Arthur Epperlein

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Arthur Epperlein , stage name Epper , (born June 4, 1919 in Danzig , † December 29, 1995 in Halle (Saale) ) was a German author and cartoonist .

Live and act

In his youth and student days he worked as a musician and theater pianist. Among other things, he played in several big bands . Primarily he studied graphics , but also took a course in medicine for two semesters , which gave him a special relationship with the medical profession. This was later reflected in several of his cartoons.

His talent for drawing was discovered by the Halle daily newspaper Freiheit , on whose behalf he made almost five thousand humorous caricatures under the abbreviation Epper over a period of thirty years . In the 1970s and 1980s in particular, his works were printed weekly and often related to current topics such as: 33 degrees in the shade , attention to the flu or Happy Easter . They consisted of a set of six to ten caricatures that filled an entire page. The main focus of his work was the chaotic everyday life of the GDR citizen. His revealing style of painting was typical of him. For Epperlein nudity was just as little taboo as political or socially critical issues.

Another characteristic part of his work was the sketching of stereotypes and prejudices with which he also expressed his own political views. After the fall of the Wall , for example, he set his sights on the appearance of the market economy . He portrayed them primarily through crooks and swindlers who embodied party doctrines and capitalism .

Epperlein always signed his pictures with a certain logo, a small black cardboard sign with the inscription "Epper", which mostly hung on the headline of the respective picture set.

In the FRG his work was first published by Stern in 1967 . This was later followed by publications in Hörzu , Bunten , Quick , Eulenspiegel , the Free World and other newspapers , among others . His drawings have also been published in Poland , Bulgaria , Austria , Denmark, the former USSR and the USA .

The Epper caricatures were published by Eulenspiegel-Verlag , later by Schneidewind Verlag, in fourteen so-called “Epper books” with a total circulation of over a million copies. The city of Halle has owned a large collection of Epper works since 1999, which is stored and maintained in the city archive and is accessible to the public.

Despite his success, Epperlein described the profession of humor draftsman himself as a sad profession, which he actually never wanted to belong to, as he was always challenged to invent new mishaps and catastrophes on request.

literature

  • Collective of authors: Humor is just the courtesy of despair. From the life of Arthur Epperlein. Schneidewind, Halle (Saale) 2019, ISBN 978-3-939040-65-1 .

Web links

swell

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ A humorous draftsman , known and popular - Artur Epperlein always worked at night - Today burial on MZ-Web.de (accessed on June 16, 2011)
personal data
SURNAME Epperlein, Arthur
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Epper
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German author and cartoonist
DATE OF BIRTH June 4, 1919
PLACE OF BIRTH Danzig
DATE OF DEATH December 29, 1995
Place of death Hall