Kiefer

Borrowed From: https://www.slam.org/collection/objects/15995/

I recently experienced Burning Rods by Anselm Kiefer at the St. Louis Art Museum. Generally, I find abstract art rather yawn-enducing. Yet this is a work that reminds me that dull art is never the fault of the medium, but the message.

Even before seeing the title of the painting, the subject-matter was quite clear to me. It seems that we (as viewers) are in the middle of a whirlpool caused by a nuclear blast. There’s a vortex forming around the epicenter of the explosion, as if the metal and concrete are being thrown around like waves from a tsunami.

There are real-world objects caught in the fray. An actual metal ice skate can be seen attached to the paint on the lower left-hand side. The museum tag says there is also straw, copper, and lead incorporated into the piece. I also remember seeing a shard of porcelain somewhere hanging in the paint.

One thing that cannot be understood without being in the room with the work is its monumental size. It is not the largest piece in the room, there are several other gargantuan works utilizing abstract forms, including a three-part piece that looks like TV static. These other works are exactly what I mean when I call abstract art yawn-enducing. They certainly depict a specific emotion or “vibe” but offer no substance. Not that enormous vibe paintings cannot provide a substantial reaction (see Mark Rothko) but artistry does not inherently evoke “art”.

Burning Rods captures a moment, but it’s more than just a single instant. The curling paint evoking metal in the progress of rusting implies that this decay continues outside of this particular moment in time. Even if we can expect this to happen quickly (since a blast only lasts a few real-world moments) this will not be the extent of the metal’s decay. What we see here is only one part of the process.

There are 14 comically numbered "burning rods” slightly off-center in the middle of the painting. While the 14 rods reference the Egyptian God, Osiris (according to the tag), this is just one aspect of the painting’s mythical qualities. The monumental size of the painting likens this moment to the History paintings common throughout Europe in the last millennium. Especially when considering that the rods also reference specific nuclear tragedies like that at Chernobyl.

This is not just a moment commemorating any particular instance of nuclear detonation, but an emotional response to the destruction fission is capable of. What is being depicted here can be up to debate, but what is obvious to anyone viewing it, is the feeling of absolute destruction and desolation.

As I sat and stared at this work for some time, I was reminded of a story I heard about a young girl sitting in front of Picasso’s Guernica. Though she was just a child, she was entranced by the horror of war depicted in an extremely graphic, yet not explicit way. I felt the same way that little girl must have felt, though Burning Rods is not necessarily about war. However, when looking at this piece, I was also reminded of the imagery of the ruins of Hiroshima from the Japanese film, Black Rain. While nuclear explosions are not usually intentional, and uncommon now that the technology is more precise, the possible use of nuclear artillery for war, will never go away. And the destruction can only increase from here.