How does a comic from the GDR stay alive for decades? What creates the myth surrounding the Mosaik magazines and their creator? And what do the fans have to do with all of this?
To mark the 100th birthday of Johannes Hegenbarth – better known by his pen name Hannes Hegen – and 70 years after the publication of the first Mosaik issue, the Leipzig Forum for Contemporary History is once again taking you on a journey into the colorful, adventurous world of the Digedags.
The compact gallery exhibition tells the story of an artist who, with intelligence, inventiveness, and perseverance, fought for creative freedom – amidst the state-controlled cultural scene of the GDR. Hegen let his characters travel through space and time in more than 200 stories. For over two decades, he managed to remain largely independent in terms of content and finance with his mosaic – something few achieved under socialism.
The exhibition explores Hannes Hegen's artistic beginnings with the start of his studies in Leipzig in 1947, the peak of his success from the mid-1950s together with the Mosaik collective, and his retreat into private life after breaking with the FDJ publishing house Junge Welt and his team in 1975.
The exhibition also places special emphasis on fan culture. Insights into the scene demonstrate that enthusiasm for the mosaic remains unbroken to this day. For the first time, a fan group was part of the exhibition team, co-curating a section and contributing unusual loans such as a detailed cardboard replica of "Rübenstein Castle" and rare fanzines from the 1990s.
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