What a feat - they built Kiefer an entire building for these works.
After seeing this show I did go home to watch the Anselm Kiefer show again. I have been to the mass moca a number of times but never while his building has been open - they only allow visitors in the summer. It was absolutely empty and had a somewhat religious aura, or perhaps it would be better described as cultic. Kiefer's work on women and Jewish lore renders me somewhat disgruntled: on the one hand I really do enjoy his work--it moves me in a very profound way, I suppose because it makes me so uncomfortable; however, I also wonder what business he has working with these myths, it almost feels like he is appropriating the name, calling Jewish people dead when there still is so much life and that does still bother me, I guess. Perhaps not even cultic, his work is deathly indeed. I appreciate his aim to bring to light a lack of education about and discussion around the Holocaust and the horrors of the German Reich, but there is also something very unsettling about the darkness and deathliness with which he portrays Jewish history.
I also though do feel like I can't say too much because I find his darkness so enticing. I will always be impressed by the sheer scale of decay in Kiefers work. This total monument to death - I would hesitate to say worship. Suppose I still can't see much of a difference between a monument and an anti-monument, though -- regardless of the intention anything large must be a monument to something, in my book.
I love Kiefers use of literature and poetry in his work. I think perhaps this focus on external sources is why Kiefer is so excellent at being allowed to do this work. This one is dedicated to Velimir Chlebnikov, a Russian poet and futurist. The work focuses on his idea that there are cyclical recurrences of climactic sea battles every 317 years. What a beautiful thing to sit with an idea for as long as it must have taken him to create this work.
This work was a bit strange for me to see I guess illustrating my discussion above - I obviously knew the symbol and it was the first thing I saw when I entered the room and it is called "Shekinah", referencing the divine bride / wandering woman / temple of Jerusalem. This interpretation struck me as defaced, and it was strange to see someone who's parents were Nazis creating a work with this subject in this matter, but artists can't be too precious, or so people keep telling me...
In the beds above ("The Women of the Revolution") and the print as well as this work ("Étroits sont les Vaisseaux") Kiefer uses lead which really does attract me. The print was particularly impressive to me his prints are so large and so beautiful and the scale -- that's the thing with Kiefer's work the mere scale - made my stomach jump to my throat. The same with his one on view at the RA this summer.
