Naturkunden @
C/O Berlin II

In the Naturkunden series, the Berlin publishing house Matthes & Seitz publishes books that tell of nature, of animals and plants, of fungi and people, of landscapes, stones and celestial bodies, of animate and inanimate, alien and familiar nature. As in the visual art work of Hamburg-based photographer Jochen Lempert, the volumes are not about mere science, but about passionate exploration of the world.

In this format, C/O Berlin, together with Naturkunden, invites selected authors from the series to walk through the exhibition Jochen Lempert . Lingering Sensations and to enter into a dialogue about nature and its photographic representation. This time with Cord Riechelmann.

The family of crows, scientifically named “corvidae” is a relative young one the history of songbirds. 123 species belong to this family which also counts species like magpies and jays, its closest relatives are popinjays. Contrary to them, crows are to be found everywhere on the planet. The myths which follow them are always as dark as theirs feathers and are always dealing with evil and death. Even the increasing number of studies on their outstanding intelligence didn’t succeed in freeing them from their bad reputation. To the contrary. Alone the fact that crows have a greater capacity to memorizing than humans is interpreted as a sign for their eeriness. Cord Riechelmann tells this incredible story, mixing history and nature, and introduces twenty crows which he himself observed on the five continents.

Conceptualized by Judith Schalansky and Kathrin Schönegg.
In cooperation with Matthes & Seitz Berlin.

Cord Riechelmann (b. 1960) studied biology and philosophy at the Free University in Berlin. He was a temporary lecturer for The Social Behavior of Primates and The History of the Research in Biology. He also worked as a journalist and reporter specializing in cities and their nature for the Berliner Seiten and Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. He lives as journalist and writer in Berlin.