Category: Artists

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Imagery of animals

The imagery of animals by humans is most likely the oldest art tradition that have left traces to our time. The oldest images of animals can be admired in caves, on pottery or jewellery. Since the early days there have always been a blend of reality and mythology when representing animals and the animal world. Beyond hunting of animals, the biological interest in animals has fascinated many artists as well. Just as we are about to redefine the borders between human and artificial intelligence, the history of depiction of animals and humans is full of examples of blending characteristics of each or ascribing characteristics of one species onto another one. The “Galerie Mazarin” of the BNF in Paris (2026-27) shows a fine selection of art work across centuries which exemplifies this co-evolution of artistic representations and the creation of mythical narratives through the imagery of animals. (Image: Albrecht Dürer, BNF Rhinocerus 1515)

Albrecht Duerer 1515 Rhinocerus BNF 2026-10
Albrecht Dürer 1515 Rhinocerus BNF 2026-10
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Book fair hope

The Frankfurt book fair attracted 236.000 visitors in 2026, similar to the previous year. There have been about 50% professionals and 50% general interest audiences. The busy times on the fair are marked by about 4000 exhibitors and 3800 events. Great efforts have been made to facilitate circulation on the fair to quickly move between country pavilions and events on stages across the whole area. In times of pervasive online content provision, the face-to-face meeting of authors and audiences as well professional book traders and related professionals remains an important event. With broad media coverage, the event remains a hallmark for any democratic society. Keep thinking big.

Frankfurt book fair 2026
Frankfurt book fair 2026
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Booktok OMG OMG

The Frankfurt Book Fair #fbm26 has made considerable efforts to make it easy for the production of booktok content. The phenomenon of short recommendations of books by mostly young enthusiastic persons, some of them actually readers, has a proven record to influence decisions to buy books. In seemingly frank talks, booktokers admit that the first best solution is to go and get your copy or copies of different editions. Second best is actually reading them. Nothing wrong with that. After all, we all have many books on our shelves which we haven’t read or we haven’t finished reading yet – considering some books you want to refer back to several times or at a later stage in your life.
In 2026 the prestigious “Julius-Campe-Preis” for literary criticism and the promotion of reading (own translation) has been awarded to a critic commentator and booktoker, Thomas Sachsenmaier with an exceptionally broad reach in Germany. There are still too few literature critics who reach audiences across generations because of their presence in all media channels with high professional standards. Interesting “Booktok” is a skill, just like “youtuber” is a performance-based video production. “Oh-my-God (OMG), the times are a changing”.

Julius-Campe-Preis-an-Thomas-Sachsenmaier-2026
Julius-Campe-Preis-an-Thomas-Sachsenmaier-2026
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Death and rebirth of author

Over the long run there have always been times when the death of the author had been announced. With the arrival of the printing press and the ease to mass produce prints and books, previous authors’ books could flood the market. Obviously this could put new authors at the risk of finding no audience anymore as printers asked cash upfront before printing. The economic risks were solely on the author’s side. Ebooks became a risk to publishers as authors had an additional alternative way of publishing. Then the advent of the internet changed again the world of books and publishing. Global distribution became an option. Thousands of authors could have died because authors from around the globe became more accessible. None of these threats have materialized. Publishing on a global scale is fine, only European publishers are concerned about a shrinking market. AI facilitates entry in new markets and AI could kill already struggling authors. Instead, AI opens up lots of opportunities for authors as well. Editing and translation services become more accessible to low budget production. The next wave, some claim a tsunami, shall submerge the publishing industry. Quality, selection of innovative content and events associated with the content shall still make the difference. There is neither the death of the author nor of the publishing world due to AI. On a global scale many new voices can be discovered, probably assisted a great deal by AI who would never have dared to become an author and to enter into the world of publishing or self-publishing. (Image: Korea at Frankfurt book fair 2026-10)

Korea at Frankfurt book fair 2026-10

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Self-publishing as resistance

Self-publishing has been the title of a historical account of the Czech publishing since the Nazi occupation of Czechia since 1939 (mfk-frankfurt.de). Forced into exile or clandestine underground publishing, many publishers and authors had no other option than to go it by themselves. The underground press during the Soviet union dominated communist rule in Czechia had to rely on similar methods, since censorship as well as persecution were a consequence of illegal writing and publishing activities. In the 21st century self-publishing has become much easier, but the persecution even beyond national borders continues to be a threat in many parts of the world.
Platforms that enable a visibility beyond publishing houses and institutional support broaden the scope for authors to reach various audiences as part of  democracy’s vitality and preparedness. Who knows about the grip on publishing of authoritarian and autocratic regimes in advance and their thirst to curb alternative opinions? Historical evidence points to the need to have self-publishing and publishing in exile as an important additional defence mechanism of democracies (Image: Czechia pavilion at Frankfurt book fair 2026)

