Georg Baselitz
Georg Baselitz
Georg Baselitzis a German painter. Baselitz's style is interpreted by the Northern American critics as Neo-Expressionist, but from a European perspective, it is more seen as postmodern...
NationalityGerman
ProfessionArtist
Date of Birth23 January 1938
CountryGermany
unique simple important
I don't like things that can be reproduced. Wood isn't important in itself but rather in the fact that objects made in it are unique, simple, unpretentious.
changes result style
Changes in style result from intellectual processes. I continually try to find something new so that I can change. I still do it today.
painting feels
I always feel attacked when I'm asked about my painting.
monsters want tradition
I dont want to create a monster; I want to make something which is new, exceptional, something that only I do...something that references tradition, but is still new.
art world vehicle
Unlike the expressionists, I have never been interested in renewing the world through the vehicle of art.
change artist ideas
The idea of changing or improving the world is alien to me and seems ludicrous. Society functions, and always has, without the artist. No artist has ever changed anything for better or worse.
communication artist information
There is no communication with any public whatsoever. The artist can ask no question, and he makes no statement; he offers no information, and his work cannot be used. It is the end product which counts.
battle painting difficulty
My Paintings are Battles.
fresh-start painting starting
I love my old paintings as postulates as fresh starting points but I have to destroy them. I have to make a new manifesto.
country reality museums
Museums collect what's important in their respective countries. In Berlin's National Gallery, however, this isn't the case. They're interested neither in me nor the other usual suspects. It's simply a German reality.
country museums talking
In Germany, we often hear the absurd complaint that museums don't have the money to buy paintings. Of course, I'm not talking about me and my paintings. There are, after all, more popular painters in this country.
artist feelings patriotism
You cannot deny your origins: I love Kirchner more than Matisse, although Matisse was a greater artist. That isn't to do with nationality. It's a stronger feeling.
art believe play
Asked what role he believes art plays in society, Baselitz replied, 'The same role as a good shoe, nothing more.
artist ideas work-out
I always work out of uncertainty but when a painting's finished it becomes a fixed idea, apparently a final statement. In time though, uncertainty returns.. your thought process goes on.