{{Short description|German cartoonist and illustrator (born 1986)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2024}} {{Infobox artist | name = Anna Haifisch | image = FIBD2019RencontreArtiste 03 rebalance.jpg | caption = Haifisch in 2019 | birth_place = Leipzig, East Germany | birth_date = {{birth year and age|1986}} | alma_mater = Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst Leipzig | known_for = {{Hlist|cartoons|webcomics| illustrations}} | notable_works = {{Hlist|''The Artist''|''Drawn to MoMA''|Google Doodle}} | awards = Max und Moritz Award | website = [https://hai-life.com/ Official website] }}

'''Anna Haifisch''' (born 1986)<ref name=":2" /> is a German cartoonist and illustrator who has been working for German and international media. She is best known for her cartoons titled ''The Artist'', first published by ''Vice'' magazine, her 2018 doodle for Google and her contribution to the series ''Drawn to MoMA'' of the New York Museum of Modern Art. Her work has received several awards and has been translated into English, French, Spanish and other languages.

== Life and career ==

Haifisch was born in Leipzig, East Germany. She studied graphic design and printmaking at the Academy of Fine Arts in Leipzig from 2004 to 2011. Still a student in 2008, she travelled to the US for the first time to improve her knowledge of printmaking technique, while working in a screen printing workshop in Brooklyn. Following this, she continued her postgraduate course at the same art school in Leipzig until 2015.<ref name=":3" />

In 2013, with friends including James Turek and Max Baitinger, she founded the festival for comics and illustration ''The Millionaires Club'', which has been organized in parallel to the Leipzig Book Fair.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |title=Le Monde Diplomatique – Artist: Anna Haifisch |url=https://www.goethe.de/ins/au/en/kul/lit/com/hai.html |access-date=3 September 2024 |website=@GI_weltweit |publisher=Goethe-Institut |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Anna Haifisch and pals to open the sixth Millionaires Club, a comic and graphics festival in Leipzig |url=https://www.itsnicethat.com/news/the-millionaires-club-leipzig-international-book-fair-events-140318 |access-date=3 September 2024 |website=www.itsnicethat.com |language=en}}</ref> Her webcomic ''The Artist'' was published by Vice magazine as ''Today's comic'' between September 2015<ref>{{Cite web |last=Haifisch |first=Anna |date=5 September 2015 |title=The Artist |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/the-artist-907/ |access-date=6 September 2024 |website=VICE |language=en-US}}</ref> and December 2016.<ref>{{Cite web |date=31 March 2017 |title=Anna Haifisch Archives |url=https://www.vice.com/en/tag/anna-haifisch/ |access-date=6 September 2024 |website=VICE |language=en-US}}</ref> This series of comics featured a conceited artist, changing between self-pity and overconfidence, who wants to make it in the world of art. As Haifisch commented, the story is not closely inspired by her own life, "but the protagonist does have a lot in common with me in terms of temperament."<ref name=":2" /> Episodes of ''The Artist'' have also been published as books since 2016.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Pannor |first=Stefan |title=Anna Haifisch – Leipzig and the World |url=https://www.goethe.de/ins/us/en/kul/bks/cad/21452386.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201022122157/https://www.goethe.de/ins/us/en/kul/bks/cad/21452386.html |archive-date=22 October 2020 |access-date=5 September 2024 |website=@GI_weltweit |publisher=Goethe-Institut |language=en}}</ref>

In 2018, Haifisch was a featured guest artist at the MoCCA Arts Festival, Manhattan's largest independent comics, cartoon and animation festival.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Panel discussion: The International Comics Scene: Max de Radiguès and Anna Haifisch – Goethe-Institut USA |url=https://www.goethe.de/ins/us/en/ver.cfm?event_id=21213387 |access-date=3 September 2024 |website=@GI_weltweit |language=en}}</ref> Celebrating International Women's Day 2018, Google chose Haifisch as one of 12 international graphic artists to design a doodle.<ref>{{Cite web |title=International Women's Day 2018 Doodle – Google Doodles |url=https://www.doodles.google/doodle/international-womens-day-2018/ |access-date=5 September 2024 |website=doodles.google |language=en}}</ref> In 2020, the New York Museum of Modern Art commissioned her work for their series ''Drawn to MoMA''.<ref>[https://www.moma.org/magazine/articles/205 the Artist x Modern Museum of Art], Moma Magazine</ref>

