Hans Moser (caricaturist)

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Hans Moser (born February 13, 1922 in Neuhausen am Rheinfall ; † October 4, 2012 in Trun ) was a Swiss cartoonist , caricaturist and columnist .

Life

Youth and World War II

Hans Moser grew up in Switzerland in the first few years. His father, Johann Arthur Moser, went to the USA in 1926 after losing his job with the air force to start a new life. In 1928 he was followed by his wife Laura Barbara and their two children Hans and Laura Moser. Due to the stock market crash in 1929 , the family lived in poor conditions. After his mother's death in 1932, Hans Moser came to live with his uncle Hermann Beutler and his aunt Frieda Moser Beutler in Tennessee for a few years, and his deaf and mute sister Laura went to a home. The siblings returned to their father in 1938, who had married a second time in 1935.

In 1940, after completing his school education, Hans Moser did various jobs. He first worked at Firemans Insurance Company in Newark, and later at a screen printing company.

Eight months after the attack on Pearl Harbor , Hans Moser volunteered for military service. After training at Fort Hale, Colorado and in the desert of southern California, he was assigned to the 10th Mountain Division. He served in the Aleutian Islands (including Kiska ) and then in Europe, where he arrived in Naples in 1944 with the 1st Company of the 87th Mountain Infantry Regiment .

In November 1945 Hans Moser became a civilian again and was later awarded the Purple Heart for a wound he had suffered . He received the Bronze Star Medal for his involvement in the capture of 23 German soldiers in a house surrounded by mines.

After the war he continued his studies in art, which he had started in earlier years, which was also financially supported by the military. First in New York , where he also decorated shop windows for “Lord & Taylors” on Fifth Avenue and worked as a set designer for a theater. He completed his training in New York with a graphics diploma from the Parson's School of Design before he went to Lausanne after a six-month summer school in Paris , where he attended and successfully completed the Ecole des Beaux-Arts et d'Art appliqué.

Career

During many decades he created numerous humorous cartoons for the satirical magazine Nebelspalter . He reached a large readership with the figure of "Mr. Schüüch" invented for the Nebelspalter. Mr. Schüüch is characterized by the fact that he doesn't want to step on anyone's feet and always tries to keep up appearances. Moser was partly inspired by his own person. The inconspicuous contemporary's experiences were soon published in his own cartoon book.

In 1948 Moser was able to publish his first drawing in the newspaper "Tribune de Genève", followed by colored cover pictures for "Schweizer Spiegel". During a visit to Denmark he met Sonya Ytteborg, whom he married in Geneva . In 1949 they moved to Denmark. His wife Sonya brought three children into the marriage, and a few years later they had a daughter. In Denmark, Hans Moser regularly drew for the newspaper “ Politiken ”. He also wrote numerous columns, which were sometimes published in combination with his drawings and sometimes independently.

Although he lived in Denmark until 1961, from 1953 he was able to gain a foothold as a draftsman at Nebelspalter and he became one of the most published artists for this magazine. From 1961 Hans Moser lived in Laax . While Hans Moser worked secluded in his house, his wife Sonya opened a boutique in Laax, where she worked for years. She passed away in 2003.

In addition to the figure of Mr. Schüüch, which he drew until 2000, he also created the figure “Closchi” for the newspaper “Arena alva”, which was also very successful. “Arena alva” was the second publication for which he regularly created cartoons for several decades.

In addition to his numerous drawings, Hans Moser also worked as a columnist and wrote articles and short stories for publications such as “Die Weltwoche” and “Die Randspalte”.

With his drawings he often devoted himself to the destruction of the environment and the handling of animals, which he brought before the viewer critically. For this commitment he was awarded the binding recognition in 1990, which is awarded for special commitment to nature and environmental protection.

In the course of his career, Hans Moser received numerous other awards for his work as a cartoonist and caricaturist. These include a. the gold medal at the 2nd Biennale dell'Umorismo nell'Arte in Tolentino, Italy 1963, the gold medal at the Salone Internazionale del Francobello in Torino, Italy 1969 for the design of a postage stamp, the special prize of the newspaper "Nova Makedonja" at the Galerie mondiale de la caricature Skopje 1970, the Golden Palm at the 28th International Exhibition in Bordighera (Italy) and the Türler Press Prize 1986.

The municipality of Laax honored Hans Moser with its own street, the Senda Hans Moser, and the hiking trail from Scheia to Spalegna was decorated with numerous boards, which, in addition to a cartoon by Hans Moser, each show a Rhaeto-Romanic sentence and the German translation.

The published books with Hans Moser's drawings include Die Mänätscher (71), Herr Schüüch lives on (73), Medizynisches (84), Kopf hoch, Herr Schüüch (87), Herr Schüüch - From the life of a contemporary , The eternally young folk song , Mir's all sausage ... , Heitere surgery , to laugh is as important win , Humor at the age ... , patient XY , penny, in for even and free ride .

Hans Moser died on October 4, 2012 in Trun .

Web links
personal data
SURNAME Moser, Hans
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss cartoonist and author
DATE OF BIRTH February 13, 1922
PLACE OF BIRTH Neuhausen am Rheinfall
DATE OF DEATH 4th October 2012
Place of death Trun