Brilliant Dilletantes: Subculture in Germany in the 1980s

Geniale Dilletanten, or in English, Brilliant Dilletantes, was the deliberately misspelled title of a music festival that took place at the Tempodrom in Berlin in 1981 and which became a synonym for a brief era of artistic awakening. An avant-garde blossomed, particularly in the context of art schools, that was characterized by artistic vehemence, cross-genre experimentation and the desire for self-organization. Bands such as Einstürzende Neubauten, Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft, Ornament und Verbrechen, Der Plan, Palais Schaumburg, Die Tödliche Doris and Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle committed themselves to these principles. Illustrated with hundreds of images, Brilliant Dilletantes follows the bands, artists, filmmakers and designers through the clubs, bars and galleries of their day.