Editing Anselm Kiefer (section)

===Philosophy===
Kiefer values a "spiritual connection" with the materials he works with, "extracting the spirit that already lives within [them]."<ref name="Wright-2006" /> In doing so, he transforms his materials with acid baths and physical blows with sticks and axes, among other processes.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Kennedy|first=Pete|title=How I Challenge the Canons with My Four German Ghost Dissenters|journal=Journal of Artists' Books|volume=38|pages=19–20|via=Columbia Chicago Center for Book & Paper Arts}}</ref>

He often chooses materials for their alchemical properties—lead in particular. Kiefer's initial attraction to lead arose when he had to repair aging pipes in the first house he owned. Eventually, he came to admire its physical and sensory qualities and began to discover more about its connection to [[alchemy]].<ref name="Wright-2006" /> Physically, Kiefer specifically likes how the metal looks during the heating and melting process when he sees many colors, especially gold, which he associates to the symbolic gold sought by alchemists.<ref name="Albano-1998">{{Cite journal|last=Albano|first=Albert P.|date=1998|title=Reflections on Painting, Alchemy, Nazism: Visiting with Anselm Kiefer|journal=Journal of the American Institute for Conservation|volume=37|issue=3|pages=348–361|doi=10.2307/3179818|issn=0197-1360|jstor=3179818}}</ref>

Kiefer's use of straw in his work represents energy. He claims this is due to straw's physical qualities, including the color gold and its release of energy and heat when burned. The resulting ash makes way for new creation, thus echoing the motifs of transformation and the cycle of life.<ref name="Albano-1998" />

Kiefer also values the balance between order and chaos in his work, stating, "[I]f there is too much order, [the piece] is dead; or if there is much chaos, it doesn't cohere." In addition, he cares deeply about the space in which his works reside. He states that his works "lose their power completely" if put in the wrong spaces.<ref name="Wright-2006">{{Cite journal|last=Wright|first=Karen|date=November 2006|title=The Ruins of Barjac: Politics, alchemy, and learning to dance in Anselm Kiefer's world|journal=Modern Painters|pages=68–75}}</ref>