Date of Award

2014

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Humanities

First Advisor

Hassold, Cris

Keywords

Kiefer, Anselm, Germany, German Cultural Studies, Art

Area of Concentration

Art History

Abstract

This thesis focuses on the work of the contemporary German artist Anselm Kiefer. Specifically, I trace the presence of a specific object, an eight-sided polyhedron, throughout Kiefer’s artwork beginning in the 1980s. Rather than finding a conclusion to the answer of what exactly the polyhedron signifies in the artist’s work, I investigate the way in which the presence of the polyhedron creates a dialogue regarding the positive and negative characteristics of artistic creation, a topic critically important to Kiefer as a German artist working in a post-Holocaust landscape. I focus on how the polyhedron’s resistance to a singular interpretation is fundamental to its role in the work of Anselm Kiefer, acting as a catalyst for discussion on issues of history, politics, and, most importantly, the burdens and responsibilities of artistic creation.

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