Haifisch, whose name means shark in German, often uses graphic versions of human-like "funny animals" as main characters of her stories. These animal figures are experiencing the absurdities of daily life. In particular, her bird-like character ''The Artist'' reflects the challenges of being an artist in an ironical way.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fischer |first=Sigrid |date=12 April 2017 |title=Tiergeschichten von Anna Haifisch – "Comiczeichner ist ein einsamer Job" |url=https://www.deutschlandfunk.de/tiergeschichten-von-anna-haifisch-comiczeichner-ist-ein-100.html |access-date=3 September 2024 |website=Deutschlandfunk |language=de}}</ref> Her work is further characterized by thin lines drawn with an ink pen and expressive yellow and orange colours. In her large-size book ''Drifter'', she was said to "bend[...] the rules of comics."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Anna Haifisch bends the rules of comics in new floppy and oversized book, Drifter |url=https://www.itsnicethat.com/articles/anna-haifisch-drifter-illustration-270617 |access-date=4 September 2024 |website=www.itsnicethat.com |language=en}}</ref> Her style has been described as a combination of "dark" melancholy and "silly" elements, influenced by the graphic styles and colours of past decades.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=6 November 2023 |title=Anna Haifisch |url=https://www.mkg-hamburg.de/en/exhibitions/anna-haifisch |access-date=3 September 2024 |website=www.mkg-hamburg.de |publisher=Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg |language=en}}</ref>

Having grown up and studied in Leipzig, an important cultural centre in the Eastern part of Germany,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2 September 2024 |title=Leipzig {{!}} Germany, History, Population, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Leipzig-Germany |access-date=6 September 2024 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> during the years following the fall of the Berlin Wall, Haifisch named Czech and Russian graphic art as influences. As a child, she was attracted to American culture, which included comics by Walt Disney and other elements of the American way of life.<ref name=":3" /> Her illustrations have appeared in German and international magazines and newspapers, including ''Die Zeit'',<ref>{{Cite news |last=Fischermann |first=Thomas |last2=Buchter |first2=Heike |date=14 March 2024 |title=Kryptowährungen: Sollten Sie jetzt in Bitcoin und andere Kryptos investieren? |url=https://www.zeit.de/2024/12/kryptowaehrungen-bitcoin-investieren-geld |access-date=8 September 2024 |work=Die Zeit |language=de-DE |issn=0044-2070}}</ref> ''The New Yorker'',<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Marx |first=Patricia |date=19 June 2023 |title=Is the Army's New Tactical Bra Ready for Deployment? |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/06/26/is-the-armys-new-tactical-bra-ready-for-deployment |access-date=6 September 2024 |magazine=The New Yorker |language=en-US |issn=0028-792X}}</ref> ''The New York Times'',<ref>{{cite web |last=Holman |first=Jordyn |date=16 February 2023 |title=The Retail C.E.O. Pipeline Is Running Dry |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/16/business/retail-executives.html |access-date=6 September 2024 |website=The New York Times}}</ref> ''Bloomberg Businessweek'',<ref>{{Cite news |date=6 April 2023 |title=What to Do With Your Money—and Your Life—in a Wild New World |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2023-04-06/what-to-do-with-my-money-a-guide-to-2023-investing?leadSource=uverify%20wall |access-date=6 September 2024 |work=Bloomberg.com |language=en}}</ref> ''Le Monde diplomatique''<ref name=":4" /> and others.

