PRINTCatalogue Note:
AVE MARIA, MATER CASTISSIMA
ANSELM KIEFER
There is no question that the painter Anselm Kiefer made great contributions to world culture at the end of the 20th century. He was one of the most prominent painters of "New Expressionism" in the 1980s. Kiefer was born in Donaueschingen in then - West Germany in 1945 - a year otherwise known as "German Zero Hour." The term refers to the rebirth of Germany after their defeat in the war, when all things of the past no longer existed and the future was yet unknown - when all had to start from zero. After the Second World War, the entire German nation had to shoulder an unbearable burden. The new generation born after 1945, in particular, did not know how to bear responsibility for the remnants of something they did not cause but that they knew would haunt them nonetheless. Kiefer is a member of this generation. Having grown up in the ruins and shadows of the Third Reich, there is always a touch of sadness to his works, a sense of the sombre German tones.
Influenced by the great German art master Joseph Beuys, Kiefer chose to paint about German history, culture and mythologies, and the terror of Nazi Germany. Indeed, he addresses the past with courage and a clear attitude, quite unlike other artists of the same period who avoided painting about the war, treating it as taboo. Later on, expanding beyond the German themes, Kiefer started to paint about fate and culture in general. Not only were his works a collection of nationalist symbols and memories, they also held mysterious meanings from symbolism, theology, and mysticism. Generally speaking, Kiefer still took his inspiration from his experience in, and memories of, society in its entirety - that is, from the wounds from the countless deaths, regenerations, and rebirths that he encountered. Centered on the overwhelming guilt of the nation, his paintings capture accurately Germans' despondency and reflections after the defeat in the war.
Kiefer once made the now frequently quoted statement, My biography is Germany's biography. His works are literary, like epic poems. Standing in front of his paintings, one cannot help but to be impressed by the poetry in them - a deep and heavy touch of history penetrates into and resonates in each viewer's heart. He often applies a wide range of materials, such as oil paint, steel, lead, dusts, photosensitive coatings, stones, leaves, photographs, woodcuts, wheat, and petroleum. The large scale of the composition and its mix of materials make his paintings visually impressive. Pieces that represent the ruined, the unconfined, and the fragmented organize themselves into a peaceful, poetic, and magnificent scroll. Although Kiefer produced these works in an unusual time and place, they nonetheless point out common problems. For example, they show that most of us lack something deep down in our spirits; perhaps it is a unique attitude for life, persistence and endurance, the courage to face the world wholeheartedly, or everlasting love. And at the same time, they also lead the viewers to think about heaven and how it may give us hope, console our hearts, and fulfill whatever we are lacking.
London art historian Norman Rosenthal wrote, "In his art, Kiefer 'puts together the terrible and the wonderful of his country in an impressive way.'" Germans have always been perceived as extremely rule-abiding and rational. But it was also this kind of nation that gave birth to the mad, like Hitler and the Nazis, who had led German Romanticism to the devil. The unparalleled lure of German Expressionism was equated to "terror" and "guilt" in Nazi Germany. As the Second World War ended, German Romanticism was perceived as the source of national disaster and shame.
That said, it is not hard to discover that Kiefer's coarse, bold, and lavish artistic language orchestrates a new hope that is exactly what German Romanticism needs. All sorts of waste - disorderly, fragmented, ruined - become mesmerizing paintings through Kiefer's hands, and in this way, Kiefer is akin to an invisible guard of the heap of ruins known as German Romanticism.
A wise person once said, "Hell is people." It is a pity that most people interpret this saying as "Hell is other people." To live without belief or love is to stand at the edge of a precipice. The greatest dramas in the world are tragedies, since tragedies can better reflect the true nature of beauty. Is it fair to say that the best paintings have a touch of tragedy in them? Anselm Kiefer has indeed interpreted truth, belief, and love perfectly.
In 2007, following Georges Braque half a century ago, Kiefer's works were granted the honor of a permanent place at the Louvre, Paris.
