From man-ape to ape-man
For Albert Hahn (1877-1918), political illustrator, I discovered the figuration title as a caption. ‘From man-ape to ape-man’ was under one of his satirical critical prints about the First World War.
A caricature, published in the political satire weekly ‘De Notenkraker’ (The Nutcracker) in 1915, by his hand: ‘’The evolution of man (on the occasion of the French troops’ new outfit): from man-ape to ape-man.’’
This fascinating sentence ‘from man-ape to ape-man’ is constructed by mirroring the same words. The number of letters in ‘van’ (from) and ‘tot’ (to) is equal. The sentence structure, together with the image of the reverse development of man to ape that is aroused, immediately speaks to the imagination.
It plays with time: improvement, deterioration, ‘pro-gression’, ‘re-gression’. The symmetrical order of words is compellingly expressed in the figuration composition. It is as if the reading direction has been turned on its head – from up to down, from down to up, forwards and backwards, ‘back to front’.
Incorporated in the artwork for Albert Hahn, ‘From man-ape to ape-man’ is a timeless critical note, inviting reflection.
MS
Photo
‘From man-ape to ape-man’, column, 80cm x 80cm x 40cm.
Biography
Albert Hahn (1877-1918) was one of the most famous political illustrators in the Netherlands. For the social-democratic movement, Hahn created numerous prints, covers, and illustrations for brochures, banners, flags, and posters. Albert Hahn could “make a banner from of a piece of newspaper” (quote: Cornelis Veth), as evidenced by his drawings in the Sunday paper of Het Volk and later in De Notenkraker.
Many of his drawings are preserved in the Press Museum, which merged with the Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision in 2017, and are accessible through the International Institute of Social History in Amsterdam.
Artwork: You Are Here
Artist: Martijn Sandberg
Material: concrete
Measurements: (lxwxh) 80cm x 80cm x 40cm
Project: Legacy of the Twentieth Century
Realisation and completion: 2019
Location: Oranje Vrijstaatkade, Oostpoort, Amsterdam
Commissioned by: Amsterdam Municipality, District Oost