Anselm Kiefer Quotes

Anselm Kiefer is a German painter and sculptor. He studied with Peter Dreher during the 1970s. His works incorporate materials such as straw, ash, clay, lead, and shellac. The poems of Paul Celan have played a role in developing Kiefer's themes of German history and the horror of the Holocaust, as have the spiritual concepts of Kabbalah.

In his entire body of work, Kiefer argues with the past and addresses taboo and controversial issues from recent history. Themes from Nazi rule are particularly reflected in his work; for instance, the painting "Margarethe" was inspired by Paul Celan's well-known poem "Todesfuge" .

His works are characterised by an unflinching willingness to confront his culture's dark past, and unrealised potential, in works that are often done on a large, confrontational scale well suited to the subjects. It is also characteristic of his work to find signatures and/or names of people of historical importance, legendary figures or historical places. All of these are encoded sigils through which Kiefer seeks to process the past; this has resulted in his work being linked with the movements New Symbolism and Neo–Expressionism.Kiefer has lived and worked in France since 1992. Since 2008, he has lived and worked primarily in Paris. In 2018, he was awarded Austrian citizenship. Wikipedia  

✵ 8. March 1945
Anselm Kiefer: 20   quotes 1   like

Famous Anselm Kiefer Quotes

Anselm Kiefer Quotes about art

“What fascinates me about Duchamp is the idea of tearing down the wall between the art object and reality.”

Source: "Anselm Kiefer and the Philosophy of Martin Heidegger" Matthew Biro, Cambridge University Press 1998, p. 304

Anselm Kiefer Quotes

“When knowledge becomes rigid, it stops living.”

Heaven and Earth, p. 167 http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=k6FPAAAAMAAJ&q=%22When+knowledge+becomes+rigid,+it+stops+living.%22&dq=%22When+knowledge+becomes+rigid,+it+stops+living.%22&source=bl&ots=qc5GkHZ7W8&sig=r4fvHty8ZLizfGWjXOpnguqLRTQ&hl=en&sa=X&ei=ZTxzUNKiI4Si0QWO2YH4Ag&ved=0CDAQ6AEwAA

“Until the artist is dead, we are not able to determine his work in all its dimensions.”

(1986) n.p.
Structures are no longer valid', in "Ein Gespräch..."

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