A Bleak Landscape Made Ample: Anselm Kiefer



Posted: Wednesday, March 07, 2007

by

The message-driven work of German artist Anselm Kiefer conveys as much through the complex layering of cultural and mythological symbols as it does stylistically Not only is his work inundated with metaphor, but is unmistakable in its’ voice through use of unorthodox materials. Although he has expanded to other mediums like watercolor, sculpture, woodcuts and bound image books, his oil paintings with mixed media are his signature. The evolution of his style, along with his views on humanity, are especially evident in his various abstract landscapes.Kiefer was born in 1945, the year referred to as "zero hour,"or the beginning of the post-Nazi era and rebirth of independent German culture. His first recognized paintings symbolized the massive upheaval of the country’s citizens following WWII. He addresses the loss of cultural identity, socio-economic instability and guilt-stigma following the delusional enforcement of the Fascist campaign, and the Cold War to follow.

Kiefer was influenced by the abstract intellectual art of the 1970s. Although not easily classified, his genre is agreed upon as New Symbolism- an offshoot of Symbolism, first expressed in poetry, but later extended to other art forms. The movement stresses impressions by suggestion rather than by direct statement, such as seen in the painting’s of Edvard Munch, Odilon Redon, and Gustave Moreau. Although he is Symbolist in message and subject matter, his articulation is clearly Neo-expressionist- a movement of painters made popular in Europe and America in the 1980s, characterized by the artist’s intense emotional subjectivity and the aggressive handling of materials. Neo-Expressionist paintings are typically created rapidly, sometimes with found objects in their surfaces.

In his early years, he began creating typically massive, gestural paintings that contained figurative elements, but also layers of recognizable symbols. He explored his peoples’ uncertain cultural identity through the blatant use of Nazi images, German mythological figures and characters from Wagner’s epic operas.

He used new combinations of mixed media- underlying photographs, photo emulsion, lead, pottery shards, glass, sand, ash and plant materials that he knowingly chose to add a delicate and temporary aspect. This is evident in "Your Golden Hair, Margarete"(oil and straw) where he references "Death Fugue" a poem by Paul Celan about the experience of a German death camp. Here, strata of drab hues provide a backdrop for an abstract figure with straw representing the golden hair of the Nazi’s Aryan ideal.

In Resurrexit (oil on canvas, burlap), he depicts a path leading through dark woods leading to distant building. The serpent represents Satan occupying humanity’s travel. Above, there is a creaky staircase with a shut door which represents Heaven, and our lack of accessability to it.

Kiefer’s style evolved noticeably as he countered Germany’s cultural isolation with extensive traveling. He no longer focused solely on Germany's role in civilization, but the trauma experienced by entire societies throughout time. Through Nordic, Egyptian, Greek, early Christian, middle-eastern, as well as Jewish mystic imagery he explores more deeply human philosophical dilemmas- heaven and hell, thrise and fall of empires, death and rebirth.

An example is "Nero Paints"(oil on canvas), an almost violent landscape with a dark impressionistic quality from a distance, but up close buildings are burning in the upper right corner. Much of the image is obscured by a red, crudely drawn artists’ pallette. The title and imagery convey a leaders self-interest and indifference to his empire’s destruction, the case for Caesar Nero.

Kiefer later moves toward more general messages, and further refines his technique. As he becomes more elaborate and sculptural, his messages become more universal, less literal. In " The Milky Way,"(emulsion, oil, acrylic, shellac with wires and lead) there are no stars present. We see a landscape that appears to be torched, giving an impression of devastation. In the foreground, a funnel hopes to capture the illuminating golden light of the scene and rejuvenate the land.

In "The Book"(oil, lead, photographic paper, straw, fabric on canvas) a large, lead tome floating over a dark, barren landscape. The book is open to, potentially, a bible passage marking disaster, but it could also symbolize the wisdom of humanity, our redemption.

"The Order of Angels"(oil on canvas, plane propellor, rocks) shows a plane propellor and rocks representing meteorites that have fallen to shore. The painting suggests the horrors of war, and Heaven itself falling from the sky.

Toward the end of the century, Kiefer seems to become more optimistic. Much of his symbolic imagery moves toward star charts, books, and ladders. This depicts his hope for humanity bettering itself. In "Falling Stars" (oil on canvas) a half-bare figure, similar to Kiefer himself, lies across his own signature barren landscape gazing at constellations.

In time, uncertainty eventually yields stability- for the artist, Germany and all people. Kiefer shows us the universal thread stitched through all cultures, and the beauty that can be seen in the ugliest parts of humanity. Through his work we develop a sense of possibility, while being made more aware of the debris none of us can shake loose.

Jesse Wanamaker is a freelance writer currently working with http://www.nonstarvingartists.com.
This Article has been viewed 2,065 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
No comments yet.
We want your comments! If you can read this, you don't have javascript enabled, so you can't use this comment system. Please enable javascript.