Mixing Pop Art and Political Criticism: Heinz Edelmann’s Artwork for Children

Heinz Edelmann (1934-2009), a German illustrator and designer, is probably best known as the art director of the Beatles’ animated film Yellow Submarine (1968). Less well-known are the three picturebooks he illustrated for children, which are influenced by the Pop Art movement. The large-sized picturebooks Maicki Astromaus (1970) and Andromedar SR1 (1970) refer to the science fiction genre and reveal a critical attitude towards the contemporary political and economic situation. Kathrinchen ging spazieren (1973), by contrast, is a picturebook story with nonsensical verses by the East German playwright Peter Hacks and subliminally refers to the causes of consumerism and careless wishes. A comparative analysis of these picturebooks demonstrates that Edelmann’s illustrations in combination with the accompanying texts are significant examples of the political, cultural, and societal upheaval that can be found in German children’s literature of the ‘68’ period.