Monumenta-l Question - Why Anselm Kiefer?

Paris' newly inaugurated "Monumenta" exhibition is an annual one-man show specifically designed for the gigantic, recently renovated Grand Palais off the Champs Elysées. The tepid, if courteous, French press coverage seems to imply this question: Why spoil the place with Anselm Kiefer's work?

Kiefer's depressing, brooding large-scale paintings and sculpture certainly don't seem like the right opening note for a series of gala shows in this airy, glass-roofed Bell Epoque pavilion. So the newspapers and magazines are devoting much of their stories to explaining who Kiefer is-- an Austrian artist-- and why he matters-- because his overriding theme is history, especially the ruinous effects of 20th century European fascism and nationalism, and history, after all, is kind of important. Regular reference is made to Kiefer's move to the south of France 10 years ago, implying this played a role in the Monumenta choice. And just to let us all know things will only get better, Monumenta's next two shows-- Richard Serra in 2008 and Christian Boltanski in 2009-- are mentioned nearly as often. Beaux-Arts magazine even took the step of inviting two critics to write "for" and "against" reviews on facing pages. We doubt they'll do the same when it's Serra's turn at bat.