2010: Anselm Kiefer at Gagosian Gallery

© Anselm Kiefer / Gagosian Gallery

Anselm Kiefer’s “Next Year in Jerusalem” was unusual for both its subject matter and its installation style. All of the walls had been removed so you walked into one humongous room, in which had been placed a large number of tall vitrines, the highest among them reaching fifteen feet, some ten feet high by twenty feet wide. They were like separate living spaces sharing the same light and air as that of the spectators, but spatially and historically removed. The vitrines contained a great variety of different materials, imposing a broad spectrum of symbolism, the vitrines like inspired zoo cages, with the titles written by hand inside the glass, interrupting the viewing, bringing language into the exchange. The idiosyncratic quality of handwritten words versus institutional typefaces further reinforced this experience.

Being German, and having come of age on the heels of the Second World War, Kiefer has been progressively concerned with issues that relate to the history and myths of his cultural identity. Next Year in Jerusalem enacts a dramatic expression of his themes and motifs while simultaneously playing off agendas and conflicts that are rigorously ideological. It definitely affected a great many people who had different ways of showing how moved they were by it. Walking around the space I felt like I were in a museum, though of what I was not sure. The spareness of the display and the presence of vitrines recalled the older areas of the American Museum of Natural History.