Helmut Goettl: Italienischer Salat

Year: 1974 Type: Print publication Languages: German

Helmut Goettl: Italian salad
Helmut Goettl’s large-format catalogue Italienischer Salat, published in an edition of 250 signed copies, includes a satirical short story, many drawings, and an afterword by Sigbert Fischer. Goettl (1934–2011), known for his caustic critiques of society and his political commitment, counts among the most important proponents of social critique in postwar German art. As the afterword says: “He turns against a society in which the people’s ruthless struggles with one another over property and careers, status and sex, are romanticized, trivialized into a garden gnome idyll with a Saturday night happy end.” For Fischer, Goettl’s Italian drawings represent “a real and deeply experienced document of contemporary humanity.” There are scenes from rural life, architectural sketches, and portraits of migrant worker families, priests, and tourists with titles like Just beyond the border, Volcano or A man of the world at the beach.

Ed.: nGbK

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