By: Steven Heller | August 21, 2008
For many designers and illustrators, the German visual satirist John Heartfield (with scissors in hand above) is a hero. Born Helmut Herzfeld in 1891, he anglicized his name to protest German involvement in World War I and went on to invent the political photomontage. He was also co-founder of the publishing house Malik Verlag with brother Wieland Herzfeld and George Grosz. But aside from a few books, only one film, John Heartfield Fotomonteur (1977), was ever made about him and it was shown only once in the U.S. in 1982 at New York’s Film Forum. Tonight, Ovation TV offers up a documentary on Heartfield and his impact on visual commentary. The program airs at 8 and 11pm and again tomorrow, August 22, at 2am. For those who cannot catch the show, check out the archive of his AIZ covers at George Eastman House or other satirical and Dada images at Art History Timelines.