Book, Song, Site: CCAD Fine Arts Professor Tim Rietenbach

tim reitenback portrait

Tim Rietenbach is a CCAD staple. He’s a Columbus College of Art & Design grad who has taught here for decades. You’ll find his piece Us in the Columbus Museum of Art’s permanent collection, and more of his work at Angela Meleca Gallery. We asked him to share a few of his favorites.

 

Book: Ami Go Home, Hans Rietenbach

One of the more interesting experiences I’ve had with a book happened during a summer residency in Dresden, Germany. My father was German. He was a child in Berlin during World War II. With some alcohol and a campfire, he would tell stories of his survival. Knowing none of us would be able to accurately recount his stories, he wrote a self-published book for his grandchildren to read as adults. It’s a cautionary tale. The arc goes from Hitler youth to starvation in postwar Berlin, to traveling to the U.S., and being drafted in the Army, then sent back to Germany as a soldier during the Korean War. I read it for a second time during my visit, after he’d died. Also that summer, I read David Sedaris’s Me Talk Pretty One Day, which provided some balance and some odd parallels.

Song: Naïve Melody, Talking Heads

My wife, Tamie, and I always considered this our song. We tried to convince my sister to sing it at our wedding, but she was intimidated by the comparison to David Byrne. I still want her to sing it.

Website: Forbes.com

Because it never fails to piss me off.


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