Demystifying Joseph Beuys Art Style and Oeuvre
The world would not know the humanitarian nature of life had it not been for Joseph Heinrich Beuys. He was a performance artist, a painter, a teacher, and a theorist. Believe it or not, he was also a member of the ‘Hitler Youth.’ He was a part of the Dadaist art movement, ‘Fluxus’ and influenced the performance art, ‘Kunst Aktionen.’
Joseph Beuys Artist Style
Analysing Joseph Beuys’s art style is fairly easy yet poses many questions. Beuys is renowned for his “extended definition of art,” which holds that social sculpture has the power to change politics and society. He regularly engaged in open public discussions on a variety of topics, such as social, political, environmental, and long-term cultural issues.
Beuys saw the artist as a visionary and a catalyst for societal change. He coined the phrase “Everyone is an artist,” promoting the idea that creativity should be an intrinsic part of everyday life, not confined to the elite or institutionalized in galleries.
Joseph Beuys Paintings
While Joseph Beuys is inevitably known for being one of the most brilliant performance artists, only some would be aware of Joseph Beuys artworks and drawings. YES! He was a painter. It is believed that he created over 10,000 drawings. It was during the 1950s that he engendered his main creative output. Some of Joseph Beuys’s drawings use unusual materials like margarine or hare blood. Sometimes, he’d use the backs of commercial stationery or envelopes, pressed flowers, photographs, and other natural materials, highlighting how they served as an inspiration.
Artist Joseph Beuys put his drawing project together in 1974, titled ‘The Secret Block for a Secret Person in Ireland.’ These narrative drawings have a strong sense of transformation and process. In ‘The Ulysses Sketchbooks,’ he draws inspiration from James Joyce’s Ulysses to make a set of six sketchbooks. It creates an entire universe of signs and systems summarising Beuys’s formal and thematic vocabulary on natural circulation, growth, and transformation.
Joseph Beuys Performance Art
During the 1960s, Joseph Beuys was fixated on staging ‘actions.’ Some critics compared his work to that of the German Expressionists because it linked artistic and social revolutions and was obsessive and unsettling. Let’s talk about some of these performances.
1. Joseph Beuys I Like America And America Likes Me
Joseph Beuys I like America is perhaps one of the most confusing, dangerous, and influential pieces thus far. ‘I Like America and America Likes Me (1974)’ is a bold and confrontational exploration of the cultural, political, and social divides between Europe and America. It also comments on the artist’s relationship with the United States. Also known as Joseph Beuys’ Coyote, the performance occurred on three consecutive days. Beuys arrived in New York from Germany without having seen the city, and he immediately isolated himself in a gallery for three days with a wild coyote. He was surrounded by a series of objects, such as felt (symbolizing warmth and transformation), and a cane, which represented his role as a shamanistic figure. The piece was inspired by his belief in the healing power of art and his notion that art could serve as a medium for social and political change.
Joseph Beuys’ performance art emphasized a dialogue of sorts between himself and the coyote, a wild animal that has come to symbolize the untamed spirit of the American wilderness. Joseph Beuys with coyote, was seen as a symbol of the American frontier and the conflict between civilization and nature, represented Beuys’ critique of American imperialism and its disregard for indigenous cultures and natural ecosystems. Beuys, who was known for his association with the idea of a shamanic artist, positioned himself as a healer, creating a metaphorical space for reconciliation and transformation. His choice to remain confined in a gallery space with the coyote rather than freely engage with New York’s bustling urban environment emphasized a personal retreat into a primal space, far removed from the societal norms of the city.
2. Joseph Beuys Dead Hare
‘How To Explain Pictures to a Dead Hare’ (1965) is considered Joseph Beuys best work to date. It was conceived as a meditation on communication, art, and the boundaries between the living and the dead. For this Joseph Beuys performance art, he covered his head and face with honey and gold leaf while holding a dead hare in his arms. He then walked around a gallery, explaining his paintings to the animal as if it could understand. This bizarre scenario was designed to provoke reflection on the limits of language, the role of the artist as a communicator, and the potential for art to transcend conventional modes of understanding.
In this Joseph Beuys performance art, the dead hare served as a symbol of innocence and the human desire to impart meaning. It is an entity that cannot respond, yet still evokes an emotional and intellectual response. The honey and gold leaf that covered Beuys’ face are both symbols of transformation and spiritual enlightenment, while also invoking ideas of ritual and shamanism. Beuys was deeply interested in the concept of healing, and by “explaining” art to the dead hare, he suggested that art could serve as a tool for transcending the mundane, moving beyond mere visual representation to reach deeper, more spiritual realms.
Joseph Beuys Sculpture and Installation
While Joseph Beuys’s artworks do not necessarily fit into the traditional definition of sculptures, he does see his ‘conscious acts’ as ‘social sculptures.’ capable of changing society. A ‘social sculpture’ is a piece of art that aims to mould the environment or society. The artist uses words, ideas, deeds, and objects to construct social structures. Let’s talk about a few of his pieces.
1. Joseph Beuys Lamp
Joseph Beuys’ Capri Batterie (1985) is one of the most talked about sculptures. It is simply a yellow lightbulb connected to a lemon, with the instructions to change the ‘battery’ every thousand hours. The sculpture is a metaphor for civilization’s ecological equilibrium. It is a playful composition that relates to Beuys’ passions for warmth, energy, and the natural world.
He was actively involved in the German environmental movement and always aimed to push the limits between nature and culture. This Joseph Beuys sculpture was created on Capri in the final year of his life. Since energy flows from the sun to the lemon and then to the bulb, the principle represents an environmentally sound energy source; however, because nature’s resources are limited, they should be used carefully and sparingly. Beuys may be also dreaming of a healing charge.
2. Joseph Beuys Felt Suit
Joseph Beuys Felt Suit is another one amongst his numerous sculptures (installations more like it). The legs and sleeves were lengthened, but otherwise, the suit was constructed according to Beuys’s measurements. Joseph Beuys wore the original suit in Düsseldorf in 1970. According to Beuys, the suit symbolized a means of shielding a person from the outside world. It also serves as a metaphor for how alone humans are.
The defining moment in Joseph Beuys’ life as an artist was his rescue by the nomadic Tatars after he was shot down in Russia during WWII. He claimed that the nomads kept him warm and alive by rubbing fat into his skin and wrapping him in felt. Hence, the felt and fat in his suit represents both physical and spiritual sustenance as well as survival.
3. Joseph Beuys 7000 Oaks
Joseph Beuys’ 7000 Oaks (1982) is one of his most ambitious and socially engaged projects, conceived as a monumental environmental and civic gesture that sought to address the ecological and social concerns of his time. The piece symbolizes the potential for renewal, healing, and community involvement. The project consisted of Beuys planting 7,000 oak trees across Kassel, each accompanied by a basalt stone. The trees represented a long-term commitment to environmental sustainability, while the stones symbolized the enduring strength of the initiative.
The oak, a species often associated with longevity and resilience, was chosen as a symbol of regeneration and life, reinforcing Beuys’ belief in art’s potential to foster societal and environmental change. The trees were not simply an environmental statement but also a way of physically rooting his art within the fabric of the city and its communities.
Image Courtesy – Magazine Artsper
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