ANSELM KIEFER
There is no question that the painter Anselm Kiefer made great contributions to world culture at the end of the 20th century. He was one of the most prominent painters of "New Expressionism" in the 1980s. Kiefer was born in Donaueschingen in then - West Germany in 1945 - a year otherwise known as "German Zero Hour." The term refers to the rebirth of Germany after their defeat in the war, when all things of the past no longer existed and the future was yet unknown - when all had to start from zero. After the Second World War, the entire German nation had to shoulder an unbearable burden. The new generation born after 1945, in particular, did not know how to bear responsibility for the remnants of something they did not cause but that they knew would haunt them nonetheless. Kiefer is a member of this generation. Having grown up in the ruins and shadows of the Third Reich, there is always a touch of sadness to his works, a sense of the sombre German tones.
Influenced by the great German art master Joseph Beuys, Kiefer chose to paint about German history, culture and mythologies, and the terror of Nazi Germany. Indeed, he addresses the past with courage and a clear attitude, quite unlike other artists of the same period who avoided painting about the war, treating it as taboo. Later on, expanding beyond the German themes, Kiefer started to paint about fate and culture in general. Not only were his works a collection of nationalist symbols and memories, they also held mysterious meanings from symbolism, theology, and mysticism. Generally speaking, Kiefer still took his inspiration from his experience in, and memories of, society in its entirety - that is, from the wounds from the countless deaths, regenerations, and rebirths that he encountered. Centered on the overwhelming guilt of the nation, his paintings capture accurately Germans' despondency and reflections after the defeat in the war.
Kiefer once made the now frequently quoted statement, My biography is Germany's biography. His works are literary, like epic poems. Standing in front of his paintings, one cannot help but to be impressed by the poetry in them - a deep and heavy touch of history penetrates into and resonates in each viewer's heart. He often applies a wide range of materials, such as oil paint, steel, lead, dusts, photosensitive coatings, stones, leaves, photographs, woodcuts, wheat, and petroleum. The large scale of the composition and its mix of materials make his paintings visually impressive. Pieces that represent the ruined, the unconfined, and the fragmented organize themselves into a peaceful, poetic, and magnificent scroll. Although Kiefer produced these works in an unusual time and place, they nonetheless point out common problems. For example, they show that most of us lack something deep down in our spirits; perhaps it is a unique attitude for life, persistence and endurance, the courage to face the world wholeheartedly, or everlasting love. And at the same time, they also lead the viewers to think about heaven and how it may give us hope, console our hearts, and fulfill whatever we are lacking.
London art historian Norman Rosenthal wrote, "In his art, Kiefer 'puts together the terrible and the wonderful of his country in an impressive way.'" Germans have always been perceived as extremely rule-abiding and rational. But it was also this kind of nation that gave birth to the mad, like Hitler and the Nazis, who had led German Romanticism to the devil. The unparalleled lure of German Expressionism was equated to "terror" and "guilt" in Nazi Germany. As the Second World War ended, German Romanticism was perceived as the source of national disaster and shame.
That said, it is not hard to discover that Kiefer's coarse, bold, and lavish artistic language orchestrates a new hope that is exactly what German Romanticism needs. All sorts of waste - disorderly, fragmented, ruined - become mesmerizing paintings through Kiefer's hands, and in this way, Kiefer is akin to an invisible guard of the heap of ruins known as German Romanticism.
A wise person once said, "Hell is people." It is a pity that most people interpret this saying as "Hell is other people." To live without belief or love is to stand at the edge of a precipice. The greatest dramas in the world are tragedies, since tragedies can better reflect the true nature of beauty. Is it fair to say that the best paintings have a touch of tragedy in them? Anselm Kiefer has indeed interpreted truth, belief, and love perfectly.
In 2007, following Georges Braque half a century ago, Kiefer's works were granted the honor of a permanent place at the Louvre, Paris.