Short Messages - Hatje Cantz

The cover for Ein öffentliches Gästebuch by Angelika Kaltenbach. On the left is a grainy, blue-tinted, black-and-white aerial photo of a building complex with a watchtower and fence beside a body of water. The right side is a solid light blue background with the title and author's name.

A low-angle, blue-toned photograph of a long, covered walkway beside a river. On the left is a brick wall with decorative floral tiles, onto which arched shadows are cast. On the right, a row of fluted columns opens up to a view of the water and the opposite bank.

A two-page book spread. On the left, a white page lists the words Tempo, Tempo, Peng!, Sahara!, and Amazonas. On the right is a close-up photograph of a square, blue ceramic tile. In the center of the tile is a raised, sand-colored, four-lobed shape with the same words handwritten on it in cursive.

A two-page book spread. On the left page is a German poem typed in black: Wir standen hier so manche Nacht und keiner hatt an uns gedacht. The right page shows a square blue ceramic tile with a raised, sand-colored, four-lobed design in the center. The same poem is handwritten in a black, cursive script onto the four lobes of the design, which surrounds a central circular hole.

A two-panel image. The left panel lists the text CARPE DIEM, GB, ER, and 14. Mai 1942 on a white background. The right panel shows a square blue ceramic tile with a raised, unglazed, four-lobed shape in the center, which is inscribed by hand with the same text, initials, and date.

A two-page book spread. On the left page, text reads: HELENE ET DOETTE, KAPLAN FRYDMAN, DE PARIS, 14.9.51. The right page shows a photograph of a weathered, square blue tile with a beige, four-lobed shape set in its center. The same text is hand-carved into the lobes of the shape, which is chipped at the top and has a circular hole in the middle.

A two-page book spread. The left page features typed text against a white background: We are coming from South-Africa, Bob + May, we allso, Sacrow, April, 23th, 1995. The right page shows a close-up photograph of a bright blue tile. On the tile is a weathered, tan paper cutout in a quatrefoil shape with a central hole, bearing the same text handwritten in cursive.

Short Messages

Die Fliesen der Heilandskirche Sacrow

€ 30.00

VAT included. Shipping costs will be calculated at checkout

Edited by: Ulrike Willingmann, Lars Wiedemann, Dietmar Peikert

Graphic Design: Heine/Lenz/Zizka

Photographs by: Lars Wiedemann

Texts by: Angelika Kaltenbach, Hanns Zischler

German

June 2023, 336 Pages, 146 Photos

Paperback

150mm x 150mm

ISBN: 978-3-7757-5586-3

HATJE CANTZ VERLAG
Mommsenstr. 27
10629 Berlin
Germany
E-Mail: contact@hatjecantz.de

According to Article 9(7) of the GPSR Regulation, no additional security information is required for books without supplements or special functions.

Press download

Messages for Eternity

Located on the banks of the River Havel, the Church of the Redeemer in Sacrow ,near Berlin, holds a hitherto undiscovered treasure: its blue tiles contain messages for eternity. Who wrote "Carpe Diem" here a few years before the end of World War II? Who carved "We stood here many a night and no one thought of us"?
On the blue glazed tiles with their floral pattern, built by Ludwig Persius in 1844, 150 years of German history can be found in short messages. Written in German, English or Russian, noted down in Sütterlin or Latin script, they range from everyday scribbles to historical landmarks from the time of the Second World War to the division of Germany.
Short Messages offers a chronicle of these unique inscriptions that is as detailed as it is charming. Documented in photographs by Lars Wiedemann, the magic of this place is told in texts by Angelika Kaltenbach and Hanns Zischler.