The oeuvre of the Austrian painter Josef Mikl (1929–2008), documenta participant and Austria’s representative at the Biennale in Venice, always had a second facet: pointed social satire. In his caustic and pointed illustrations, Mikl—who was also Professor at the Academy of Fine Arts—reacted to contemporary developments in the artistic and cultural scenes: in adventurous stories, such as his "Wunderpferd" series, the "Kulturtagung von Worpswede", or the figure of the "Journalistenfresserin Hawranek", he vented his feelings about art criticism.

For the first time, this book provides an overview of the satirical oeuvre of Josef Mikl and of his extensive collection of sketch books, pages of text, episcope images, and booklets.