''Zakpo: Monatsschrift für Zeitkunst, Zeitbetrachtung, Satire und Karikatur'' ("Zakpo: monthly journal of contemporary art, viewing of the times, satire and caricature") was an artists' magazine published in 1930 in

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, by the actor Hermann Brand and the artists

Karl Hubbuch Karl Hubbuch (21 November 1891 – 26 December 1979) was a German painter, printmaker, and draftsman associated with the New Objectivity. Life Hubbuch was born in Karlsruhe and baptised in the Roman Catholic church. From 1908 to 1912, he studie ...

, Erwin Spuler and

Anton Weber Anton may refer to: People *Anton (given name), including a list of people with the given name *Anton (surname) Places *Anton Municipality, Bulgaria **Anton, Sofia Province, a village *Antón District, Panama **Antón, a town and capital of th ...

who had been art students at Badischen Landeskunstschule in Karlsruhe. Two issues were published, in May and June 1930. Contributors were Hermann Brand, Karl Hubbuch, Erwin Spuler, Anton Weber, Martha Kuhn, Hermann Trautwein, Stefan Walz and others. Hubbuch and Spuler wrote much of the material under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

s Boris Burawoy, Booby Neeter, Franz Radek, and Pierre Raquet. The cover of the first issue was a

lithograph Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German a ...

by Spuler, depicting a

gargantua ''The Life of Gargantua and of Pantagruel'' (french: La vie de Gargantua et de Pantagruel) is a pentalogy of novels written in the 16th century by François Rabelais, telling the adventures of two giants, Gargantua ( , ) and his son Pantagruel ...

n creature standing astride a river that runs through a city. The creature's torso is a building from which tiny figures are falling or leaping. Three men stand on the building's balcony, one of whom holds a

megaphone A megaphone, speaking-trumpet, bullhorn, blowhorn, or loudhailer is usually a portable or hand-held, cone-shaped acoustic horn used to amplify a person's voice or other sounds and direct it in a given direction. The sound is introduced into ...

. A banner on the building reads, ''Ausverkauf—Weisse woch(e)'' ("sellout—white sale"). The meaning of the word ''Zakpo'' was never explained in the pages of the journal, but has been interpreted as an

acronym An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in ''NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, as ...

or an abbreviation: the art historian Wolfgang Grape has suggested that the two last letters may allude to ''politik'' ("politics") or ''polizei'' ("police"), while others have proposed ''Zeitschrift Aktiver Kommunistischer Partei Opposition'' ("Magazine active in communist party opposition").Spuler, et al., 2001, p. 35 In 1980, a facsimile was issued in an edition of 500 numbered copies, with an introduction by Wolfgang Grape.

Notes

References

*Michalski, Sergiusz (1994). ''New Objectivity''. Cologne: Benedikt Taschen. *Spuler, E., Bieber, S., Rödiger-Diruf, E., & Merkel, U. (2001). ''Erwin Spuler Maler, Zeichner, Graphiker, Plastiker, Photograph, Filmemacher''. Karlsruhe: Städtische Galerie. (German language) * Hans-Jürgen Tast (Hrsg.): ''Anton Weber. Der Kunstfotograf. Hörspiel und Porträt-Aufnahmen''. Schellerten 2004, . * Hans-Jürgen Tast (Hrsg.): ''Anton Weber (1904–1979) - Filmarchitekt bei der UFA''. Schellerten 2005, .

External links

Stadtwiki Karlsruhe
German language 1930 establishments in Germany 1930 disestablishments in Germany Defunct magazines published in Germany German-language magazines Magazines established in 1930 Magazines disestablished in 1930 Mass media in Karlsruhe Monthly magazines published in Germany Satirical magazines published in Germany Visual arts magazines published in Germany {{italic title