Joseph Beuys 1921-1986

Joseph Beuys grew up during the difficult years of the Nazi era. He witnessed things and took part in others yet his passion and talent in the art field was undeniable. His teachers always complemented on his talent for drawing as well as his musical talents with the piano and cello. Beuys always knew that he had an interest in natural studies and considered a profession in the medical field, but his influence from Wilhelm Lehmbruck's sculptures convinced Beuys to become a sculptor. After returning from war he enrolled himself in the "Monumental Sculpture" program offered at Düsseldorf Academy of Fine Arts. His focuses were balanced between his love of art and his love of nature.

In the 60's Beuys decided to come public with one of his art performances at an art festival that coincided with the 20th anniversary of an assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler. Beuys was attacked by a group of students and was punched in the face. The picture of Beuy's bleeding face circled the public. In response to this festival, Beuys created “Life Course/ Work Course" which was an idiosyncratic CV. Life Course/ Work Course was a writing that was based on a self-consciously fictionalized document on his life where historical events mingled with metaphorical and mythical speech. As Joseph Beuys may have found himself slightly influenced by the Fluxus movement in his later years, he swiftly moved away from the influences around the time of the late 60's.

I find Joseph Beuys really interesting. I like that he explains his reasoning behind some of his art work; whether it is the covering of objects in felt or his performance art pieces. For example "How to Explain Pictures to a Dead Hare", was known to be one of his most famous performance art pieces. He sat in a gallery with his head covered in honey and gold leaf while whispering information about the pictures on the walls to a dead hare that he cradled in his arms. He is explaining his passion to a dead animal that doesn't understand it. I love his explanation for this piece. It really shows how he combines natural sciences and art. 

“In putting honey on my head I am clearly doing something that has to do with thinking. Human ability is not to produce honey, but to think, to produce ideas. In this way the deathlike character of thinking becomes lifelike again. For honey is undoubtedly a living substance. Human thinking can be lively too. But it can also be intellectualized to a deadly degree, and remain dead, and express its deadliness in, say, the political or pedagogic fields. “Gold and honey indicate a transformation of the head, and therefore, naturally and logically, the brain and our understanding of thought, consciousness and all the other levels necessary to explain pictures to a hare: the warm stool insulated with felt…and the iron sole with the magnet. I had to walk on this sole when I carried the hare round from picture to picture, so along with the strange limp came the clank of iron on the hard stone floor—that was all that broke the silence, since my explanations were mute… “This seems to have been the action that most captured people’s imaginations. On one level this must be because everyone consciously or unconsciously recognizes the problem of explaining things, particularly where art and creative work are concerned, or anything that involves a certain mystery or question. The idea of explaining to an animal conveys a sense of the secrecy of the world and of existence that appeals to the imagination. Then, as I said, even a dead animal preserves more powers of intuition than some human beings with their stubborn rationality. “The problem lies in the word ‘understanding’ and its many levels which cannot be restricted to rational analysis. Imagination, inspiration, and longing all lead people to sense that these other levels also play a part in understanding. This must be the root of reactions to this action, and is why my technique has been to try and seek out the energy points in the human power field, rather than demanding specific knowledge or reactions on then part of the public. I try to bring to light the complexity of creative areas.”