Werkschau Augsburg 2020/2021

The Werkschau Augsburg 2020/2021 catalog is accompanying the Werkschau 2020/2021. The Werkschau takes place at Zoom on Friday, March 19th.

This years catalog is very special edition, which was created in the course “Illustration Project Werkschau” by communication design students at Augsburg University of Applied Sciences. The catalog Gesichter und Geschichten (Faces and Stories) is a farewell and a memory, with portrait illustrations that show the graduates of the Faculty of Design.

To be able to look into the faces of all the graduates once again and bring them to life as individuals—that was the intention with which the students of the “Illustration Project Werkschau” designed the catalog accompanying the Werkschau 2020/2021. For the first time, they exclusively used illustrations as a creative medium. Under the title Gesichter und Geschichten, the 61 graduates of the winter semester 2020/2021 are presented on around 160 pages. The very individual illustrative portraits are accompanied by interviews. This creates a diverse picture of the attitudes, moods, hopes, and insights of these young graduates.

According to project manager Professor Mike Loos, this approach was chosen quite intentionally, in a semester in which people only encountered each other in masks or as zoom icons. The Werkschau catalog is clearly intended as a response to the lack of personal contact. “At least the graduates should be able to remember each other by book,” says Loos. Since illustration is a very slow technique compared to photography, the project took a lot of time. The catalog now accompanies this semester’s purely virtual exhibition of all the graduates work. The catalog’s rather elaborate illustrations are complemented by portrait drawings reduced to simple lines, which symbolize the coming and going of the graduates in the form of small animated films. 

The special appeal of illustrations lies above all in presenting a person to the viewer in a truthful way, bringing him or her closer to us, as Loos explains. He says: “There are several truths in every portrait. There can be a representation of external details whose mimetic effect amazes us. In addition, however, there is also a form of likeness that deals with the interior of the person portrayed, clarifies his or her essence.” Before a portrait painting, in fact, at least two people would meet each other: The sitter in the painting and the viewer in front of the painting. They communicate with each other, according to Loos. He says, “Strictly speaking, there is always a third person involved who speaks to us secretly—the creator of the painting. Because they, too, reveal something of themselves to us through their work, become experienceable as designing individuals.”

At a time when faces are disappearing behind masks and every contact is becoming anonymous, it seemed logical to focus on the graduates as individuals one last time, to show their faces and let them have their say. Gesichter und Geschichten—a work full of individually designed portraits as a farewell and memory.

Werkschau Augsburg 2020/2021 catalog

Title: Gesichter und Geschichten (Faces and Stories)
Volume: 160 pages
Price: € 15.–
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Werkschau Augsburg 2020/2021

When?
Friday, March 19th, 2021, 3 p.m. until open End 

Where?
online on Zoom

What?
After the welcoming and honoring of the graduates, four guest lectures by renowned illustrators are planned:
- Katharina Bitzl (alumna of Augsburg University of Applied Sciences, illustrator, and designer from Augsburg)
- Karina Shor (illustrator from Israel)
- Zeloot (illustrator from Holland)
- Raban Ruddigkeit (illustrator / typographer / designer from Berlin)
Afterwards: Werkschauslam—the graduates introduce themselves and their work in short presentations. Afterwards, the university's DJ will ring in the Werkschau party in the photo studio. Dancing to the livestream at home in front of the screen. Anyone can zoom in, and this can become a virtual group experience, similar to the old Werkschau parties. End open!

On Saturday, March 20th, individual Zoom consultations with graduates will be available in the afternoon. Times will be determined by graduates and announced on the Werkschau website.

Find more information on the Werkschau Augsburg Instagram and facebook page.