I, ANIMAL

From the Big Bad Wolf to Donald Duck - Animals in Comics

Special Exhibition

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Fuehrung ICH DAS TIER

Tomorrow | 03.00 pm

»Ich, das Tier«

Special Exhibition

ICH DAS TIER Sonderausstellung GRIMMWELT Kassel

I, ANIMAL

From 23 August 2025 to 12 April 2026, together with curator and comic expert Dr. Alexander Braun, GRIMMWELT will be tracing anthropomorphic animal figures in the comic culture and illustration history of several centuries.

Permanent Exhibition

Mother and child look at fairy tale books in the "Folk tales" section.

GRIMMWELT adventure space

Experience fairy tale collectors and linguists Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm in this fascinating world of knowledge and discovery.

16 Ausstellung ICH DAS TIER Videoinstallation c GRIMMWELT Kassel Foto Nicolas Wefers
05 Gus Dirks An Easter Hold Up Sonntagsseite vom 8 April 1900
Josephin Mark
19 Ausstellung ICH DAS TIER Werde zum Tier c GRIMMWELT Kassel Foto Nicolas Wefers
Garfield Figur ICH DAS TIER
Wolf Vitrine ICH DAS TIER
George Herriman ICH DAS TIER

Whether in the Grimm Brothers’ fairy tales or in contemporary comics – animals play essential roles. They appear as heroes or antiheroes, opponents or allies, loyal companions or enchanted humans. Often, they serve as projections of human traits, emotions, desires, fears, and values. Stories with anthropomorphic animals invite us to reflect on the real-life, everyday relationship between humans and animals. 

Comics, as a highly popular medium, offer especially vivid portrayals and have made anthropomorphic animal characters into stars. Original drawings, sketches, studies, and merchandise – curated by art historian and comic expert Dr. Alexander Braun – provide insights into the humor, artistry, and history of comics up to the present day. 

Animals have shaped the stories of comics in distinctive and profound ways – whether it’s the unlucky Donald Duck, the lazy and gluttonous Garfield, or the Wolf from Fables, inspired by Grimm’s fairy tales. 19th-century picture sheets, considered precursors to comics, feature animals as fairy tale heroes, role models, or even clichés. 

The exhibition invites visitors to reflect on common stereotypes, explore different perspectives on human-animal relationships, encounter a variety of comic animal characters, create their own comics, and even transform themselves into animals. 

Children receive a free activity booklet, the Puzzle Trail, encouraging creative engagement with the comic world, from Donald Duck to Garfield and fantastical animal characters. 

Curated by Dr. Alexander Braun. 

A comprehensive catalogue will be published alongside the exhibition.

The exhibition is generously sponsored by the City of Kassel (documenta city) and the Hessian Cultural Foundation.

Ausstellungsansicht 3 ICH DAS TIER
Ausstellungsansicht 1 ICH DAS TIER
Ausstellungsansicht 2 ICH DAS TIER

Dr. Alexander Braun

Born in Dortmund in 1966, Dr. Alexander Braun earned his PhD in art history in 1995 with a dissertation on American installation artist Robert Gober. His career as a visual artist included exhibitions in Germany, Austria, the UK, Spain, and the US. He has received prestigious grants and awards, including the Stiftung Kunstfonds (2011), the Bonn Art Prize (2009), and an artist residency at the Chinati Foundation in Marfa, Texas (1999). 

Since 2008, Braun has focused increasingly on curating exhibitions about comics in museums. In 2010, he founded the German Academy of Comic Art. So far, he has curated 24 museum exhibitions on the subject, including Pioneers of the Comic (Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt, 2016) and Comics! Mangas! Graphic Novels! (Bundeskunsthalle, Bonn, 2017). 