== Reception ==

Among other recognitions, ''The Artist'' was nominated for the 2017 ''Los Angeles Times'' Book Prize.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=James-Wilson |first=Matthew |title='You Want to be Surrounded by Weirdness': An Interview with Anna Haifisch {{!}} Hazlitt |url=https://hazlitt.net/feature/you-want-be-surrounded-weirdness-interview-anna-haifisch |access-date=3 September 2024 |website=hazlitt.net |language=en}}</ref> In 2020, Haifisch was distinguished with the international Max-und-Moritz-Preis as Best Comic Artist in German language publications.<ref name=":1" />

Apart from other group and solo exhibitions of her graphic art, the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe in Hamburg presented around 300 works in 2024 as an overview of her artistic creations, including illustrations, prints, comics, drawings and products with her designs.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=NDR |title="Bis hierhin lief's noch gut": Anna-Haifisch-Ausstellung in Hamburg |url=https://www.ndr.de/kultur/kunst/hamburg/Grosse-Comic-Ausstellung-Anna-Haifisch-in-Hamburg,annahaifisch100.html |access-date=3 September 2024 |website=www.ndr.de |language=de}}</ref>

== Awards and recognition ==

* 2016: e.o.plauen Prize<ref>{{cite web|access-date=11 November 2021 |date=7 November 2015 |publisher=Erich Ohser – e.o.plauen Stiftung |title=Anna Haifisch erhält den e.o.plauen Förderpreis 2016 |url=https://e.o.plauen.de/anna-haifisch-erhaelt-foerderpreis-2016/}}<!-- auto-translated from German by Module:CS1 translator --></ref> * 2017: nominated for ''Los Angeles Times'' Book Prize<ref>{{Cite web |last=Schaub |first=Michael |date=22 February 2017 |title=L.A. Times Book Prize finalists include Zadie Smith and Rep. John Lewis; Thomas McGuane will be honored |url=https://www.latimes.com/books/jacketcopy/la-et-jc-latimes-book-prize-finalists-20170222-story.html |access-date=8 September 2024 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref> * 2018: Sondermann-Preis<ref>{{cite web|access-date=13 February 2020 |author=Heiner Lünstedt |date=12 November 2018 |title=Haifisch-Ballade |url=https://www.sueddeutsche.de/kultur/komische-kunst-haifisch-ballade-1.4207484 |website=Süddeutsche Zeitung}}<!-- auto-translated from German by Module:CS1 translator --></ref> * 2020: Max-und-Moritz-Preis as Best Comic Artist in German language<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |title=Tagesspiegel-Comic ausgezeichnet: Max-und-Moritz-Preis für "Busengewunder" |url=https://www.tagesspiegel.de/kultur/comics/max-und-moritz-preis-fur-busengewunder-4181233.html |access-date=3 September 2024 |work=Der Tagesspiegel Online |language=de-DE |issn=1865-2263}}</ref> * 2021: Art Prize of the Leipziger Volkszeitung<ref>{{cite web|access-date=20 October 2021 |date=30 September 2021 |title=Leipziger Comiczeichnerin Anna Haifisch erhält den LVZ-Kunstpreis |url=https://www.lvz.de/Specials/LVZ-Aktion/LVZ-Kunstpreis/News/Leipziger-Comiczeichnerin-Anna-Haifisch-erhaelt-den-Kunstpreis-der-Leipziger-Volkszeitung |website=LVZ.de}}<!-- auto-translated from German by Module:CS1 translator --></ref> * 2022: Grant by Villa Aurora, Pacific Palisades, USA<ref>{{Cite web |title=Grant Recipient Details - Anna Haifisch |url=https://www.vatmh.org/en/grant-recipient-details/grant/498-anna-haifisch.html |access-date=6 September 2024 |website=www.vatmh.org}}</ref>

== Selected publications ==

* ''Von Spatz''. Kassel: Rotopolpress, 2015, ISBN 978-3-940304-97-1.&nbsp; * ''The Artist''. Berlin: Reprodukt, 2016, ISBN 978-3-95640-032-2.&nbsp; * ''The Artist''. (French edition) Misma Editions, 2016, ISBN 978-2-916254-54-8 * ''The Artist – Der Schnabelprinz''. Reprodukt, 2017, ISBN 978-3-95640-123-7.&nbsp; * [https://www.perfectly-acceptable.com/item/drifter/ ''Drifter''. Chicago: Perfectly Acceptable Press, 2017]. * ''The Artist 2 – Le cycle éternel''. Misma Editions, 2018, ISBN 978-2-916254-66-1 * ''The Artist. The Circle of Life''. Fantagraphics, 2019, ISBN 978-1-911081-07-4. * ''Residenz Fahrenbühl''. Leipzig: Spector Books, 2021, ISBN 978-3-95905-434-8. * ''Schappi''. (French edition) Misma Editions, 2021, ISBN 978-2-916254-87-6. * ''Mouse in Residence ''(English edition), Leipzig: Spector Books, 2021, ISBN 9783959055031. * ''Schappi ''(English edition), Fantagraphics, 2022, ISBN 9781683965268. * ''Chez Schnabel ''(German / English), Leipzig: Spector Books, 2022, ISBN 9783959056038. * ''Ready America ''(English edition), Fantagraphics, 2024, ISBN 9781683969426.

