Hannah Hoch’s ‘Abduction’ 1935
Representation: Culture, community and identity
The piece ‘Abduction’ is a photomontage which is part of the collection of ‘From an ethnographic museum’, presented through the artistic form of collages of contemporary European women and ‘primitive’ sculptures or tribal objects. This work of art, produced by Hannah Hoch, challenges social gender roles and racial stereotypes. As this collection was created from the time period of 1924 to 1930, it is assumed that Hoch alludes to changing gender roles of that time described as ‘The New Woman’ and employs the artistic style of Dadaism, both of which emerged from the political, social and economic chaos during the Weimar Republic post WW1.
Through the piece ‘Abduction’, Hoch challenges the portrayal of ‘primitive’ colonized African cultures, as well as draws parallels between Western female identity. The re-contextualisation of the tribal artefacts and sculptures are seen as a reflection of German racial superiority and Western stereotypical views of various parts of Africa. This is seen through the central and large positioning of the wood sculpture from Congo, originally captioned ‘Abduction of the Virgins’, and serves to portray cultural stereotypes of savagery and sexualisation/exploitation of Congolese women. Furthermore, the red contrasting trees in the background originally taken from a magazine for Malaria cures may be a symbol of disease and danger, another stereotype associated to the phrase ‘Dark Continent’, a derogatory term used by colonizers to describe Sub Saharan Africa as result of lack of knowledge which formed perceptions such as its interior being mysterious and dangerous. However, Hoch challenges these Western perceptions through the juxtaposition of a caucasian female head overlapping a face on the wooden sculpture and facing the opposite direction. This jarring composition which disrupts the symmetry of the tribal figures challenges the scientific ‘truth’ of ethnic and gender stereotypes presented by ethnographic museums. Moreover, this incongruous hybrid technique disorders the illusion of an aesthetically pleasing figure. Just as women in Africa depicted by the German’s were seen to be sexual assets, Hoch also challenges the same discourse in German culture, specifically the ideal beauty standard which emerged from the ‘New Woman’, and ultimately, how women in different cultures are repressed in different forms.
Creativity: Art, creativity and the imagination
Through the piece ‘Abduction’, Hoch uses distortion to challenge the characteristics of primitivism in the European avant-garde style Dadaism. Where ‘primitive’ art was often used an as inspiration for works under the style of Dadaism, Hoch challenges this idealization and romanticization of non-Western people and cultures portrayed as ‘primitive’. The use of dark, contrasting colours and superimposition distorts the symmetry of the piece and the original sculpture, which present the overall piece as mismatched and clashing. While the caucasian face alludes to the ‘New Woman’ and is a symbol of respect and admiration in Western culture, the sculpture and artefacts connote racist stereotypes and exploitation. It also displays the dichotomies of natural and artificial or rational and irrational, reflective of the post WW1 period where the European’s embraced technological advancement and industrialisation, moving toward secularisation and rationalised economies. When combined, the different elements depict both the ‘primitive’ and contemporary societal structures which constrain gender roles and restrain female identity. Rather than romanticising ‘primitive’ art, Hoch uses it to ridicule and expose European colonialism as well as the political, social and economic chaos post WW1.
