Anselm Kiefer: Das Balder-Lied (Mint)

An artist book condensing Anselm Kiefer’s mythic and material imagination into a sequence of photographic paintings inspired by the tragedy of Balder.

Anselm Kiefer: Das Balder-Lied is an artist’s book by German artist Anselm Kiefer. Born in Donaueschingen in 1945, Kiefer has developed a distinctive practice that incorporates photography, collage and a wide range of materials to rework mythic and spiritual themes within a contemporary register. Published by Schirmer/Mosel under the supervision of Heiner Bastian, this volume brings together a concentrated selection of works that offers a powerful entry into Kiefer’s visual world.

The book centres on photographic paintings inspired by the death of Balder, the Norse god of light and purity. At its core lies the ancient Germanic riddle: “What did Odin say to the dead Balder as he lay on the funeral pyre?” As the pages unfold through alternating close-ups and overhead views of the paintings, the sequence produces an experience akin to witnessing a kind of cosmic expansion. It is precisely through photography—that is, through the reproduction of works rather than their direct exhibition—that the book opens up this particular mode of viewing. The decision to place all colophon and credit information on the dust jacket, leaving the interior entirely free of explanation, further intensifies its resonance with Kiefer’s work.

—

Title: Anselm Kiefer: Das Balder-Lied
Artist: Anselm Kiefer
Publisher: Schirmer/Mosel Verlag GmbH, 2008
Format: Hardcover with dust jacket
Size: 250 × 326 mm
Pages: 60
Language: English
Edition: First edition
ISBN: 978-3829603706

Condition: Mint. Sealed in original shrink wrap.