The work of Klaus Staeck, who is the current president of the Academy of Arts, was never shown to this extent in a Berlin exhibition. Since the 60s he produced posters connecting photomontage and resolute political commitment. Thus he obviously takes up the tradition of Berlin Dada. Tying in with this subject his work in the following period set standards concerning media based design ranging all the way from today’s advertising to political satire.
The exhibition, which shows Staeck’s development from his beginnings to the present day comprises the following main fields:
1. Staeck’s graphic work, in particular his use of the photomontage technique in posters that show that his roots reach back to Dada Berlin.
2. His for the most part unknown photographic work, in particular the photographic series on the city of Bitterfeld, that he did in the years before and after the Fall of the Wall, which ranges between artistic survey and photographed historiography
3. A poster campaign beyond the usual scope with original posters by Staeck will promote the exhibition. Thus, Staeck’s art will be brought to the public, which is exactly where it had its location and function before. Seeing these posters at billboards where usually “only” advertisement is assumed gives an idea of how much distractedness and confusion Staeck wanted to cause in Germany’s eventful years around 1968.