“The painter paints his pictures with paint, and I do it with photographs.” - John Heartfield, 1967John Heartfield was born as Helmut Herzfelde in Berlin on June 19, 1891. Heartfield's parents they abandoned him and his siblings and spent their childhood with other relatives. He worked in a bookshop in Wiesbaden before going to school in Munich. Heartfield had a passion for painting, so he went to school at the Royal Bavarian Art and Crafts School in Munich. He had the chance to learn from two business graphic designers Albert Neisgerber and Ludwig Hohlwein. After graduating from the Royal Bavarian School of Arts and Crafts in Munich he gained a lot of experience. Heartfield decided to pursue his career as a commercial artist, starting with designing book covers in Mannheim. Heartfield was still active in a school; he studied mostly with the artist Ernst Neumann in Berlin. Helmut Herzfelde changed his name to John Heartfield due to his proactive attitude and his opposition to Germany's offensive war slogan of "May God Punish England". At this point, Heartfield was still living in Germany and wanted no part in their antics against England. In 1914 World War I continued strong and violent and Heartfield was drafted into the war. Heartfield was never used to violence, so because he was afraid of fighting, he pretended to be crazy just to be released from his military duties. His crazy act worked and he was released by the German army. Heartsfield's experience during the war led him to think about the role that social realism plays in art or art forms. His name change and false claim of insanity were just some of his many anti-German acts against the German government... middle of paper... field was one of the greatest photomontage artists known. He had created so much work that had a powerful effect on others. He works exclusively with the Dada movement and has achieved much success with that. My favorite piece he created was the hand with five fingers, which I haven't talked about, but I like this piece of art he made. The metal band called System of a Down used his work as their album cover. On the back cover there was a quote written that said "The hand has five fingers, capable and powerful, with the ability to destroy as well as create" (One Down System). I love how Heartfield designs such beautiful work that others can process it and use it as their own related work. He has influenced so many other artists and pushed me to do better so that I can send powerful messages through my work now and in the future.