5 questions for Moritz Stetter

26 November 2021

Comics belong to the LUDWIGGALERIE like the colour pink belongs to
castle facade. In the latest exhibition “UNPUBLISHED – The Comic Scene
unpacks! Strips and Stories – from Wilhelm Busch to Flix” you go on
a journey of discovery from the beginnings of comics to the most current and
hot developments in the German-speaking comic world.

In our new interview series on the exhibition
we would like to give you an insight into the minds of the comic artists shown
With “5 Questions – 5 Artists” we briefly and succinctly take the most important
Topics in focus. In this first issue we warmly welcome Moritz Stetter
He is a comic artist, illustrator and portrait artist and lives and
works in Hamburg.

Fig. Moritz Stetter in front of his works in the exhibition, 2021 © Moritz Stetter

With his first two comic biographies Bonhoeffer
(2010) and Luther (2013), Moritz Stetter made a name for himself in the
Comic scene. His works have been shown in numerous exhibitions, including
Frankfurt, Hamburg, Lisbon and Rome. Now there are some of his (until
now!) unpublished works can be seen in the LUDWIGGALERIE.

Nathalie
Schraven: What are your personal Favorites
in “UNPUBLISHED – The comic scene unpacks!”?

Moritz Stetter: Most impressed
I was impressed by the originals by eoplauen and Wilhelm Busch. Together with these
To have such a name represented in an exhibition feels very surreal!
It is similar with my childhood hero Brösel. The fact that he appears in “The
big rip-off” shows his package holiday bourgeois side, was for me
the highlight of the exhibition. In Adrian vom Baur's project
I was able to take a look at “The Institution” several years ago.
throw, an impressive work. It's a pity he stopped it.
In her bachelor thesis, Julia Bernhard shows a completely different
Page, that was the biggest stylistic surprise of the exhibition for me.
I heard about “Hitler in the First World War” by Matthias Schultheiss
Over the years there have been rumors and stories in the comics scene.
Exciting, now originals of this daring project from the Wild West era
German comic production.

Image: Moritz Stetter, Neighbours,
2018/2019, ink on paper, digitally colored © Moritz Stetter

NaS: You are known for your
comic biographies “Bonhoeffer” and “Luther”. Which
Difficulties arise in the presentation and processing of the
History of famous historical figures?

MS: The biggest challenge is
on the one hand, to understand man in the context of his time. The glasses
today's worldview, moral conception.
At the same time, I am always attracted to historical topics by the reflection in
Now: How is this topic still relevant today? What parallels are
visible? Otherwise, I am a friend of meticulous research and contrary to the
Trend in films and books skeptical about what too much freedom in the
Fictionalization / literaryization of historical figures. The
Life simply does not always have a coherent arc of tension. And the
Someone else can draw a punk Beethoven or Luther as an action hero.

Fig. Moritz Stetter, Because everyone comes from somewhere else and goes somewhere else,
2013-2017, ink on paper, grayscale digitally colored © Moritz Stetter

NaS: Your stories are characterized
sometimes by characters with anthropomorphic features. When and how did you
your own style and how difficult was this “journey to yourself” for you?
himself"?

MS: The impression may be somewhat misleading
through the two contributions in the exhibition. Anthropomorphic figures are a
Early influence that I sometimes live out in free projects: too many
Duckburg stories in childhood, adult versions like “Inspector
Canardo” or “Fritz the Cat” in early youth.

At the beginning you watch a lot,
picks up, incorporates, copies, modifies – sometimes more, sometimes less consciously.
If you do this long enough, your own handwriting will develop completely
It is not worth it to approach the style finding too consciously.
That just makes you tense.

NaS: What are your next projects?

MS: Two
Big projects are not yet ready to be announced. One is going into
biographical direction, the other in a medical non-fiction direction.
Otherwise, I have just completed a research project for the Hamburg Academy of Sciences.
Comic page on the “Philosophy of Quantum Gravity”. This
Science comics with colleagues such as Birgit Weyhe or Simon Schwartz are available from
can be read online immediately at https://www.awhamburg.de/wissenschaftscomics.html

NaS: What would you advise someone who
want to become a comic artist today?

MS:
Ask yourself: Is there ANYTHING else that could fulfill me professionally?
If you have to answer this question with no – and only then: Do it! It will
rocky, but also incredibly fulfilling.

UNPUBLISHED – The comic scene is gripping
out! Strips and Stories - from Wilhelm Busch to Flix is still open until 16 January 2022
. see

Author: Nathalie Schraven