H. C. Artmann, Der Aeronautische Sindtbart
Dreißigstes Abendteur avt Capitul
In 1987, a colleague gave me an old zinc plate that showed a couple obviously dressed to go to the opera or the theater: she in a fur coat, he in a top hat. I was once again reminded of Artmann’s Aeronautischer Sindtbart, in whose 30th chapter a theater visit plays an important role. The random appearance of this printing plate gave me the opportunity to illustrate another chapter from Artmann’s text, using the same principle as for the 20th chapter I did in 1983. Once again, one identical printing plate is used on each page, but is constantly varied by applying different colors and overprinting, mainly with linocuts, to concretely illustrate the text. The couple on the plate take on the roles from the Artmann text. I will give an example to explain the roles that color and shape play here. Captain Artmann and his servant Rufus are in a café in a “medium-sized” state capital. Rufus has just called the waiter over, and – to the Captain’s amazement – pays for much more than they have consumed. They converse quietly. The small red line on the left side represents what they are talking about. No one outside the black frame is to hear what they are saying. But maybe someone does hear something, because the inept Rufus whispers so loudly (as suggested by the 28-point type?). "Do you know who that old, discreet waiter was?" asks Rufus. So it’s about the waiter, and the red color has something to do with it. On the right side, the red line takes on a shape. On the next double page, the red shapes come together and become more concentrated (like an animation). "That waiter is the notorious Thelonius C. Vukovic". A page later, the image tilts again, falling apart, and the familiar pair shows up again, still completely under the spell of the red Vukovic. "Thelonius C. Vukovic is the worst arch-magician in Europe. If I had not paid him straight away today, the two of us would never have gotten to the theater door". Vukovic turns up two more times in the book. Now we know right away who he is, even on the last double page when all of the characters from the text return for the finale, while a large, rust-red velvet curtain is creakily drawn across the drama.
70 pages, uncoated paper, hand-set, letterpress printed, paper-over-board, 16 x 24.5 cm,
120 numbered and signed copies. Lahnstein 1987.