When asked, 'What is East German Now', Sebastian Jung's (*1987) answer is far from being one-dimensional or monocausal. On the contrary, his astute observations of all the unrealised promises of salvation are equally empathetic and witty. Revealingly, he intensifies and delegates the grotesque tension between oppressive solitude, consumption, and amusement to the beholders, whose laughter gets stuck in their throats. Despite its formal humour and wit, the works in Jung's new book demand a distinguished discussion on violence, hatred, and solitude in East Germany. Text in English and German.

Kurt W. Streubel (1921-2002) war ein Maler und Druckgrafiker, der sich trotz widriger Umstande in der DDR konsequent der abstrakten Kunst verschrieb. Seit 1951 dem Formalismusverdikt unterlegen, schuf Streubel in innerer Emigration in Gotha lebend ein bemerkenswertes OEuvre, das abstrakte und ungegenstandliche Werke, konkrete Poesie, Textilentwu rfe und Gebrauchsgrafik umfasst. Wenngleich die kunsthistorische Forschung seit ein paar Jahren die Kunst der DDR differenzierter in den Blick nimmt, findet die gegenstandslose, konkrete und konstruktivistische Kunst noch immer wenig Beachtung - so auch Streubel. Sein durch das Studium an der Nachfolgeinstitution des Bauhauses in Weimar gepragtes und an der europaischen Moderne orientiertes Werk wird in diesem Band erstmals umfassend kunsthistorisch beleuchtet.

At the centre of Liz Bachhuber's (*1953) work are the aesthetic and narrative qualities of found materials: objects with biographical relevance, often in combination with natural matter. Characteristic of her practice are the analytical recognition and uncovering of the actual values of materials usually considered worthless. In the sense of an archaeology of the everyday, her finds turn into cultural artefacts. With essays by Verena Krieger, David Galloway, and Michael Luthy, her new book School's Out! gathers all of her on-site installations since 1989 and after 25 years of teaching at the Bauhaus-University Weimar. Text in English and German.