Barbara von Johnson
Encyclopedia
Barbara von Johnson is a German illustrator and artist. She was the first designer of the fairy-tale figure Pumuckl
, a Kobold
, which she designed in a competition to illustrate a story by Ellis Kaut.
From 1962 to 1966 she trained as a commercial artist and also regularly attended the International Summer Academy for graphic arts in Salzburg where she took courses in watercolor and where her teachers include Oskar Kokoschka
. At the age of 21 she won a competition at the academy for the visualization of Pumuckl.
By 1978 she illustrated ten Pumuckl books and 33 Pumuckl record sleeves. In addition as a freelance illustrator, she illustrated 20 children's books, 28 textbooks, five games, twenty four workbooks, and produced many illustrations for children's magazines. By 1983 she worked primarily as a freelance artist. She completed training in art therapy and has conducted numerous training and study tours.
From 1990 her works started to dissolve the barriers between painting, art objects and photographs, exploring the transitional zones between the various mediums. Her work draws from her early efforts at surface pictural composition by caricature and superimposed structures.
Pumuckl
Pumuckl is a Kobold from a German radio play series for children. He is a descendant of the Klabautermänner.He is invisible to people around him except for the master carpenter Eder with whom Pumuckl lives....
, a Kobold
Kobold
The kobold is a sprite stemming from Germanic mythology and surviving into modern times in German folklore. Although usually invisible, a kobold can materialise in the form of an animal, fire, a human being, and a candle. The most common depictions of kobolds show them as humanlike figures the size...
, which she designed in a competition to illustrate a story by Ellis Kaut.
Life
As artist and mother of three sons she lives and works in Munich and Greece.From 1962 to 1966 she trained as a commercial artist and also regularly attended the International Summer Academy for graphic arts in Salzburg where she took courses in watercolor and where her teachers include Oskar Kokoschka
Oskar Kokoschka
Oskar Kokoschka was an Austrian artist, poet and playwright best known for his intense expressionistic portraits and landscapes.-Biography:...
. At the age of 21 she won a competition at the academy for the visualization of Pumuckl.
By 1978 she illustrated ten Pumuckl books and 33 Pumuckl record sleeves. In addition as a freelance illustrator, she illustrated 20 children's books, 28 textbooks, five games, twenty four workbooks, and produced many illustrations for children's magazines. By 1983 she worked primarily as a freelance artist. She completed training in art therapy and has conducted numerous training and study tours.
From 1990 her works started to dissolve the barriers between painting, art objects and photographs, exploring the transitional zones between the various mediums. Her work draws from her early efforts at surface pictural composition by caricature and superimposed structures.