1. Anna Haifisch, Planche pour "Clinique von Spatz", 2015, Encre noire et couleur numérique. Collection de l'artiste © Anna Haifisch - Misma-Éditions
Anna Haifisch and the west coast
Until the month of April 2024, the Tomi Ungerer Museum – International Illustration Center of Strasbourg present the works of the German artist, Anna Haifisch. Curated by Anna Sailer, the newly appointed director and curator of the Tomi Ungerer Museum – international Illustration Center of Strasbourg, the exhibition focus on recent works of the artist, inspired by Walt Disney, Saul Steinberg and Tomi Ungerer, and notion of American Dream.
Her life
Anna Haifisch was born in 1986 and currently residing and working in Leipzig. She's a prominent figure known for her published works, which include "Chez Schnabel" (2022), "The Artist 3. Ode an die Feder" (2021), "Gnocchi Gnocchi – who ́s there?" in collaboration with Stefanie Leinhos (2020),and numerous other publications.
Her books, predominantly available in English, German, and French, showcase her versatile talent. In addition to her contributions to the world of comics and free drawing, Haifisch is a regular illustrator for various press outlets such as Bloomberg Businessweek, The New York Times, Frieze, The New Yorker, The Guardian, and FAZ.
In recognition of her artistic achievements, Haifisch was honored with the LVZ Art Prize in 2021 and received the Max und Moritz Prize as the best German-speaking strip cartoon artist in 2020.
She has also been featured in monographic exhibitions, with notable showcases at the Essen Folkwang Museum (2023), the Osnabrück Kunsthalle (2022), and the Leipzig Museum of Fine Arts (2022).
Her exhibition in Strasbourg
2+3. Anna Haifisch, Ready America, 2023, Crayon de couleur, marqueur et encore sur papier. Collection de l'artiste © Anna Haifisch
The exhibition in Strasbourg unfolds on the second floor of the museum, and it’s divided into four sections: In the studio (focus on the still life), Clinique von Spatz (focus on the life in Santa Monica and the USA), Souris en residence and Ready America (a new production).
1. IN THE STUDIO
The first space of the exhibition is titled "In the studio", and it present numerous ink drawings from the Stilleben (Still Life), which depict the artist's workspace in diverse arrangements. Made with shades of black and white ink or paper, which follow the traditional depiction depiction
the studio of artist with the minimum of materials, such as Indian/black ink.
But not like every artist studio, which is generally made up of numerous workspaces (mostly chaotic), her studio is quite organised, we're you see stacked archive boxes which hold completed projects.
It's also a space of collaboration, when Anna Haifisch started her weekly drawing/column in the American magazine Vice in 2008. The artist is the protagonist of the story, and it present the daily life of an artist and his publication like "Clinique von Spatz" and "Mouse in Residence". Thus, the reader explore the social, and economic conditions that shape the artistic process.
Those drawings are also inspired by masters like Sempé, Kafka's creations, Snoopy mugs, Bonduelle cans reminiscent of Tomi Ungerer's advertising for canned vegetables, crayons, and brushes.
2. CLINIQUE VON SPATZ
The works from the series "Clinique von Spatz", are a series of drawing derived from the eponymous comic created by the artist in 2015. But compared to the original black and white drawings, the artist decided to modify the drawings, so they can undergo a flat coloration process for print, featuring a minimalist application of bold colors (yellow, pink, blue, etc.) characteristic of the artist new style.
The narrative of the series unfolds in the hills of Santa Monica, where Clinique von Spatz (aka the "Pavilion of the Visionaries") is a rehabilitation center for artists and showbiz figures grappling with mental health challenges. Thus, art becomes the cause and the remedy for their breakdowns with the use of studios, art supplies, and a gallery, while prescribing Fimo clay for molding and Prozac for relaxation.
3. SOURIS EN RÉSIDENCE
“Imagine if you had to purchase a licence for every word you use.” or “A stay in Fahrenbühl isn’t for everyone.” is a quote from the State Minister for Culture and Economy.
Thus, the two protagonists of the storyboard is a sort of unfinished illustration found in a fictional place which, somehow or other exists a thousand times over titled "Fahrenbühl". This place is isolated from the rest of the world, without internet and during a long snowstorm they are face with a long wait until they got all the communication back. In the meantime, the artists in the residence are slowly becoming unbearable, they begin to compare themselves, and having morbid sentiments of death penetrate their rough drawings.
The "Mouse in Residence" illustrations were created during lockdown in spring 2020. Without explicitly citing the pandemic, the existential and social difficulties are instantly recognisable: the tense relationship between proximity and distance, depression and seclusion, the question of purpose and meaning in our lives.
4. READY AMERICA
Anna Haifisch produced this series in 2023 during her residency at the Villa Aurora, a former exile home of Lion and Marta Feuchtwanger in Santa Monica, now an artist's residence.
The "Ready America" illustrations depict the flatness of the Californian Dream. The drawings create a visual vocabulary of an environment, pop and consumption in 1960s art. They can evoke Marcel Broodthaers sign art and Jean Baudrillard view of America as a "gigantic hologram." Thus, Haifisch's work explores linguistic and visual elements from the cultural connections that shape our perception of the United States.
The artist shares her experience as a resident in California, describing the Villa Aurora and the shift in her artistic plans. She also reflects on the peculiarities of life in Los Angeles, from earthquake training to the challenge of deciphering American typography.
Informations about the exhibition
Place: Tomi Ungerer Museum - International Illustration Center
Date: 20.10.2023 – 7.4.2024
Curators: Anna Sailer
Ticket: Available at the front desk of the museum
Informations about the Tomi Ungerer Museum - International Illustration Center
2 Avenue de la Marseillaise
Villa Greiner
67 000 - Strasbourg