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The political photomontages and collaged book covers of John Heartfield (1891–1968) have their origins in Berlin Dada. With gripping imagery and trenchant humour, the artist fought against war and Fascism, using works whose explosive power has lost none of its impact today. Like his animated films and theatre work, they are discussed in the context of his own and others' artworks, as well as the archive materials and images he collected. Supplemented by contemporary artists' statements.

John Heartfield – photomonteur, graphic artist and set designer – used this Berlin address book after he returned from exile in London and settled in the GDR. It is now kept in the archives of the Akademie der Künste. Many entries are accompanied by previously unpublished correspondence and photographs, offering profound commentary. Excerpts from the address book, pertaining to about 120 addressees, are enriched with biographical notes, anecdotes and quotes from letters.

To the online edition

Journal der Künste 12 with the following articles: Aleida Assmann on the importance of body memory; Enis Maci with Fackelmarsch mit Blob, oder: Wir und andere Phantome; Volker Braun, Klaus Wolfram and Katharina Warda on a society thirty years after the fall of the Wall; Tim Rieniets, Matthias Sauerbruch and Jörn Walter on the “Urbainable–stadthaltig” exhibition about the role of the city and its architecture in times of new challenges. News from the archives include articles on the exceptional artist Christoph Schlingensief, the exiled writer Hedda Zinner, the Akademie exhibitions 1786–1943 and much more.

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Reading samples

• Tim Rieniets, Matthias Sauerbruch and Jörn Walter: urbainable/stadthaltig: How to Sustain the Freedom of the City in Times of Climate Crisis (PDF)
• Maria Gough: Brothers in Arms: The Making and Migration of Black and White Unity (PDF)
• Klaus Wolfram: What Was the East Germans' Political Energy, and How Did It End? (PDF)

The conceptual art of Timm Ulrichs, which critically reflects the strategies of visual representation against the background of the “Linguistic Turn”, is the focus of Peter Weibel's essay. The media artist and theorist shows how Ulrichs – by demonstrating the enchantment of the mind through words and images – skilfully bridges the gap between innovation and creativity so that he always hits the mark artistically.