Saturday, April 27, 2013

Neo-Expressionism

Anselm Kiefer is a German Neo-expressionist painter that was born towards the end of WWII and became known for calling out his country for what they had done.
First of all Neo-Expressionism entails work that entails a rejection of traditional standards, an ambivalent emotional tone reflected in urban life and values, lack of pictorial idealization, intense color blending, and the presentation of inner disturbance, tension, alienation, and ambiguity. 
The people in German society remain ashamed of the actions taken by Adolf Hitler that has left them with a battered reputation. German citizens often choose to overlook and act as the events did not happen. This is where Kiefer gets his inspiration and transfers his emotional reaction onto canvas. Kiefer was upset and obsessed with reminding the German people of what happen and what they had done. This is fortolled in his work Heath of the Brandenburg March. 
The Brandenburg March was a Nazi rally in Berlin in 1933. In the rally people marched for the support of Hitler. Here, Kiefer is acknowledging that the war is over due to the empty road. However, he is still reminding the people that it should still be fresh in the mind. He says this by giving them the scene of the road, the road that is still intact, as should their shame should be. 

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