Comic Exhibition: White Bunnies, Arabic Cola, and the Last Passenger Pigeon

LE MONDE diplomatique, the major monthly newspaper for international politics, is currently published in 20 languages. The German-language edition was launched in 1995 by the daily German newspaper Die Tageszeitung (taz) and the Swiss weekly (WoZ). Since 2005, the last cover page of the German edition of LE MONDE diplomatique has featured a comic strip. The German edition is the only one that publishes this comic page. Karoline Bofinger, comic editor of LE MONDE diplomatique, selects a comic artist or cartoonist every month who designs this page and captures his or her personal view of international politics and current events. Over the years, renowned illustrators and comic-strip artists have created remarkable contributions - and often brilliantly mastered the particular challenge of the large-page format as well as the limited narrative space. The comics cast an unpredictable, often absurd and sometimes melancholy glance at politics, everyday life, and culture. The concept refers to the beginnings of modern comic strips, which emerged at the end of the 19th century as the icing on the cake of newspapers traditionally adorning the last page. Visitors of the exhibition at the Goethe-Institut San Francisco have the opportunity to see the work of the German alternative comic scene like ATAK, Anke Feuchtenberger or Henning Wagenbreth, illustrators and picture book authors like Nele Brönner, young talents such as Anna Haifisch and Robert Deutsch, and established artists such as Barbara Yelin or Jim Avignon. All their works walk the fine line between high culture and trivia that has become the trademark of postmodern visual art. Stylistic eclecticism, their inclination towards an excessive use of quotations of all kinds, and above all their irreverent and liberal use of the diverse graphic possibilities of our time are the essential elements of their contemporary image and story production, which apparently has lost all reservations about our fascination with the trivial imagery of comics. A curated selection of comic pages will be on display at the ART-Lounge of the Goethe-Institut San Francisco starting on October 11, 2019.
Above Image: Copyright: Sophia Martineck