Teddybär
A journey through German history, guided by a polar bear
Alex Q. Arbuckle
c. 1920-1970
In the middle decades of 20th century Germany, there were — apparently — quite a few people running around in polar bear costumes. They offered to have their photos taken with interested people.Photo collector Jean-Marie Donat noticed the same or similar bears popping up in his perusals of old snapshots from the 1920s to the 1960s, and began to save them, eventually amassing a collection of thousands. That collection became TEDDYBÄR, a 200-page book of found photos. In the book, artist and philosopher Klaus Peter Speidel offers speculation about the people inside the costumes, imaginatively writing from the perspective of two friends who decide to hustle for some extra cash by charging people for photos with the furry mascot.
People need a reason to have their picture taken, and a bear is a damn good reason. - Klaus Peter Speidel
The photos, absurd and silly as they are, take on a strange poignancy. The bear remains largely constant, its shaggy grin and poses varying only slightly. Around the bear, history advances, as smiling beachgoers are replaced with smiling Nazi soldiers who are replaced with smiling American G.I.s. As the painful and tumultuous history of Germany unfolds around it, the bear remains unchanged, its eternally goofy and toothy presence spreading to those around it.TEDDYBÄR is published by Innocences Publishing.
