Thinking about books and what they mean, their physicality, their role as carriers of knowledge and culture, and the book as an object of art has led me back to the artist Anselm Kiefer. I have had an erratic fascination with his work for nearly 15 years now, and his books hold great power over my imagination. Presented here, without comment, are some images of Anselm Kiefer's book art. I am in literal awe of his work. I obsess...
4 comments:
Keifer is one of my favorites. First time I saw one of his pieces was at the Cleveland museum about 6 years ago(?)
I first discovered his paintings in college but I was just not quite ready to even begin to comprehend what was going on. Even now, I struggle, but there is such a ferocious power to his work. It's stunning, really.
I know the piece you're talking about, too. It's in the Cleveland Museum of Art and it's called "Lot's Wife." About 15 wide by 10 feet tall. An amazing thing to behold.
Fascinating and worthy of so much commentary. In the first, that almost looks like a ship set afloat by the vast knowledge that sits beneath it - and there's what looks to be an antenna, searching for yet more knowledge. In the second, I see a man desperately climbing to visibility, with a naked desire to remain seen, even as the book that houses him fades into rot. Maybe I am impressing upon the works my own meaning, but these are definitely powerful images.
Brandon, I think some of the challenge and reward from really good art comes from the fact that there is often room for the viewer to project some of their own personal experiences onto the work. It's those universalities which really make something resonate with a wide swathe of humanity. There is so much to Kiefer's work, and he is so prolific, I am still struggling to even begin to understand him.
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