By John Dunkelgrün
Should you decide to see only one museum exhibition this year, let it be “Sag mir wo die Blumen sind,” with works by Anselm Kiefer and Vincent van Gogh. Consider this magnificent exhibition even if you weren’t planning to go to a museum. Not only is it overwhelming by the size and impact of the works shown (some of which were specially made for this event), but it is also supremely topical.
It is actually a Kiefer exhibition, with a few works by Van Gogh to illustrate his influence on Kiefer’s development. After completing his formal education, Kiefer obtained a travel scholarship. He chose to follow in Van Gogh’s footsteps from Nuenen in Brabant to Arles in Provence, making numerous sketches on the way.
Like Van Gogh, Kiefer focuses on landscapes, grain, and straw. Unlike Van Gogh, his work conveys a profound anti-war sentiment. For Kiefer, landscape is history. It’s not merely that the subjects of his works are anti-war; Kiefer is subtler than that. Black crows hover over an eerie landscape; a single sheaf remains in an empty field, a dark wood lane leading nowhere. Kiefer doesn’t just use paint; he incorporates wood, straw, lead, and even gold leaf, all of which enhance his message.
The exhibition begins at the Van Gogh Museum and continues at the Stedelijk (Municipal) Museum. In the entrance hall, a massive screen, approximately 10 meters high, showcases changing works by Van Gogh. This somewhat prepares you, but not entirely, for the first room, which is filled with paintings by Anselm Kiefer as large as a London bus.
Fortunately, the hall is very spacious, as you’ll need serious distance to appreciate the impact of the artwork fully. Then get close and see how, like Van Gogh, Kiefer uses sweeping, seemingly wild brushstrokes. He lays the paint on thickly and uses whatever materials he has at hand. Text fragments of the song “Sag mir wo die Blumen sind,” an anti-war song first performed in 1962 by Marlene Dietrich, are incorporated in the works.
Upstairs is a room with the drawings Kiefer made on his early trip following Van Gogh. The influence is clearly visible, but as he wrote himself, he was more interested in the technique than in the feelings, the emotions behind them.
Then, off to the Stedelijk. As you ascend the majestic, wide stairs, you find yourself immersed in an enormous installation featuring dozens of garments on hangers crafted from lead or zinc. Are they pajamas, uniforms, or even concentration camp attire? Scattered around are heads of Greek philosophers, alongside an image of Kiefer himself lying on the ground. There are paintings of trees shedding their leaves, with some resting on the floor. Without blood or gore, this creates a powerful portrayal of the devastation of war.
Was ist geschehen?
Sag mir wo die Blumen sind,
Mädchen pflückten sie geschwind
Wann wird man je verstehen?
Wann wird man je verstehen?
When will we ever understand?
An absolute must-see till June 9th
