Die Braut oder Pandora
Artwork Review
Hannah Höch, Pandora, exemplifies from a feminist perspective, and with great eloquence, the proto-structuralist era in Europe starting with Picasso and the cubist movement in 1907, and later on unfolding into Dadaism in the early 20’s. As the pioneer of photo montage, the main exponent of feminist collage, besides her desire to become a painter, this artwork exposes the fragmented reality experienced by many artists during the rise of fascism in Germany. This work accounts for all the essential components of structuralism and poststructuralism: deconstruction, juxtaposition, presence and absence, and a multiplicity of signs with infinite signifiers.
There is no need to make use of proper names in this work despite the biographical connections that it has with the artist. Since the rebellious attitude of Höch is evidenced by numerous works exploring gender stereotypes and ethnic differences, along with her particular use of superimpositions, it is accurate to interpret this work as a clever contestation of the institution of marriage.
All signs presented in Pandora are rich in visual polysemy, while some others are more fixated in typical patriarchal stereotypes of women. The replacement of Pandora’s head for one of a baby as a signified- a term which refers to the mental concept of an image in post-structuralist philosophy- for women as childish beings is an example of these fixed connotations in the work greatly inspired by the German concept of ‘New Objectivity’, which aimed to represent the world with philosophical objectivity. The hyperbolized disparity of the bride and her husband, in contrast to the candid and naïve pre-conceptualized ideals around marriage, place this institution on a false pedestal of happiness, and is signified for the banishment of this romantic ideal. We could say in Saussure terms that the superficial signifiers related to the word ‘marriage’ have been reevaluated and reconstituted from the “original” towards a more “realistic” connotation, or at least objective viewpoint.
The warm tonality beginning at the top of the frame with light yellow progressively degrades towards the bottom into an opalescent red and brown, overwhelming with energetic brightness the overall scene, like a sweltering heat in the apex of summer. This optimistic happiness of the background is juxtaposed with the man’s expressed mood, which betrays visible signs of depression and hopelessness. The man’s character is also reflected in the grayish tonalities used to depict him. As referenced previously, it would be arbitrary to use proper names to describe the subjects in this piece. While the man’s depiction could possibly appear as a reference to the artist’s former partner, Raoul Haussmann, in an ironic and prescienct coincidence, the figure depicted has an even more uncanny resemblance to the fascist writer and future propaganda leader of Nazi Germany, Joseph Goebbels.
To continue the dissection of this work, and due to the ambiguity of the elements, it is useful to explore each component by its symbolism. Just to give some account of the ‘New Objectivity’ pursued by Höch, and the multifarious potential connotations of this piece, we could take as an example the various circles scattered throughout the frame, representing the arbitrariness of signifiers- the philosophical counterpart of signified that refers to the component of a sign that is literal. Deconstructing the use of this shape by analyzing the most primordial meanings assigned to the image of the circle, such as its reference to divinity or God, reveals a layered meaning in its deployment. This mirrors the old adage: “God is a circle whose center is everywhere but whose circumference is nowhere”. Continuing in this symbolic analysis, the wings depicted along the round shapes share strong connections to the Egyptian Sun God Amun-Ra (notice also the connection to the warm tones of the background), who was depicted as a man with a hawk head and a solar disk traveling through the sky. In the book square, circle, triangle, Bruno Munary refers to an ancient chant from Thebes that says, “Amun-Ra, divine hawk with shining plumage, traces with the spread of his wings a circle on the vault of the skies.” This deity is also related to fear, blood sacrifices and terror of the heart. Many other interpretations of this shape can be developed from a feminist perspective. A connection can also be made with Cleopatra’s Magic Circle, or more generally all magic circles that have been used to attract good spirits traditionally, sometimes even involving blood sacrifices as in Ancient Greek culture. The marriage ring, the halo and all the perpetual motions of life (also symbolized by the wheel) also derive from the circle.
All superimpositions displayed by Höch in this piece hold a universal identity that can be infinitely reinterpreted by the viewer. Overall, the inexhaustible wonder that this work awakens, is the very attitude embodied by Pandora’s mythological character, and also, the one of archetypal significance of the girl child. It is Pandora’s eternally childish curiosity that opens up the divine box of mysteries and terrors of the man-made world. There is also a reference to this revelation enlightening the objective realities of the institution of marriage for women as problematic. Strong symbolic references such as the heavily chained heart, teary eye, baby nursing the breast, the snake and the apple, the wheel, and the rose, are all heavily charged with complex meaning, an overarching awareness of the shadowy reality of this institution and a need for a more honest reconstitution and transformation of the traditional signified meanings of marriage.
-Grosenick, Uta. Women Artist. Madrid: Taschen, 2005
-Munary, Bruno. Circle, Square, Triangle. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2015.
-Krauss, Rosalind. In the Name of Picasso. The MIT Press 16 (1981): 5-22. Accessed May 7, 2020