op. 15
Johann Caspar Schade (1666 - 1698) was a Lutheran preacher and poet. Johann Caspar Schade wrote this poem in a climate of tension between the natural sciences, which sought to prove everything, and the Church, which maintained that God was responsible for all of creation. In his work, produced during the late 17th century, he was inspired by the initial words of the 63rd Psalm, “O God, you are my God”. With these words, he established a clear, unshakeable bond to God in his poem. Johann Caspar Schade confined himself to these five words and followed clear rules, building five stanzas each with five lines to create a sound poem with a modern flavour. Through these 25 different phrases, the initial expression of commitment is in part strongly relativized. Regardless of whether one adheres to a specific faith, one can identify with one sequence or another, maintain or alter the line of thought. At the bottom of the poem but the top of the memorial, an AMEN brings all paths of personal discovery together.
The artist Jürgen Rajh sends a clear signal with this sculpture, which was produced in 2015. He sequentially set the letters of poem, stanza by stanza, on five slender bars, each about seven metres high. The inscribed bars will be placed vertically between the crowns of the trees, with one pole placed horizontally, parallel to the road.
GOTT / du bist mein GOTT.
Bistu mein Gott?
Gott du bist mein.
Du GOtt bist mein.
mein GOTT bist DU.
DU GOtt bis mein GOtt.
mein GOtt / bist GOtt.
Bist min GOtt / GOtt.
GOtt / GOtt bis mein.
GOtt mein GOtt BIST.
BIST du GOtt mein GOtt?
Mein GOtt / du GOtt.
Du mein GOtt / GOtt?
GOtt / du mein Gott.
Du GOtt / GOtt MEIN?
MEIN Gott / bistu Gott?
Gott du bist / Gott.
Bistu GOtt / GOTT.
Gott / Gott bistu.
Gott / du Gott bist.
GOTT / Gott bistu mein?
Mein Gott du bist.
bistu / GOtt / mein?
Gott / du mein bist.
Gott / mein bistu.
AMEN.