Lothar Otto (cartoonist)

Motif on his tombstone

Lothar Otto (born March 24, 1932 in Chemnitz ; † August 7, 2019 in Leipzig ) was a German cartoonist and book illustrator . Among other things, he worked for the satirical magazine Eulenspiegel for 58 years .

Life

After attending school, Lothar Otto learned the profession of technical draftsman , before studying at the University of Graphic and Book Art in Leipzig from 1952 to 1957 . Although he was previously interested in caricatures, it wasn't until the end of his studies that he realized that these should become his profession.

Nevertheless, after completing his studies, he initially took a job at the DEWAG regional branch in Gera . From 1960 he worked as a freelance graphic designer and illustrator and took up residence in Leipzig.

His gravestone in the south cemetery in Leipzig

In 1961 his first drawing appeared on the “Vegetable Garden” page of Eulenspiegel, which was dedicated to the young artists. He remained loyal to the Eulenspiegel until the last year of his life. From 1963 he drew for the women's magazine Für Dich , from 1966 for the Free World and from 1967 for the magazine . His drawings appeared from 1974 to 1987 in the Leipziger Volkszeitung , in the GDR youth magazine Neues Leben , but also in the renowned Swiss satirical magazine Nebelspalter . From 1996 to 2007 he created 113 drawings for the Gewandhausmaus section of the Leipzig music-illustrated Gewandhaus magazine .

Lothar Otto illustrated numerous books and also published his own books, with children's books playing a special role. He also knew how to not only capture his humor visually, but also loved play on words like “Ottography” and “Popogei & Telefant”.

Otto was also active in graphics far away from printed drawings. He designed wall designs for kindergartens and furnishings for cafés. He designed break tables for television in the GDR and was involved in the production of an animation film in 1989 .

Lothar Otto's cartoons received national and international recognition. He received more than 25 prizes at exhibitions and competitions.

Memberships

• 1957–1990 Association of Visual Artists of the GDR
• since 2002 Federal Association of Visual Artists
• since 2002 Wilhelm Busch Society
• since 2012 Cartoonlobby eV

Books

• Childishness . Children's book publisher, 1975
• Ottilie . Children's book publisher, 1980
• Popogei & Telefant . Eulenspiegel-Verlag, 1980
• Ottografieh . Children's book publisher, 1988 ISBN 978-3-358-00471-5
• Your Highness lets you ask! Eulenspiegel-Verlag, 1989 ISBN 978-3-359-00338-0
• Pun casino . Eulenspiegel-Verlag, 1994, ISBN 978-3-359-00751-7
• Inventory at Lothar Otto . Passage-Verlag, 1993, ISBN 978-3-932900-85-3

Book illustrations (selection)

• Kito Lorenc : The sky goat. Sorbian folk rhymes and animal tales . Children's book publisher 1982
• Gottfried Herold : My Emil's name is Dachshund . Children's book publisher 1987
• Johannes Conrad : The pineal gland and other beautiful stories . Eulenspiegel Verlag 1988, ISBN 978-3-359-00223-9
• Bernd-Lutz Lange : German-Saxon: Machense geene Fissemaddenzchn! Eichborn 1991, ISBN 978-3-8218-1263-2
• Ulf Annel : Good mood booklet . BuchVerlag für die Frau, 2011, ISBN 978-3-897983-40-3
• Bernd-Lutz Lange: Tea kettle and Othello . Structure Verlag 2015, ISBN 978-3-351036-38-6

Web links

• Lothar Otto - the classic East German cartoon turns 85. In: openpr.de. Retrieved December 8, 2019 . 
• Lothar Otto. In: cartooncommerz.de. Retrieved December 9, 2019 . 
• On the death of Leipzig cartoonist Lothar Otto. In: CartoonJournal, August 20, 2019. Retrieved December 9, 2019 . 

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Lothar Otto. In: Nebelspalter. Retrieved December 10, 2019 . 
2. ^ Claudius Böhm: Obituary . In Gewandhausmagazin No. 105, Winter 2019/2020, pp. 44/45
3. ↑ Description of a tiger. In: film database. Retrieved December 10, 2019 . 
4. ↑ The cartoon lobbyists. Retrieved December 9, 2019 .