One function of myth is to establish an identity by emotionally binding the individual to a national collective; this function has been more taboo in contemporary Germany than anywhere else. Anselm Kiefer’s earlier attempt to shatter the suppression of German collectivity by investigating national identity irked his critics. Despite the demystifying tendency of his investigations, there remained a remnant beyond rational thinking in the conceptually precarious space he staked out for himself. It was easier to see that this twilight contained a historically determined, night-blind angst, which