26 February 2020

New publication: “Picture Cellar. Murals in the Cellar of the Akademie der Künste”

Following the opening of the cellar itself in autumn of 2018, a new illustrated book is now being published, entitled Picture Cellar. Murals in the Cellar of the Akademie der Künste.

Featuring numerous previously unpublished photographs and archival finds, the publication revolves around the paintings created for carnival celebrations in 1957/1958 by master students of the Akademie der Künste in the former coal cellar of the Akademie on Pariser Platz. The book is aimed at a broad audience, with informative texts on the artists involved, as well as contemporary and new photos of the murals themselves. At the same time, new archival material and in-depth essays make it appealing to experts as well.

With their carnival-themed wall art, Manfred Böttcher, Harald Metzkes, Ernst Schroeder, Werner Stötzer and Horst Zickelbein left evidence of the young generation's opposition within East Berlin painting. These artists were instrumental in the development of the so-called Berlin School. Based on the “Black Paintings” that came about during this time, the book's publishers undertake a reassessment of art in the GDR and its place in postwar European modernity. Among the questions they explore is whether, from today's perspective, the categories figurative and abstract should be seen more as ideological concepts of the 20th century.

The publication also explores the history of the Akademie der Künste and its building on Pariser Platz - starting with the 1907 move of the Königliche Akademie into the building and the presidency of Max Liebermann, to its use by Albert Speer starting in 1938, the reopening as Akademie der Künste in 1950, the plan for a European Artist Society under Heiner Müller to the opening of the new building in 2005. The publication was made possible by an anniversary donation from the Gesellschaft der Freunde der Akademie der Künste (Society of Friends of the Akademie der Künste).

Picture Cellar. Murals in the Cellar of the Akademie der Künste
Angela Lammert and Carolin Schönemann on behalf of the Akademie der Künste (Ed.), visual concept by Mark Lammert, photo essay by Roman März
208 pages, 100 illustrations
Akademie der Künste, Berlin 2019, ISBN 978-3-88331-238-5, €15

Review copies:
Please send inquiries, stating the medium and the planned date of review, to: presse@adk.de

The Picture Cellar is open to the public Wednesdays at 6 pm in the context of a regular guided tour: admission € 6/4, tickets available at: www.adk.de/tickets.

Special guided tours with Carolin Schönemann or Angela Lammert by appointment at kunstwelten@adk.de.