Art and Photography
This is the first instalment of a series on extraordinary cameras. The Canon AE-1 is not only a classic milestone in the history of film cameras, it also occupies a special place since it was the first modern SLR in our home. Beforehand, photography was rather challenging – you had to calculate distance and focus. …
Read More “Favorite Film Cameras: The Canon AE-1 (1976-1984)”
A metal sculpture in the middle of Aachen looks inviting for my project in serkalography – interpreting the world through symmetry. Refreshing our vision of our environment. Seeing through a mirror to discover what was hidden inside. Juxtaposing elements and inverting their position in space. Many people will quit prematurely and always have a very …
Sometimes buildings develop flaws over time: Water seeps into the roof. This old age home attempted to stop the rot with an unusual method: The architect covered up the leaks with stripes of steel. What looks like a futurist design idea is instead an inexpensive way of keeping the residents dry. Sure enough, a bit …
Between Cologne and Moenchengladbach, massive holes interrupt the flow of the flat landscape. Several recent viewpoints allow visitors a look inside. For many years, open pit lignite mining has extracted coal here – one of the major energy sources for the rebuilding of West Germany after the war. The layer of so-called “brown coal” – …
Churches employ visual language to impress, mobilize, focus and express ideas. Post 1960s modern church architecture often utilized concrete to show fresh ways of designing places of worship. While they still get mixed reviews, I found they are uniquely able to serve as foils for my project of serkalography, meaning discovering new visionary angles. This …
Exploring the technique, seeing with a split-mirror eye: Trees, a small chapel and a sculpture are in focus today. Sometimes the results seem alien, misaligned unbalanced. Yet the symmetry needs to be there. And then something new appears, something unseen before. This way, you can be properly guided by instructional materials they offer. cialis tadalafil …
Churches offer sanctuary. Sometimes the structures resemble tall imposing halls, sometimes deep comforting caves. The varied architecture displays a sense of continuity amid a sea of change. But what happens if the static gets challenged, the bricks become movable? Built in the 1960s, St. Engelbert in Cologne has earned the nickname “citron press” because of …
During Covid lockdown, our space becomes confined. Yet, discoveries are still possible. What was nearby has been neglected. Once your options are limited, you set out to discover the strange and unfamiliar closer to home. Surprising structures await. The Riehl quarter north of the city center offers unusual walkways, some architectural gems and plenty of …
