts from classic films which betray Surrealist influences. It's time I sorted out my DVD collection to include some old gems - Battleship Potemkin, Frankenstein and the fantastic Nosferatu. The latter has some classic scenes with the hideously made-up Max Schreck as Count Orlok (aka Dracula) with sinister shadows.



It gave me an idea for my Unit 17 shoot.

We also looked at some of the work of John Heartfield, an early proponent of Photomontage, and an anti-Nazi unafraid to wear his colours on his sleeve.



The text reads "The real meaning of the Hitler salute. The little man asks for big gifts. I've got millions standing behind me". Who supplied the millions? I saw Rob Newman last month, and one of the most interesting bits of his show is when he points out that US Corporations were some of the biggest investors in Nazi Germany between 1933 and 1940. Some familiar names of today are amongst them too - Ford, Coca-Cola, ITT, IBM ...



I've seen this stuff before and love it. And later in the week, I'm in London and pay a visit to Tate Britain, where they have dedicated a room to his work.