Herioc Symbol by Anselm Keifer

      Heroic Symbol by Anselm Keifer was photographed in 1969 and displays himself giving a sieg heil salute in a barren landscape. Anselm Keifer is a German artist who is often considered a neo-expressionist and alluded to the horrors of Nazi Germany in his works. In this work and in his other pieces from this time period he called for Germans to acknowledge the loss of their culture caused by the xenophobia of the Third Reich. This photograph was part of a series that displayed him giving the seig heil in various locations and poses. (Anselm Keifer, Wikipedia)

       This photograph in black and white creates a contrast between the water and the man thereby putting the focus on the man rather than the environment. The forest in the background is blurred and ominous creating a dark atmosphere. The salute the man is giving is limp and strikes a stark contrast with the sieg heil used at the height of Nazi control. The head of the man is down as if in shame as he gazes into the ripples of the water beneath him . This is symbolic of the shame that the Nazis brought upon Germany and the rippling effect of their actions upon the society. The man is alone in his salute creating an ironic effect: the sieg heil translates as hail victory and yet this photograph displays the utter defeat that the Nazis eventually faced . The man’s loneliness appears to lie in his faithfulness to a fallen cause and his shame in belonging to such a cause. He is alone in his struggle with the past and the shame it still brings him. (Anselm Keifer, Wikipedia)