"A complex critical engagement with history runs through Anselm Kiefer's work. His paintings as well as the sculptures of w:Georg Baselitz created an uproar at the 1980 Venice Biennale: the viewers had to decide whether the apparent Nazi motifs were meant ironically or whether the works were meant to convey actual fascist ideas. Kiefer worked with the conviction that art could heal a traumatized nation and a vexed, divided world. He created epic paintings on giant canvases that called up the history of German culture with the help of depictions of figures such as Richard Wagner or Goethe, thus continuing the historical tradition of painting as a medium of addressing the world. Only a few contemporary artists have such a pronounced sense of art's duty to engage the past and the ethical questions of the present, and are in the position to express the possibility of the absolution of guilt through human effort."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Quote in the 'Explanatory statement' of the Award 'Praemium Imperiale' of 1999 - by the Japan Art Association
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Anselm_Kiefer
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Anselm Kiefer
22 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Anselm Kiefer →
Related Quotes
"What interests me is the transformation, not the monument. I don't construct ruins, but I feel ruins are moments when…"
"What fascinates me about Duchamp is the idea of tearing down the wall between the art object and reality."
"Kandinsky was connected with Die Brücke and the Blue Rider: they had a concept and created a reality. But I prefer Je…"
"I perceive existentialism as a necessity of decision. This is the essential aspect of existentialism and simultaneous…"
"Perspective and Impressionism were tentative attempts to deal with the world of appearance because of a fear to look …"
"Mondrian began with his paintings of the seashore, with blue trees and the cathedral. These paintings were totally sy…"
"I do not believe that there is an external element to be disrupted now. The situation is different from the period of…"
"In 1968 the end of art was announced, but this was for political reasons and for the wrong reasons. At that time it w…"
"When I went to school [art-school - Joseph Beuys was one of his art teachers and a very inspiring one] there was Pop …"
"When knowledge becomes rigid, it stops living."