Global Stone: Five Continents Meet in the Tiergarten

"The quickest way to find yourself is to sail once around the world." These words from the biography of Bernd Moitessier, philosopher and passionate sailor, were the inspiration for Wolfgang Kraker von Schwarzenfeld, the artist whose Global Stone project is about to be completed in Berlin's Tiergarten.

In his 20s, von Schwarzenfeld began a sailing voyage around the world. His trimaran capsized in the Atlantic, off the Florida coast. He survived sixteen days in chest-deep ice-cold water, eating raw fish (not a gourmet experience, he discovered), drinking salt water in desperation, and close to dying from hypothermia. In a near-death experience, he looked at the sky and endless horizon stretching around him to infinity and thought to himself: "There is no end point to life. All of mankind is one entity, like the millions of cells in a human body."

This thought became the germ of an idea that von Schwarzenfeld has spent the greater part of his life realizing -- a project he calls "Global Stone."

Sailing around the world in "Pegasus," his three-masted sailboat, von Schwarzenfeld searched on each of five continents for a pair of magnificent stones, similar in substance, form, and weight (approximately 30 tons). Once he had made his choice, he left one of the "sister stones" in the country of origin, bringing the other (at considerable cost and with mind-boggling logistic planning) to Berlin's Tiergarten. The last of the five stones to be brought to Berlin will arrive tomorrow -- from Bhutan.

The stones in the Tiergarten have been so arranged that their polished surfaces reflect the sunlight in five invisible straight lines. The "sister stones" on the five continents have also been carefully arranged by the artist so that once a year, on June 21st, the sunlight glances off their surface, travels in a frequency of 16 minutes around the world, and meets the pentagram of light between the stones in Berlin exactly at high noon.

The stones -- each a natural wonder, polished, sculptured and inscribed by the artist with one of five linked themes: Awakening, Hope, Forgiveness, Love, and Peace --  are a kind of hieroglyph of the connection between Berlin and the world, as well as the interconnectedness of all nations on these five continents.

I can't think of a better note on which to end my last blog before Christmas 2009.

You can find the Global Stone Project near the Löwengruppe (The Lions) in the Tiergarten.  Keeping the Brandenburger Tor behind you, follow the Ahornsteig for 300 m. Or, from  Potsdamer Platz, enter the Park from behind the Sony Center, and walk about 250 m.

Love Songs from the GDR

Suse Jank was only five years old when the Berlin Wall fell, and her memories of life in the GDR seem as though they belong to a distant past. But she does have vivid memories of the songs her father sang to her. He would pick up his guitar and sing to Suse and her sister the sentimental or romantic songs of bands such as Silly, Rent, Lift or singers such as Veronika Fischer or Petra Zieger.

Now, Jank and her band recreate those pop songs of the GDR in a version bound to appeal to contemporary audiences. Her newest CD, due out on November 30, is called "Ostpoesie" or East Poetry. But her CD is not an "Ostalgie" trip, Jank insists. We perform this music not because of any loyalty to the ideology of the former East, she says, but simply because these songs have charm, originality and a certain timeless quality. Jank believes they deserve a fresh interpretation.

Photo: SUPERillu/Handelmann

So, too, does her pianist and arranger, Clemens Süßenbach, who accompanies her on "Ostpoesie." Süßenbach is a jazz pianist who has lived all his life in Zehlendorf, in the West, but he fell in love with GDR rock and pop after Jank introduced him to some of its classic hits.

These are fascinating songs, says Süßenbach, especially as many were written to express individuality and desire in a time of political repression.  When I first heard Silly's song "SOS", I thought: Cool! A pop song about ships. Only later did I figure out that a critique of the political system ran right through the song.

Photo: SUPERillu/Handelmann

For Jank, these are primarily songs from her childhood, and she takes great care in choosing her repertoire, paying special attention to the texts. They often have a wonderful visual poetry about them, she says. Listen to her sing Manfred Krug's "Wenn du schläfst mein Kind," or "When you sleep, my child," and you will know what she means.

Jank's crystal clear voice and heartfelt rendition of these forgotten songs from the GDR often move her audiences, sometimes to tears. It hardly matters whether she and her band play in the "newcomer" states of the Federal Republic or in the old West.

Photo: SUPERillu/Handelmann

You can catch Suse Jank and her international band (the other three members are from Sweden, Italy and Armenia) at their record-release celebratory performance at the B-Flat jazz club on Monday, November 30 -- the day "Ostpoesie" hits the music stores.

Suse Jank and her band will perform in B-Flat, Rosenthalerstr. 13, 10119 Berlin, on Monday, November 30, at 21:00. Tickets are 10 EUR, 8 EUR reduced price. Nearest stop is S-Bahn Hackescher Markt. More information is at www.b-flat-berlin.de


If you miss them at B-Flat, you can hear Jank and her band on December 12 at 17:00 at the Amerika Gedenkbibliothek, Blücherplatz 1, 10961 Berlin (Kreuzberg).