Klaus Staeck (born 28 February 1938 in
Pulsnitz
Pulsnitz (German, ; Upper Sorbian name: ''Połčnica'', ) is a town in the district of Bautzen, in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. It is situated on the small river Pulsnitz, 11 km southwest of Kamenz, and 24 km northeast ...
) is a German lawyer and publisher who is best known in Germany for his political
graphic design
Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art that involves creating visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdisciplinary branch of ...
work. From 2006 to 2015 he was president of the
Akademie der Künste
The Academy of Arts () is a state arts institution in Berlin, Germany. The task of the Academy is to promote art, as well as to advise and support the states of Germany.
The academy's predecessor organization was founded in 1696 by Elector F ...
at
Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
.
Early life and education
Klaus Staeck grew up in the East German city of
Bitterfeld
Bitterfeld () is a town in the district of Anhalt-Bitterfeld, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 July 2007 it has been part of the town of Bitterfeld-Wolfen. It is situated approximately 25 km south of Dessau, and 30 km northeast of Hall ...
. After passing the ''
Abitur
''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...
'' in 1956 he moved to the West German city of
Heidelberg
Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...
where he lives down to the present day.
From 1957 until 1962, Staeck studied law at
Heidelberg
Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...
,
Hamburg
Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
, and
Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
before taking both state exams. He was admitted to the German bar in 1969.
Career
Staeck began to teach himself how to work as a graphic designer while pursuing his legal studies, creating posters, postcards, and flyers.
In 1960, Staeck became a member of
Social Democratic Party of Germany
The Social Democratic Party of Germany ( , SPD ) is a social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the party's leader since the 2019 leadership election together w ...
(SPD). In the late 1960s he took part in local politics in Heidelberg. Over the years he created three hundred different motifs, drawing from current political discussions. He took sides for the poor, the environment, and for peace, urging his countrymen to join him and to interfere in political affairs. In his campaigns he employed claims such as, e.g., ''Deutsche Arbeiter – die SPD will euch eure Villen im Tessin wegnehmen'' ("German workers: the SPD seeks to take away your villas in Tessin from you"), or ''Die Reichen müssen noch reicher werden – deshalb CDU'' ("The rich must become richer yet, therefore vote
CDU").
Since 1986 Staeck has been visiting professor at
Kunstakademie Düsseldorf
The Kunstakademie Düsseldorf is the academy of fine arts of the state of North Rhine Westphalia at the city of Düsseldorf, Germany. Notable artists who studied or taught at the academy include Joseph Beuys, Gerhard Richter, Blinky Palermo, Ma ...
.
From 2006 until 2015 he was president of Berlin
Akademie der Künste
The Academy of Arts () is a state arts institution in Berlin, Germany. The task of the Academy is to promote art, as well as to advise and support the states of Germany.
The academy's predecessor organization was founded in 1696 by Elector F ...
, and said upon leaving "I hope that after 300 years, a woman will finally become president".
In a 2016 interview about the
Jan Böhmermann
Jan Böhmermann () (born 23 February 1981) is a German Satire, satirist, journalist, podcast and television host. He also worked as a writer, producer, radio host, and is best known for his activism through publicity stunts.
Early life and edu ...
case of political satire he said he was "convinced that the judge will decide in favor of freedom of expression".
Work
In the beginning Staeck made
woodcut
Woodcut is a relief printing technique in printmaking. An artist carves an image into the surface of a block of wood—typically with gouges—leaving the printing parts level with the surface while removing the non-printing parts. Areas that ...
prints, while from 1967 onward he changed to
screen printing
Screen printing is a printing technique where a mesh is used to transfer ink (or dye) onto a substrate, except in areas made impermeable to the ink by a blocking stencil. A blade or squeegee is moved across the screen in a "flood stroke ...
. Staeck is probably best known for his political
poster art
A poster is a large sheet that is placed either on a public space to promote something or on a wall as decoration. Typically, posters include both typography, textual and graphic elements, although a poster may be either wholly graphical or w ...
. Staeck managed to finance his political actions by selling his artwork in ''Edition Tangente'' publishing house which later came to be known as ''Edition Staeck''. He worked together with other political artists and writers, most notably
Joseph Beuys
Joseph Heinrich Beuys ( ; ; 12 May 1921 – 23 January 1986) was a German artist, teacher, performance artist, and Aesthetics, art theorist whose work reflected concepts of humanism and sociology. With Heinrich Böll, , Caroline Tisdall, Rober ...
