Writing about one of the most important and complex artists of our times requires the erudition, clarity, and broad view of a Daniel Arasse, author of the gorgeously illustrated Anselm Kiefer. Avoiding a straightforward chronological survey, Arasse plunges directly into Kiefer's major themes and the ways they reflect the artist's subtly evolving perspectives on German history, the role of the artist, and the meaning of life. Arasse illuminates Kiefer's use of Jewish kabbalistic symbolism, his relationship to philosophers and writers from Nietzsche to Celan, and the rich trove of metaphor to be found in his use of lead, straw, books, and images of railroad tracks and artists' palettes. Never succumbing to art-speak, Arasse--whose French text has been deftly translated into English--marshals his arguments with lucid elegance. The approximately 400 full-color plates, including full views and close-ups, are magnificent. This is surely one of the major art books of our time. --Cathy Curtis


From Booklist
Controversy has accompanied German artist Kiefer ever since his debut at the 1980 Venice Biennale, and now his challenging, wildly expressive, and theatrical paintings, sculptures, and installations receive all the space, high-quality reproductions, and fluent interpretation they demand in this superb, groundbreaking volume. Arasse begins by discussing the complexity of Kiefer's themes and iconography, noting that, taken as a whole, his work evinces a "labyrinthine quality," and addresses "the question of whether, and to what extent, it was possible to be a 'German artist' after the Holocaust and the appropriation of that country's national artistic and cultural traditions by the Third Reich." It isn't easy to grasp all that Kiefer is up to in his disturbingly ambiguous inquiry into Nazi imagery, blending of myth and history, depictions of scorched and blasted landscapes and buildings, and use of books as objects, so readers will greatly appreciate Arasse's lucidity, energetic intellectual engagement, and forthrightness in discussing the ethical problems and philosophical conundrums posed by Kiefer's undeniably powerful creations. Donna Seaman
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Language Notes
Text: German, English