The best posters of 2016
Posters and bills are all over the place. Every year, artists from German-speaking countries select the 100 best ones. Our gallery shows a selection of the winners.
Beuys criticising capitalism
Under the slogan "das kapital. schuld - territorium - utopie" ('capital. guilt-territory-utopia'), an exhibition in Hamburger Bahnhof in Berlin focused last year on works by Joseph Beuys that he created in the 1970's. He didn't place money, but the creative potential of people at the center of economic thinking - along the lines of "art = capital."
War in front of your door
In his exhibition "This Day At Ten," Lebanese artist Akram Zaatari describes how he survived the war in Lebanon in 1982. The 16-year old decided to depict the war between Israel and his home country with pictures and tape recordings taken from his parents' home. This collection was on show from May to July 2016 in Kunsthaus Zurich.
Listening
"Listening" was the title of an event series over seven days in Berlin by choreographer Sasha Waltz, focusing on current crises. Alternating with her dance piece "Continu," conversation rounds were held on the topics film, literature and political participation attended by artists, journalists, politicians and human rights activists.
Wide awake
Cola wakes you up, cola with extra caffeine even more so. With its billboard series, the Hamburg-based beverage company "fritz-kola" ended up among winners of the 100 best posters of 2016 in the German-speaking world. It's quite rare that representatives of the advertising industry are among the winners.
Dangerous weapon
Friedrich Dürrenmatt's work "The Physicists" combines humor and fear. The drama focuses on a discovery that was so powerful that it could destroy the entire world. In his work, the author raised doubts about the responsibility of scientists. The theater play premiered in Zurich in 1962. At the beginning of 2017, it was presented in the state theater of Mainz.
Not a one-sided matter
With this devilish greeting, the poster made it into the top 100 posters. Its special feature is that it is printed on both sides. On the front, there is a visualization of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's "Faust," whereas the entire text of the tragedy is printed on the back.
Abstract comic art
The poster printed with fluorescent colors promotes the yearly Comics Festival in the French city of Aix-en-Provence. It's the work of Berlin-based graphic artist and comics designer Henning Wagenbreth. The use of bright colors and the design with numerous abstract mythical creatures is typical of Wagenbreth's style.
Beyond welcome
"Beyond Welcome" is the title of a poster series promoting an event series with the same title that took place in Berlin last year. Apart from its publicity purpose, the posters were also intended as a thought-provoking impulse to stir debate in several languages on the problems of refugees in Germany.
A formal affair
This poster entitled "Neighbors" was created by Timo Lenzen of Frankfurt. In cooperation with an initiative of designers and artists, the North Norwegian Center for Design and Architecture called on people to create posters on the topic of "shape." Lenzen's contribution was quickly picked out as one of the best 100 of 2016.
A quarter of a century plus five
On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of "PAGE Magazine for Media Design," Swiss artist Josh Schaub created a cover illustrating seemingly randomly placed information about the number 30, while also presenting an arithmetic problem to the viewers. Over the last few years, his posters - which always include artistic and informative aspects - reached the top 100 selection several times.