Anselm Kiefer
List Price: $100.00
Price: $67.50
You Save: $32.50 (32%)
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
I saw this book in the hard back edition in a shop and came to Amazon to buy it. Whilst trying to purchase the hardback version the system automatically took me to the paper back edition which I bought thinking it was teh same book with an updated cover but in softback. Big mistake. It is inferior to the hard back edition as it has not got many of the images I really wanted. Looking more closely later I saw it has about 100 less pages. Don't be fooled into buying the paper back edition I was very disappointed.
Great book. Great visionary.
Kiefer is one of the most easily recognized contemporary artists. This book is what I would call the definitive collection. Awesome value to anyone who follows the artist.
For the illustrations alone
An extraordinary tome, with a scale befitting the artist, his ambition and the size of his works. The reproductions are excellent, and many are necessarily spread over two pages without diminishing one's viewing pleasure. Size and fragility preclude many of Kiefer's works appearing in retrospectives, so it is remarkable that this particular overview includes a tremendous array of his unique works of art. I hesitate to use the word 'paintings', simply because Kiefer's current endeavors include a variety of materials with paint being only one component.
The text consists of a number of enlightening interviews with the artist over the years. All provide insight into the work itself and the man who makes it. For detailed analysis of the art, Daniel Arasse's monograph is a better bet. Kiefer's output is prodigious, and from year to year it is difficult for those interested to keep pace with the new work, so any and all books about this artist are welcome additions to one's library. I heartily recommend this recent addition to the catalogue. Mind you bend at the knees before lifting, and handle with care....!
Comprehensive and deep review of this pivotal artist.
This is a deep, thorough and comprehensive look at much of Keifer's oeuvre. It covers different periods of his work and reveals the shared threads of each phase. This book is one of the better ones that I've physically seen, as it has many pages of well-printed photographs and documentation. The text is well written and cogent.
As for the artist, he's compelling and profound. What more can be said?
Brilliant, haunting artwork
There is so much pain and desolation in Kiefer's paintings... while this is an outstanding book, with a comprehensive and balanced collection of paintings, the genius of Kiefer can only be genuinely experienced by seeing his art at a gallery, in person. His paintings are enormous and overpowering and wring true poetry out of their dual chrome palettes. Buy the book to get a taste of this masterful artist, find the nearest gallery with his paintings and go there. This man dwarfs Picasso and Dali.
List Price:
Price: $67.50
You Save: $32.50 (32%)
Description
German artist Anselm Kiefer is one of the most important and controversial artists of the post-world war II art scene. Begining with the work he showed at the 1980 Venice Biennale, he has interpreted the great political and cultural issues at the heart of the modern European sensibility, through media as diverse as painting, photography, artist’s books, installations, and sculpture. Kiefer’s wildly expressive work receives all the space and fluent interpretation it demands in this superb high-quality production. The book’s approximately 300 full-color images trace Kiefer’s creative evolution and present his great themes in their full scope and power. The author interprets Kiefer’s art as a site where distinctions between modern and postmodern senses of representation, history, cosmology, and nature become thematic. He addresses individual works and gives the historical, biographical, art-critical, and philosophical setting for each.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
Customer Reviews
Paper back edition inferiorI saw this book in the hard back edition in a shop and came to Amazon to buy it. Whilst trying to purchase the hardback version the system automatically took me to the paper back edition which I bought thinking it was teh same book with an updated cover but in softback. Big mistake. It is inferior to the hard back edition as it has not got many of the images I really wanted. Looking more closely later I saw it has about 100 less pages. Don't be fooled into buying the paper back edition I was very disappointed.
Great book. Great visionary.
Kiefer is one of the most easily recognized contemporary artists. This book is what I would call the definitive collection. Awesome value to anyone who follows the artist.
For the illustrations alone
An extraordinary tome, with a scale befitting the artist, his ambition and the size of his works. The reproductions are excellent, and many are necessarily spread over two pages without diminishing one's viewing pleasure. Size and fragility preclude many of Kiefer's works appearing in retrospectives, so it is remarkable that this particular overview includes a tremendous array of his unique works of art. I hesitate to use the word 'paintings', simply because Kiefer's current endeavors include a variety of materials with paint being only one component.
The text consists of a number of enlightening interviews with the artist over the years. All provide insight into the work itself and the man who makes it. For detailed analysis of the art, Daniel Arasse's monograph is a better bet. Kiefer's output is prodigious, and from year to year it is difficult for those interested to keep pace with the new work, so any and all books about this artist are welcome additions to one's library. I heartily recommend this recent addition to the catalogue. Mind you bend at the knees before lifting, and handle with care....!
Comprehensive and deep review of this pivotal artist.
This is a deep, thorough and comprehensive look at much of Keifer's oeuvre. It covers different periods of his work and reveals the shared threads of each phase. This book is one of the better ones that I've physically seen, as it has many pages of well-printed photographs and documentation. The text is well written and cogent.
As for the artist, he's compelling and profound. What more can be said?
Brilliant, haunting artwork
There is so much pain and desolation in Kiefer's paintings... while this is an outstanding book, with a comprehensive and balanced collection of paintings, the genius of Kiefer can only be genuinely experienced by seeing his art at a gallery, in person. His paintings are enormous and overpowering and wring true poetry out of their dual chrome palettes. Buy the book to get a taste of this masterful artist, find the nearest gallery with his paintings and go there. This man dwarfs Picasso and Dali.
Artist Rooms: The great modern art roadshowYou can see Anselm Kiefer's installation Palm Sunday, a colossal, uprooted palm tree surrounded by oversized and earth-encrusted botanical images.