Sara Fanelli, 'Eye Anchor' with layering

Eye Anchor Methodology. 

Below we can see a range of blobs and shapes that have a human eye in them. Automatically we recognise these as characters or more human figures making them relatable and understandable.

Figure 1 - Own illustrations of blobs with human eyes to show 'anchor' technique. 

Known for her incisively political collage and photomontage works, Dada artist Hannah Höch appropriated and rearranged images and text from the mass media to critique the failings of the Weimar German Government. Höch drew inspiration from the collage work of Pablo Picasso and fellow Dada exponent Kurt Schwitters, and her own compositions share with those artists a similarly dynamic and layered style. She used the human eye to make her characters seem more realistic. Has humans we need an 'anchor' when relating to an image and human features does just that. 

Figure 2 - Flucht (Flight) , 1931 Collage

Figure 3 - Kleine Sonne (Little Sun), 1969 Collage

Figure 4 - First Flight (2002)

Here we can see techniques that Fanelli has extracted from Hoch and use in her own work. Different shapes and textures can be cut out and arranged in layers to make new characters. By using the human eye it makes the character come to life and makes the images more relatable. It is clear the success of this small methodology and how it has been continued on throughout art work and will hopefully content further inspiring others to use the same methodology.

Figure 5 - Personal Use of layering and eye anchor techniques. 

Here I have created a photomontage using human eyes amongst shapes to create new characters. Using magazines and given resource I layered up the image to create quirky new characters that could be identified as long as they used the eye anchor methodology. It works because the layers are similar to Fanelli's in terms of the sheets of paper and collected textures.  

Image References:

Figure 2 - Höch, H. and Society, A.R. (2014a) Hannah Höch | Flucht (flight) (1931).

Figure 3 - Höch, H. and Society, A.R. (2014b) Hannah Höch | Kleine Sonne (little sun) (1969)

Figure 4 - Fanelli, S. (2011) Sara Fanelli - a life in pictures.

Bibliography

- EDITORIAL, A. (no date) Hannah Höch - 15 artworks, bio & shows on artsy. Available at: https://www.artsy.net/artist/hannah-hoch (Accessed: 20 November 2016).

- Fanelli, S. (2011) Sara Fanelli - a life in pictures. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/gallery/2011/mar/31/childrens-books-7-and-under (Accessed: 20 November 2016).

- Höch, H. and Society, A.R. (2014a) Hannah Höch | Flucht (flight) (1931). Available at: https://www.artsy.net/artwork/hannah-hoch-flucht-flight (Accessed: 20 November 2016).

- Höch, H. and Society, A.R. (2014b) Hannah Höch | Kleine Sonne (little sun) (1969). Available at: https://www.artsy.net/artwork/hannah-hoch-kleine-sonne-little-sun (Accessed: 20 November 2016).