Anselm Kiefer quotes

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Anselm Kiefer

Birthdate: 8. March 1945

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

Quotes Anselm Kiefer

„[on becoming an artist] It is my profession, yes [ to be an artist] but a calling.. that a little bit pathetic, a little bit bombastic. I think it was much more natural... I Thought – when I was a child – the only method to be not in the world but outside of the world is to be an artist. I feel me outside, yes..“

— Anselm Kiefer

n.p.
Tim Marlow joins Anselm Kiefer to discuss his work' - 2005

World, Feeling, Nature, Thinking

„This time during the Second World War is part of my history, part of my memory, but it is the latest part of my memory, so the memories of each human being goes much more back, it goes to the dinosaurs, even later [Kiefer means: earlier].... I think we even remember geological times. So this is one little part of our / of mine memory“

— Anselm Kiefer

the Second World War
n.p.
Tim Marlow joins Anselm Kiefer to discuss his work' - 2005

War, World, History, Thinking

„There is a reciprocal action between the work of art and the viewer. The river changes the work of art and criticism can also change the artist... There are so many ideas afloat; any of them could have triggered the work of art. It is impossible to determine exactly if the idea has been transmitted by the critic, or if the work itself has determined its outcome..“

— Anselm Kiefer

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Structures are no longer valid', in "Ein Gespräch..."

Art, Idea, Change

„I am only able to do what stirs me. I want to perceive with my senses things which at the moment are not generally perceived. I do not share, as yet, Beuys' consciousness or hope that all people are moving to a certain point where they all become artists. I am of the opinion that there are artists and non-artists. I think that this is the way it always was and always will be. I do not believe that we are in the center of the world. It is possible that there are gods who do not relate to human. As an artist, I believe that it is possible to depict these forces. I know it sounds absurd when I say that man can perceive some things and adumbrate powers, which do not relate to him. But perhaps the artist, unlike the non-artist, is able to do just that.“

— Anselm Kiefer

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Structures are no longer valid', in "Ein Gespräch..."

God, People, World, Hope

„I want to say something about Picasso as a revolutionary. A revolution in the history of art is a reflection of the history of society. Art cannot revolutionize society. It is a reflection of that revolution.. You [= Joseph Beuys ] talking in the same interview] have revolutionized art. But I do not see that you have revolutionized society directly. You have depicted what has not yet existed.... art and life are not two separate realms, but they have shifted out of phase with each other.“

— Anselm Kiefer

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

Life, Art, History

„Kandinsky was connected with Die Brücke and the Blue Rider: they had a concept and created a reality. But I prefer Jean Fautrier [French painter-artist; 1898 - 1965] with his suffering and self-absorption. And his purpose on bringing about changes was just as strong. As a result I see in Fautrier a stronger paradigm than in Kandinsky..“

— Anselm Kiefer

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

Reality, Strong, Suffering, Change

„I used my self, my body [in his art] as an instrument.... not only my body but also my spirit.... as an instrument to research something.“

— Anselm Kiefer

n.p.
Tim Marlow joins Anselm Kiefer to discuss his work' - 2005

„I perceive existentialism as a necessity of decision. This is the essential aspect of existentialism and simultaneously the most subversive factor..“

— Anselm Kiefer

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

„In 1968 the end of art was announced, but this was for political reasons and for the wrong reasons. At that time it was believed that as long as there were only formal relationships, one did not have to deal with a luxury such as art.“

— Anselm Kiefer

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

„Perspective and Impressionism were tentative attempts to deal with the world of appearance because of a fear to look inside. Cubism is structure and order. Now both epidermis and order are no longer possible.... The accidental aspects of Impressionist composition are to be understood as a reaction. And the reaction of Cézanne is to be seen as a response to Impressionism. One cannot simply disregard Impressionism. As a dialectic antithesis it was important. The Impressionists had the idea of dissolution; they wanted to represent light, not bodies and not shadows, but light for itself. Frequently I find this tedious, but there is an idea behind it: Atomization is a modern idea..“

— Anselm Kiefer

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

World, Fear, Idea, Light

„What interests me is the transformation, not the monument. I don't construct ruins, but I feel ruins are moments when things show themselves. A ruin is not a catastrophe. It is the moment when things can start again.“

— Anselm Kiefer

Quoted in Huffington Post http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joshua-schwartz/in-the-beginning-there-was-not_b_1703387.html

„I do not believe that there is an external element to be disrupted now. The situation is different from the period of the Dadaists. There is nothing to overthrow now, because everything has been co-opted. To be subversive now in the sense of Dadaism would be reactionary, because now it would be the attitude of model students..“

— Anselm Kiefer

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

„Mondrian began with his paintings of the seashore, with blue trees and the cathedral. These paintings were totally symbolist paintings... Until the very end Mondrian remains a Symbolist and an Expressionist.“

— Anselm Kiefer

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

„Why have our standards fallen so low? Why do we have all these ugly things which nobody needs? Industrial manufacture and new materials have led to truly unlimited possibilities of forms. There are no longer any natural constraints which depend on materials such as wood and stone. We simply manufacture everything that is technically possible and lack new structures on which to base our decisions.“

— Anselm Kiefer

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

Nature, Decision, Dependency

„When knowledge becomes rigid, it stops living.“

— Anselm Kiefer

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.“

— Anselm Kiefer

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

„[referring to his painting 'Everyone Stands under His Own Dome of Heaven' (1971): It is a man in his own universe. It [the painting] was a quotation of, taken out of Robert Musil's novel 'Der Mann ohne Eigenschaften'; how do you translate it in English? 'The Man without qualities', I think – the most important book of the 20th century I would say. So this is a quotation: Jeder Mensch soll nach seine Himmel gucken.... I meant there is no objective truth. So as I discovered later, there is no objective history. There is no history; each human being made its own history – has his own thoughts and his own world. And sometimes two domes touch each other, or cross each other, but everyone is alone with its own illusions and methods..“

— Anselm Kiefer

n.p.
Tim Marlow joins Anselm Kiefer to discuss his work' - 2005

Truth, Books, World, History

„The Germans always had difficulties with their identity. Either it was too much and too loud, or it was hidden and too subservient. The French always had a healthy self-confidence. When they spoke of a 'grande nation' it was not dangerous. De Gaulle could say on Martinique: 'Behind me is the ocean. In front of me is France.“

— Anselm Kiefer

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

Confidence, Self-confidence

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

— Anselm Kiefer

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

Art, Idea, Reality, Tear

„When I went to school [art-school - Joseph Beuys was one of his art teachers and a very inspiring one] there was Pop Art. The Americans dismissed us from our responsibilities. They mailed us Care packages and Democracy. The search for our own identity was postponed. After the 'time of misfortune' as it has been called euphemistically, one thought in 1946 to begin anew. Even now we talk about the 'Point Zero'. But that is not possible; this is nonsense. The past is tabulated because to confront it would necessitate denial and disgust..“

— Anselm Kiefer

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

School, Art, Democracy, Search

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