No, I don't believe in History as an upwards progression… and that, upon reaching paradise – represented by the last judgment, or by communism – History ceases to exist.

Anselm Kiefer, 'With History Under His Skin', in Anselm Kiefer: Merkaba (Edizioni Charta, 2006) p. 50

I've always been interested in the intermingling of different eras: there's our era, but also the geological era and the astronomical era. There are three in all.

Anselm Kiefer, 'With History Under His Skin', in Anselm Kiefer: Merkaba (Edizioni Charta, 2006) p. 49