Anselm Kiefer Quotations

Because of my Calvinistic upbringing, I was trained to think that what you do has to have a purpose.

I might have been born into a very literal sense of chaos, but in fact that state is true of all of us.

Not content, but the road the artist takes, is the interesting part.

When I see a new artist I give myself a lot of time to reflect and decide whether it's art or not.

I am against the idea of the end, that everything culminates in paradise or judgment.

I grew up in a forest. It's like a room. It's protected. Like a cathedral... it is a place between heaven and earth.

Art is difficult. It's not entertainment. There are only a few people who can say something about art - it's very restricted. When I see a new artist I give myself a lot of time to reflect and decide whether it's art or not. Buying art is not understanding art.

I am of the opinion that there are artists and non-artists. I think that this is the way it always was and always will be. I do not believe that we are in the center of the world. It is possible that there are gods who do not relate to human. As an artist, I believe that it is possible to depict these forces.

But I believe above all that I wanted to build the palace of my memory, because my memory is my only homeland.

Art really is something very difficult. It is difficult to make, and it is sometimes difficult for the viewer to understand. It is difficult to work out what is art and what is not art.