Dimensions: image: 315 x 231 mm support: 491 x 323 mm plate: 332 mm
Copyright: © The estate of Franz Roh | CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED, Photo: Tate
Curator: Franz Roh's unsettling collage, "Masks Survive," presents us with an eerie juxtaposition of figures donning what appear to be protective masks. What’s your immediate take? Editor: A sense of profound anxiety. The masks, rather than reassuring, evoke a dystopian future, perhaps a commentary on dehumanization. Curator: It is fascinating how these masks become loaded symbols here. The one being worn by the child points to concerns about environmental threats. Considering the historical context, anxieties about war and disease certainly played a role in shaping these visual motifs. Editor: Absolutely. The image resonates with the interwar period's sense of societal breakdown. The collage technique itself reflects a fragmented world. The artist, Roh, provides a very public service by showing how we cope under duress. Curator: A survival tactic, perhaps, as the title suggests. These masks, though unsettling, become emblems of resilience, echoing primal, ritualistic gestures. Editor: In the end, I'm left pondering how these images might reflect our current anxieties regarding global uncertainty. Curator: Precisely. A potent reminder of the enduring power of symbols and our collective, evolving fears.
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This collage combines fragments of photographs and illustrations within an eerily blank setting. The centre of the work is occupied by a large alien mass, covered with what appears to be thick, dark hair, and topped with an African mask. The head and neck of an aged horse stretch from the side of the mass to the left of the picture. This grotesque, threatening figure is contrasted with the upper body of a small child wearing a gas mask, while a maggot-infested piece of fruit in the top-right corner mirrors the Janus–like head of a moustachioed man – resembling Adolf Hitler – directly below it. Masks Survive was created by Roh in Munich, Germany, in 1938 just before the start of the Second World War, and seems to evoke the fears instituted by National Socialism.
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