Czechia pavilion Frankfurt book fair publishing 2026
Czechia pavilion Frankfurt book fair publishing 2026
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Out of Czechia

On the occasion of the Czech Pavilion at the Frankfurt Book Fair, Hermann, Sander and Suva (2026) accomplished an astonishing project and an anthology. In viewing Czechia, beyond the well-known city of Prague, 12 authors contribute short stories from a temporary resident’s perspective in a provincial town. “Minout Prahu” in Czech, “Jenseits von Prag” in German built and continues to build bridges between cultures of neighbors who often claim to know a lot about the other culture, and yet, a more thorough understanding remains a “Böhmisches Dorf”, a Bohemian village, but better translated as “is all Greek to them”. In a continuation of “Czechia: A country on the Coast” at the 2026 book fair in Frankfurt, we are no longer surprised to read (p.82) that in town Ostrava with a industrial and mining history, the European Championship of “Beach Volleyball (U20)” took place with many spectators. There is a lot to discover in and about Czechia beyond the famous authors like Kafka and Kundera and the journey to seek for the beaches in Czechia.

Jenseits-von-Prag-published-on-occasion-of-Frankfurt-book-fair-2026-Czechia-Pavilion

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Czechia coast

At the Frankfurt book fair we dream ourselves into the imagery of Czechia as a country with beaches and sand castles. The country pavilion of the partnerland of #fbm26 takes us to the ephemeral aspects of literature. While reading we deep dive into uncharted territories and discover unknown landscapes, sometimes even fees. These worlds of imagination become part of us or enlighten sequences of our life course. Taking the perspective of an external viewer widens cognitive and emotional predispositions. There are remarkable ol and new light houses to discover, too. Drawing as performative art, washed away every day like dreams, acknowledges the ephemeral nature of our reading or listening experiences. This message is going to stick with us. 

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More about books

The Frankfurt book fair opens its books and doors on 2026-10-7. The thousands of authors, publishers, translaters and agents are quite concerned about the amount of infringements that AI has brought to the industry. The market is under increasing pressure to secure intellectual property rights and copyright protections. A flood of AI-produced books shall ruin margins out of which authors are paid as well. The spreading of ideas in form of books across borders is threatened. Sebastian Guggolz from the German book trade association claimed even a double theft, first the books, then the ideas by AI. In order to counteract this, the Frankfurt book fair is continuously expanding is function as a platform of exchange of ideas (Juergen Boos) and face-to-face meetings of all involved in writing, editing, producing, trading, teaching and discussing books in the broadest sense. This discourse about books is the real human added value which AI is lacking so far. In this sense of talking about books, books become a kind of merchandising product of an event or a form of take-home-message to participants. A great and promising forward looking agenda for us rather than the retro-captive approach of AI. 

Frankfurt book fair 2026-10-6 press conference

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Gaps in Mirror

The legendary figure of “Till Eulenspiegel” (name is a composition of “owl” and “mirror”) is still attracting attention, largely because of his way to reach and sometimes expose ordinary anomalies. We have mirrors all around us, as well as explicit historical details, but we tend to overlook or create voluntarily gaps into mirrored images of the past and their reflections into the present. The novel “The Gaps” (Die Lücken) by Shida Bazyar exemplifies, why dealing with history on a local level is of utmost importance for societies to be aware, deal and transmit fundamental human values. Till Eulenspiegel of the 21st century has a migration background and experience of care work, 2 fields at the cutting edge of humanity. Dealing with the gaps in narratives of locals enters visually into the novel as well. We ar caught t “automatic lly” read ov r the g__s before we realize how huge the gaps in narratives and our mirrors of the past can be. The novel is a great reminder to actively deal with our own gaps. Check the mirrors as well, there might be gaps that blur images of the past.

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Taking positions

In the arts, positions are taken through the choice of topics, materials, an own perspective or approach. For the young artists, taking a position is quite a defining moment, usually after experimenting with several ones before. That point of view is probably a bit biased by a galerist’s perspective or when studying the market of art. Related to the Berlin Art Week, the Positions Berlin Art Fair offers an interesting overview of what is on the market. The section entitled Academy gives space and attention to young entrants into the art market.
The exchange of artists with the audience allows to understand in more detail what position is taken, how it is taken and worked out in detail. The  backgrounds of artists are quite broad compared to other metropolitan Art Fairs in this start-up atmosphere at the Hangar 5+6 of former Tempelhof Airport in Berlin. If we look at other perspectives, we shall not only get inspired, but we shall most likely question our own position(s) as well. Great learning experiences for all.