Grane

When looking at this painting, I see the skeleton of a horse with the word Grane above it. Grane would be the title of the painting. "The title of this work refers to Brunhilde's horse in the renowned operatic cycle, The Ring, by Richard Wagner. Near the opera's end, Brunhilde, in grief over the murder of the hero Siegfried, makes a funeral for him and rides her horse, Grane, into the flames to join her beloved in death" (moma.org). Moma.org says that much of the power of this image originates from Kiefer's forceful use of the woodcut medium; in the jagged edges of the white areas we sense the artist's bold cutting of the woodblock. I do not quite understand what this means but he uses the wooden background for a reason. The skeleton of the horse could have been burning in a barn, which would have wooden stalls. If one would look closely to the painting, he will see the orange-red tint to the wood. That could represent the flames as well. "The monumental size of this work required thirteen sheets of paper to be joined together and mounted on linen" (moma.org).

Anselm Kiefer produced many pieces of work, just trying to explore his nation’s identity and what he had faced from what happened during World War II. “His imagery contains references to his country's historical and cultural past but also serves as a metaphor for universal suffering, sacrifice, and destruction. He incorporates woodcuts into paintings, groups them together to create works that rival the grand scale of his paintings, or uses them in his many illustrated books” (moma.org). When Kiefer made his art work, he would include a wide range of materials into it. Much of what he would use would be natural resources such as; straw, lead, sand, tar and plants. Another natural resource that he would use would be wood and then with that wood, he would do a technique called woodcut. “The technique of woodcut has a long and distinguished history in German art” (moma.org). One other material that he uses is photographs. “Richard Wagner's opera cycle, The Ring and the tragic fate of its protagonists Siegfried and Brunhilde form the backdrop for Grane. The heroic role of Brunhilde's horse, Grane, is a recurring motif in Kiefer's work” (moma.org).

When looking at this piece of art, no other artwork comes straight to mind. When glancing through the book Movements in Art Since 1945 by Edward Lucie-Smith, I found a piece that resembles Grane quite well. The 1993 piece of art is titled Deep into Russia by Oleg Kulik. It is black and white and has sheep in it and is surrounded by wood. Although it does not convey death, it still resembles Grane. Being very involved with horses, it reminds me of my horse’s, and just pictures of the horse’s skeleton. The word Grane looks like it is engraved into wood, which could be a stall door or something involved with the horse. Out of all the paintings, this one is my favorite because it involves a horse and I can relate to that.

moma.org. 2009. The Collection. 23 Nov. 2009
< http://www.moma.org/collection/browse_results.php?object_id=61992>.

Lucie-Smith, Edward. movements in art since 1945. New York: THAMES & HUDSON INC., 1995.

Margarete

"Margarethe," created in the year 1981, is one of Anselm Kiefer's most famous paintings. “Margarete is a blonde woman, which is an ideal female quality associated with German women, while Shulamite, the brunette, is a Jewish female protagonist of the 'Song of Solomon,' who is considered an essence of true and selfless love”(ezinearticles.com). In this painting, Kiefer used a blonde woman and a brunette woman to convey complete opposite characteristics but at the same time, what they want in the end is the same. (ezinearticles.com).

In his entire body of work, Kiefer argues with the past and addresses outlawed and controversial issues from recent history. “Themes from Nazi rule are particularly reflected in his work; for instance, the painting "Margarethe" (oil and straw on canvas) was inspired by Paul Celan's well-known poem "Todesfuge" ("Death Fugue")” (ezinearticles.com). “For many decades, there were polemical discussions in the media over the value of his artistic work” (all-art.org). “The poetry describes the murderous instincts of Hitler, and the ordeal of the refugees at the Nazi concentration camps. ”Margarethe" is the last in the series of paintings based on 'Death Fugue’”(ezinearticles.com). Like most of his other paintings, this one also uses natural earth substances, such as soil, lead, sand, straw, etc. “Kiefer has used straw, bundled in the form of golden coiffure to symbolize blonde hair. He also used black-grey paint, for Shulamite's burnt hair” (ezinearticles.com).

When I look at this painting, I simply just see straw painted to look like it has grown straight out of the ground. It kind of resembles corn growing. After looking this painting up, and realizing what Anselm wanted to portray, the painting made a little sense. I can see the difference in the blonde and the brunette hair. When looking at this painting, reminds me of the 1994 piece of art titled “Tree Cairn” by Andy Goldsworthy (Lucie-Smith-159). It looks nothing like “Margarethe” but everything in it is a natural resource and in all of Anselm’s paintings, he uses natural resources (.

all-art.com. Anselm Kiefer. 23 Nov. 2009
<http://www.all-art.org/art_20th_century/Kiefer1.html>.
ezinearticles.com. 2009. His Most Famous Painting- Margarethe-Anselm Kiefer. 23 Nov. 2009
<http://ezinearticles.com/?His-Most-Famous-Painting---Margarethe---Anselm-Kiefer&id=2283519>.
Lucie-Smith, Edward. movements in art since 1945. New York: THAMES & HUDSON INC., 1995.

Resurrexit

Anselm Kiefer painted the picture, Resurrexit in the year 1973. “It depicts an abandoned forest road, in which the trees are covered with blood, the only living resident is the primeval snake (bottom center), and put together above the forbidding woods, centered at the fading point of the road, there is a wooden staircase” (siue.edu). Kiefer’s studio was once a schoolhouse. Once he got it, he renovated it and turned it into his studio. The only entrance into that studio was the stairs that led up to the door. The wooden stairs in this painting is supposed to be those stairs. (artcyclopedia.com) The word "Resurrexit" is written on the steps of the staircase. “Above the word Resurrexit, at the top of the stairs, the door is tightly shut. According to Gerhard Richter, "Kiefer's work is concerned with the Sisyphean task of working through history and its imbrications in the mythical: to attempt to come to terms with their ghostliness, but also to employ them as the vexed prime material out of which a thought may flow into artistic form"(siue.edu).

In this piece of artwork, I don’t think that Kiefer was referring this to a social issue. I think that he was using little pieces of his own life and placing them in the picture. The stair case is the staircase leading to his studio, and the snake is representing himself. He made huge paintings, using symbolic images to deal with 20th century German history. “These developed an array of visual symbols commenting on tragic aspects of German history and culture, particularly Nazi period. In the 1970’s, Anselm painted series of landscapes that captured the German countryside” (ibiblio.org).

This painting is very unique and makes one think. When I first saw it, I thought that the staircase was a symbol of the staircase to heaven. If you follow that path or that road, when you get to the end, you will reach the place that everyone wants to end up. The road with the leafless trees kind of reminds me of most of the roads around my house after the leaves have fallen off. It is very peaceful and pretty. But with the blood on the trees, it seems like it is not peaceful at all and it makes you want to get to the end of the road much sooner. But this piece of artwork does not remind me of any other piece.

artcyclopedia.com. Far From Heaven: Anselm Kiefer at the Hirshorn. 23 Nov. 2009
<http://www.artcyclopedia.com/feature-2006-09.html>.
ibiblio.org. 14 Jul 2002. Kiefer, Anselm. 23 Nov.2009
<http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/kiefer/>.
siue.edu. 23 Nov. 2009
<http://www.siue.edu/~ejoy/KiernanBarcilonText.htm>.