SHINKICHI TAJIRI
THE BERLIN WALL
"During my bi-monthly trips to Berlin, I explored the Wall. It was the most fascinating piece of architecture in Berlin, and it drew me like a magnet." - Shinkichi Tajiri
It took several weeks and more than 600 photos for Tajiri to photograph the entire 43 kilometers of the Wall. In 1971, Tajiri printed a small book of the photos for its tenth anniversary. In 1973 he was given a flight along the Wall in a Bell 'Sioux' helicopter from the British Royal Air Force. Tajiri made a one 20-minute, continous pan - impossible to do with a film camera without special equipment - of the entire Wall. The concept was to contain its 43 kilometers, in coded form, on 200 meters of magnetic tape. For its 20th anniversary in 1981 Tajiri made 24, full-circle panoramic photos of the Wall.
text: S. Tajiri, Autobiographical notations, Kempen Publishers, 1993
photo: Tajiri’s studio at the Hochschule der Künste, West Berlin, 1969. For the first two years he slept in his tent at school.
Shinkichi Tajiri, The Berlin Wall 1969/1970 Documenting the inhabited area next to the wall in over 550 photos. © Shinkichi Tajiri Estate
Shinkichi Tajiri, The Berlin Wall 1969/1970 Documenting the inhabited area next to the wall in over 550 photos. © Shinkichi Tajiri Estate
Shinkichi Tajiri, The Berlin Wall 1969/1970 Documenting the inhabited area next to the wall in over 550 photos. © Shinkichi Tajiri Estate
Photo © Shinkichi Tajiri Courtesy of the Shinkichi Tajiri Estate
This book marks the ten years since the building of the Wall, 1971. Printed on Tajiri’s A.B. Dick, A4 office offset press. X Press, Castle Scheres Baarlo. 100 copies, signed and numbered. © Shinkichi Tajiri Estate
Photo © Shinkichi Tajiri Full circle panoramic photos of the Berlin Wall, 1981. © Shinkichi Tajiri Estate
Recording the Berlin Wall, exhibition and presentation of the book SHINKICHI TAJIRI – THE BERLIN WALL at the University of Arts in Berlin for the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, 2009. Curator Florian Ebner. © Photos courtesy the Shinkichi Tajiri Estate
Recording the Berlin Wall, exhibition and presentation of the book SHINKICHI TAJIRI – THE BERLIN WALL at the University of Arts in Berlin for the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, 2009. Curator Florian Ebner. © Photos courtesy the Shinkichi Tajiri Estate
Recording the Berlin Wall, exhibition and presentation of the book SHINKICHI TAJIRI – THE BERLIN WALL at the University of Arts in Berlin for the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, 2009. Curator Florian Ebner. © Photos courtesy the Shinkichi Tajiri Estate