kkaarrlls: in praise of german titles

Weißwurst by Nic Stubbenhagen
‘Bavarian veal sausage’ (so German!)

On my way to Basel I stopped in Karlsruhe for the “kkaarrlls! Furnishings to come” exhibition, which has a better title in German that says “kkaarrlls! Perspektiven für den Hausrat von morgen”. That’s an excellent example for what can wrong when you try to translate titles.

‘bow bin’, by Cordula Kehrer

Have a look at names. They are to the point, mostly even funny and a nice exception, because they don’t feel the pressure to translate them in English. I mean, it’s a German edition collections and they stay true to their ancestry. I made this selection mainly because of their names (also aesthetics!) but even if Cordula Kehrer decided to use an English title, I simply love what she has done with this old bins by adding wickerwork. That’s why she is a part of this post.

Hochstapler by Silvia Knüppel
conman, but it means ‘stacking high’

The exhibition at the Badisches Landesmuseum in Karlsruhe runs until 8th January 2012.

‘bow bin’, by Cordula Kehrer

Zinfandel by Tom Pawlofsky
I am not sure what it is, to be honest. But it’s definitely German!

Explosit by Tina Becker
Third-person singular perfect active indicative of explodō. It’s latin. Also German is build on the Italic language.

Schlummerschlauch by Daniel Wandres
Dozzing hose could be a possible translation.

Kleiderspender by Silvia Knüppel
Clothing dispenser

In front of the museum

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