Joseph Beuys

      Joseph Beuys was a contemporary, sculptor, installation artist, and art theorist born on May 12th, 1921 in Krefield Germany. He acted as a modern shaman and as a catalyst encouraging social change as well as putting emphasis on art using actions, opinions, and personality.


Born on May 12th, 1921 in Krefield Germany, Beuys was the only child of merchant Joseph Jakob Beuys and Johana Maria Margarete Beuys, who were strict Catholics. During Beuys primary school years, his teachers noticed his talent for drawing, as well as musical talents in piano and cello. He also pursued interest in science and chose a career in medicine. In 1940, he joined the military voluntarily, in order to avoid being drafted. He was trained as a combat pilot and aircraft radio operator. During these years of active duty, he was seriously injured various times. As his last years of school approached, rather than pursuing a career in medicine, Joseph Bueys decided to become a sculptor instead. He graduated from school in the Spring of 1941.
         Joseph Beuys said much of his interest in fat and felt as sculptural materials developed from his wartime experience, specifically a crash in the Crimea. Although many have reported this story as false, Beuys claimed:


          “Had it not been for the Tartars I would not be alive today. They were the nomads of the Crimea, in what was then no man’s land between the Russian and German fronts, and favoured neither side. I had already struck up a good relationship with them, and often wandered off to sit with them. ‘Du nix njemcky’ they would say, ‘du Tartar,’ and try to persuade me to join their clan. Their nomadic ways attracted me of course, although by that time their movements had been restricted. Yet it was they who discovered me in the snow after the crash, when the German search parties had given up. I was still unconscious then and only came round completely after twelve days or so, and by then I was back in a German field hospital. So the memories I have of that time are images that penetrated my consciousness. The last thing I remember was that it was too late to jump, too late for the parachutes to open. That must have been a couple of seconds before hitting the ground. Luckily I was not strapped in – I always preferred free movement to safety belts… My friend was strapped in and he was atomized on impact – there was almost nothing to be found of him afterwards. But I must have shot through the windscreen as it flew back at the same speed as the plane hit the ground and that saved me, though I had bad skull and jaw injuries. Then the tail flipped over and I was completely buried in the snow. That’s how the Tartars found me days later. I remember voices saying ‘Voda’ (Water), then the felt of their tents, and the dense pungent smell of cheese, fat and milk. They covered my body in fat to help it regenerate warmth, and wrapped it in felt as an insulator to keep warmth in."
           In other words, during this crash, he was rubbed with fat and wrapped into animal felt by the nomadic tartars who came to his rescue in order to warm his body.

"The Pack" 1969

The Pack consists of a Volkswagen bus with 20 wooden sleds, each with a rolled-up felt, leather belt, fat, rope and flashlight. The Story, as it came to be known, wasn't just an inspiration for much of his work, but a statement of his optimistic belief in humanity's ability to survive if only we cared for one another.

          Upon his return from the war, Beuys dropped his plans to pursue a career in medicine and enrolled in the Dusseldorf Academy of Art to study sculpture. He graduated in 1953 and focused on drawing  (producing thousands in 1950's only), reading, philosophy, science, poetry, literature, etc. During this time, Beuys struggled with the the trauma of his experiences during the war. He explored a large range of unconventional materials and developed his own artistic ideas, leading to the exploration of metaphorical and symbolic connections between natural phenomena and philosophical systems. He was concerned with the representation of animals, which according to him were untouched by civilization and technology. In 1956, Beuys artistic self doubt and material impoverishment led to physical and psychological crisis and he fell into a serious depression. Soon after recuperating from his illness, his work was deeply mysterious and poetic.

How to Explain Paintings to Dead Hare (1965)

In this piece, Beuys covered his head with honey and gold leaf, wearing a felt sole on his left foot and iron on his right. He held a dear hare in his arms and carried it from picture to picture at an exhibition in a gallery. He spoke to the hare and let it touch each item with its paw, mumbling noises as well as explanations of the drawings on the walls. The materials used by Beuys each held a specific symbolic value (honey representing society of warm, iron symbolizing strength and connection to Earth). However, even though this may have been Beuys most compelling performance, he did not allow people inside; Instead, they could only watch from a glass door. 

"I Like America and American Likes Me" 1974
In May of 1974, Beuys flew to New York and was taken by ambulance to the site of performance. He lay in the performance room, sharing it with a coyote for eight hours. There he stood, sat, and slept in a blanket made of felt and engaged in symbolic gestures and interaction with the coyote. During these 3 days, the coyote grew tolerant of Beuys and Beuys explained: "I waned to isolate myself, insulate myself, and see nothing of America other than the coyote."

"7000 Oaks" 1982 Beuys's project 7000 Oaks was begun in 1982 at Documenta 7, the large international art exhibition in Kassel, Germany. His plan called for the planting of seven thousand trees, each paired with a columnar basalt stone approximately four feet high above ground, throughout the greater city of Kassel. With major support from Dia Art Foundation, the project was carried forward under the auspices of the Free International University (FIU) and took five years to complete, the last tree having been planted at the opening of Documenta 8 in 1987. Beuys intended the Kassel project to be the first stage in an ongoing scheme of tree planting to be extended throughout the world as part of a global mission to effect environmental and social change; locally, the action was a gesture towards urban renewal.

"Homogeneous Infiltration for Grand Piano" 1966

 Through this artwork, Beuys is telling us (through the title) that the piano is the same functional piano we have seen before, only under this felt (it is homogeneous). Communication for the piano is not currently possible under the felt. If we look at the piano like it’s a person, it becomes easier to understand: when people look into themselves (infiltrate ourselves) we can begin to heal. The healing will release us from the things that restrict our voices and let our creativity and thoughts come into the world unmuffled.

"Felt Suit" 1970

This suit is not only made out of felt, it also implies human presence in its shape. Unlike any ordinary suit on a hanger, this suit appears to have hunched shoulders. To exaggerate its expressiveness, Beuys custom made it with elongated arms, no buttons or button holes, and unpadded shoulders.

Beuys referred to his art as his most effective therapy. He received national and international recognition and there was an exhibition opened in 1979. It has been described and a lightning rod for Americans. Joseph Beuys died of heart failure on January 23rd, 1986. His career was described as passionate and controversial; however, he is now regarded as one of the most influential artists of the 20th century.