contains 24 photostats of photographs mounted on cardboard and bound in boards covered with black acrylic paint

%C2%A9 Anselm Kiefer

Unternehmen Seelöwe (Operation Sea Lion), 1975

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Anselm Kiefer's monumental artist’s book is a mocking denunciation of Germany's ill-conceived efforts to invade England during World War II (1939-45). This German military action, code named “Operation Sea Lion,” called for a massive fleet of naval forces in a coordinated crossing of the English Channel to overwhelm and defeat British defenses. Deemed unfeasible by the German High Command, the plan was ultimately abandoned by Adolf Hitler. Kiefer’s bathtub wargame reenactments of “Operation Sea Lion” belittle Hitler’s avowed dream of “a thousand year Reich.” The blackened and roughly textured surfaces of the hand-painted pages evoke the immense destruction and degradation of warfare.

Details
Title
Unternehmen Seelöwe (Operation Sea Lion)
Artist Life
born 1945
Role
Artist
Accession Number
B.83.1
Provenance
Anne S. Dayton, New York, until 1983; given to MIA.
Curator Approved

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contains 24 photostats of photographs mounted on cardboard and bound in boards covered with black acrylic paint

© Anselm Kiefer

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