== Selected exhibitions ==

* 2024 Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg, Germany<ref name=":0" /> * 2024 ''Souris au bec'' – Musée Tomi Ungerer – Centre international de L'Illustration, Strasbourg, France<ref>{{Cite web |date=29 February 2024 |title=Anna Haifisch et ses souris au Musée Tomi Ungerer – poly.fr |url=https://www.poly.fr/de/anna-haifisch-und-ihre-mause-im-musee-tomi-ungerer/ |access-date=3 September 2024 |website=Magazine Poly |language=de-DE}}</ref> * 2023 ''The Artist'' at Museum Folkwang, Essen, Germany<ref>{{Cite web |date=10 July 2023 |title=Anna Haifisch im Museum Folkwang {{!}} Museum Folkwang |url=https://www.museum-folkwang.de/de/news/anna-haifisch-im-museum-folkwang |access-date=3 September 2024 |website=www.museum-folkwang.de |language=de}}</ref> * 2022/23 ''HOMI,'' Kunsthalle Osnabrück, Germany<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kunsthalle Osnabrück Homi |url=https://kunsthalle.osnabrueck.de/de/programm/ausstellungen/homi |access-date=3 September 2024 |website=kunsthalle.osnabrueck.de |language=de}}</ref> * 2018/2019 ''Fuji-san,'' Museumsquartier Vienna, Austria <ref>{{Cite web |title=Anna Haifisch "Fuji-san" |url=https://www.kabinettpassage.at/ausstellungen-1/2018/ |access-date=4 September 2024 |website=KABINETT comic passage im MQ Wien |language=de-DE}}</ref> * 2017 ''The Artist'', Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz, Germany<ref>{{Cite web |title=Anna Haifisch |url=https://www.kunstsammlungen-chemnitz.de/ausstellungen/anna-haifisch-the-artist/ |access-date=3 September 2024 |website=Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz |language=de-DE}}</ref>

== General and cited references == * {{Cite journal |last=Bongers |first=Helene L. |date=1 January 2024 |title=The Critique of the Modern Art Museum in Four Colors: Anna Haifisch's The Artist x MoMA |url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/730295 |journal=Source: Notes in the History of Art |language=en |volume=43 |issue=2 |pages=152–162 |doi=10.1086/730295 |issn=0737-4453|url-access=subscription }} * {{Cite journal |last1=Kraenzle |first1=Christina |last2=Ludewig |first2=Julia |date=2 January 2020 |title=Transnationalism in German comics |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21504857.2020.1718836 |journal=Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics |language=en |volume=11 |issue=1 |pages=1–9 |doi=10.1080/21504857.2020.1718836 |issn=2150-4857}} * Moster-Hoos, Jutta, Kristina Gerigk (2018). ''Die neunte Kunst. Aktuelle deutsche Graphic Novels. Hans Hillmann, Max Baitinger, Anke Feuchtenberger, Anna Haifisch, Jakob Hinrichs, Lukas Jüliger, Reinhard Kleist, Isabel Kreitz, Olivier Kugler, Ulli Lust, Felix Pestemer, Simon Schwartz, Birgit Weyhe, Barbara Yelin''. Oldenburg, Germany: Horst-Janssen-Museum Oldenburg, {{ISBN|9783730814420}}.

== References == {{Reflist}}

== External links == {{Commons category}} * [https://hai-life.com/ Official website]

{{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Haifisch, Anna}}

Category:Living people Category:1986 births Category:East German women Category:People from Leipzig Category:German illustrators Category:German women illustrators Category:German comics writers Category:German women comics writers Category:German women comics artists