More than 20 extensive publications on the history of comics have been released. In 2015 and 2020, Alexander Braun became the only German to receive an “Eisner Award” in the USA — the “Oscar” of the comic world — for his trilingual volumes on the work of Winsor McCay and George Herriman (published by Taschen Verlag). Braun has also been awarded the Munich-based “Peng” Prize four times so far. In 2022, his scholarly achievements were honored with a Max and Moritz Prize in Erlangen. 

Since its founding in 2019, Braun has primarily dedicated himself to the “schauraum: comic + cartoon” in Dortmund, where he has curated nine exhibitions to date — most recently the highly successful shows “The Simpsons – It Doesn’t Get Any More Yellow.” and “Black Comics - From Colonialism to Black Panther” Alexander Braun lives in Bad Honnef near Bonn.

Alexander Braun Foto Norbert Miguletz

Alexej Tchernyi

»Es ist verblüffend, wie wenig sich bislang die Literatur- oder Kunstgeschichte mit dem Motiv des vermenschlichten Tiers im Comic beschäftigt hat. Eine ganze Traditionslinie von Goethe über Jean de La Fontaine bis zurück zu Aesop in der Antike kennt die Literaturform der Fabel oder volkstümlichen Märchendichtung. Der Comic des 20. und 21. Jahrhunderts ist diesbezüglich die Quintessenz, ein gigantisches finales Feuerwerk.«

Dr. Alexander Braun, Kurator der Ausstellung

Guided Tour

Imprint

I, ANIMAL. From the Big Bad Wolf to Donald Duck — Animals in Comics

Director | Programme Manager GRIMMWELT Kassel
Jan Sauerwald

Curator
Dr. Alexander Braun

Exhibition concept
Dr. Alexander Braun
Julia Ronge, Claudia Roßkopf, Johanna Rüskamp, Jan Sauerwald

Production
Björn Wolf

Graphic Design
Studio Terhedebrügge

Illustrations (Exhibition, Puzzle Trail)
Nadine Redlich

Illustration (Exhibition motif)
Ralf Marczinczik

Education
Julia Ronge, Johanna Rüskamp

Communication
Katja Blum, Antje Haferkamp, Filip Kolek, Johanna Rüskamp

Administration
Stefanie Büscher, Christine Großberndt, Johanna Rüskamp, Lina Schmidt, Timo Vogt

Media
Sophie Hilbert, Rolf Tonhäuser, ZweiNullEins

Light
Armin Jakob/Jabatech, Landwehr + Schultz

Arthandling | Installation | Conservation support
Srećko Barišić, Kulturelle Dienste with Dr. Alexander Braun, Antje Kreuzberg

Editing
Rea Triyandafilidis

Translation
Neville Williamson

Supervision of the Grimm Collection of the City of Kassel
Kilian Knop, Marie-Louise Lange, Daniel Rothen

Interview installation
Hannah Leonie Prinzler

Concept interview installation
Claudia Roßkopf

Design interview installation
Maraccuja Grafikdesign | Carina Engelmann

Interview partners
Prof. Mathias Antlfinger, Dr. Karsten Brensing, Derk Ehlert, Dr. Meret Fehlmann, Fabian Frank, Giselle, Prof. Ute Hörner, Prof. Dr. Christian Jaser, Prof. Dr. Elena Korowin, Josephine Mark, Lotte

We would like to thank all contributors
Janosch Feiertag, Dieter Fuchs, Udo Giese, H & S Kunststofftechnik, Heinrich Hartleb, Kurt Heerdt & Sohn, Die Holzmeisterei, Julius Kress oHG, Walter Peter, Print und Rahmen, Tobias Sieber, Ingo Stoffelshaus, Malermeister Heiko Wiktor, Werbetechnik Zinke

We would like to thank the sponsors of the exhibition

documenta Stadt Kassel

Landkreis Kassel

Hessische Kulturstiftung

We would like to thank the sponsors of the Puzzle Trail

Gerhard-Fieseler-Stiftung

If, despite careful checking, the rights of third parties (e.g. copyright) have been infringed, please notify us accordingly.