Art and culture in the media #4

WHAT IF... The enjoyable booklet Die Nacht, in der Kasimir Malewitsch das Schwarze Quadrat klaute... («The Night Kazimir Malevich Stole the Black Square... ») by Hans Traxler contains 8 art stories and is a gem. In a satirical, humorous and light-hearted way, the author (a long-time contributor to the satirical magazines "Pardon" and "Titanic") reveals surprising facts from the lives of famous artists.

ART CRIME FOR THE FIRST... Muse, Mord und Pinselstrich («Muse, Murder and Brushstroke») is the title of the somewhat different art thriller about real works by Edvard Munch and Max Liebermann, among others, at the Kunsthalle in Bremen. The «Bremer Krimistammtisch» gives famous masterpieces a new, exciting face in 22 murderous stories.

ART CRIME FOR THE SECOND... Wer klaute die Mona Lisa? («Who Stole the Mona Lisa? ») is a gripping crime novel written by art historian Susanna Partsch about the world's most famous art thefts, clever detectives, the Mafia, spectacular ransom demands and greedy collectors. All of them real cases that took place between 1911 and 2019.

AND THIRDLY... Der Turm der blauen Pferde («The Tower of the Blue Horses»), a fictional art novel by Bernhard Jaumann about the painting of the same name that actually once existed. The work, painted in 1913 by Franz Marc, who was killed in World War I in 1916, went to a museum in Berlin in 1919, was confiscated by the Nazis in 1937 and has been considered lost since the end of World War II until today... fascinating material for a captivating crime novel.

SUPER ART YEAR TRIO 2022 Venice has been celebrating its Biennale for weeks (until 27.11.), Kassel its Documenta 15 (until 25.9.) and number 3 of the Super Art Trio 2022, the European Biennale Manifesta, which takes place in always new places, runs until 30.10. in Prishtina, Kosovo. The diverse programme of art, performances, events and workshops explores the conquest of public spaces.