,
Panamarenko
Henri Van Herwegen (5 February 1940 – 14 December 2019), known by the pseudonym Panamarenko, was a prominent Assemblage (art), assemblagist Belgian sculptor. Famous for his work with aeroplanes as theme; none of which are able nor constructed t ...
,
Dieter Roth
Dieter Roth (April 21, 1930 – June 5, 1998) was a Swiss artist who gained recognition for his diverse body of work, which included artist's books, editioned prints, sculpture, and creations from found materials, including rotting foodstuffs. ...
,
Nam June Paik
Nam June Paik (; July 20, 1932 – January 29, 2006) was a South Korean artist. He worked with a variety of media and is considered to be the founder of video art. He is credited with the first use (1974) of the term "electronic super highway" ...
,
Wolf Vostell
Wolf Vostell (14 October 1932 – 3 April 1998) was a German painter and sculptor, considered one of the early adopters of video art and installation art and pioneer of Happenings and Fluxus. Techniques such as blurring and Dé-coll/age are ...
,
Daniel Spoerri
Daniel Spoerri (; 27 March 1930 – 6 November 2024) was a Romanian-born Swiss visual artist and writer. He is considered to be an important figure among the artists within the so-called "second wave" of the Pop art movement.
Spoerri is best kno ...
,
Günter Grass
Günter Wilhelm Grass (; 16 October 1927 – 13 April 2015) was a German novelist, poet, playwright, illustrator, graphic artist, sculptor, and recipient of the 1999 Nobel Prize in Literature.
He was born in the Free City of Danzig (now Gda ...
,
Walter Jens
Walter Jens (8 March 1923 – 9 June 2013) was a German philologist, literature historian, critic, university professor and writer.
He was born in Hamburg, and attended the Gelehrtenschule des Johanneums from 1933 to 1941, when he gained his ...
, and
Heinrich Böll
Heinrich Theodor Böll (; ; 21 December 1917 – 16 July 1985) was a German writer. Considered one of Germany's foremost post-World War II writers, Böll received the Georg Büchner Prize (1967) and the Nobel Prize for Literature (1972).
Bio ...
who publicly spoke out in his favour. At the beginning of the 1970s Staeck began his long time collaboration with
Gerhard Steidl
Gerhard Steidl (born 1950) is a German printer and publisher. He is the founder of the publishing company Steidl. In 2020, he was awarded the Gutenberg Prize of the International Gutenberg Society and the City of Mainz.
Life and work
Gerhard Stei ...
.
As of 2012, Klaus Staeck was sued in 41 cases for his artwork to be banned from public, to no avail. A typical press release would point out that he would be "present" in court, very much like an invitation to an exhibition opening that says: "The artist is present." A recent dissertation thesis reviewing the cases brought against Staeck between 1972 and 1999 from research conducted in his own archive concludes that his approach to appear in court and to bring in the media was a concept that "in the end may have proved successful".
As of 2022, Staeck still creates work, especially regarding climate change.
Awards
Klaus Staeck was awarded the first Zille prize for political graphic design in 1970, and the ''
Großes Bundesverdienstkreuz'' in 2007.
Collections
Staeck's work is held in the following permanent collections:
*
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...
, New York: 12 works (as of 15 February 2022)
*
Walker Art Center
The Walker Art Center is a multidisciplinary contemporary art center in the Lowry Hill, Minneapolis, Lowry Hill neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The Walker is one of the most-visited modern and contemporary art museums in ...
, Minneapolis, Minnesota: 3 works (as of 15 February 2022)
Group exhibitions
*''Automania,''
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...
, New York, 2021–22
References
External links
*
Edition StaeckStaeck books published by
Steidl
Steidl is a German-language publisher based in Göttingen, Germany. Founded in 1968 by Gerhard Steidl, it publishes photobooks.
Overview
The company was started by Gerhard Steidl.Bill Kouwenhoven, "Off to see the wizard", ''British Journa ...
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Staeck, Klaus
1938 births
Living people
German graphic designers
20th-century German lawyers
Academic staff of Kunstakademie Düsseldorf
Social Democratic Party of Germany politicians
Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
Recipients of the Order of Merit of Berlin
Members of the Academy of Arts, Berlin
People from Bitterfeld-Wolfen