"Unlike the expressionists, I have never been interested in renewing the world through the vehicle of art"

Georg Baselitz was a German painter and carver who was known for his figurative and abstract works. In this quote, he is revealing his absence of interest in the Expressionist movement, which was a modernist art movement that sought to renew the world through art. Baselitz was more interested in checking out the human condition and the psychological aspects of art, instead of using art as a tool for social change. He believed that art ought to be used to express the person's innermost ideas and sensations, instead of to attempt to change the world. He was likewise vital of the Expressionist movement, thinking that it was too concentrated on the external world and inadequate on the internal. By revealing his lack of interest in the Expressionist movement, Baselitz was emphasizing his own artistic philosophy and his belief that art need to be used to check out the individual's innermost thoughts and feelings.