Joseph Beuys

Joseph Beuys born 1921 [- 1986]
German sculptor, draughtsman, creator of action-performances, political leader and teacher. Born at Krefeld, but spent most of his early life in or near Kleve. In the Luftwaffe 1940-5, part of the time as dive-bomber pilot. Shot down over the Crimea in a snowstorm in 1943, badly wounded and looked after for some days by Tartars. Began to make watercolours and drawings of a highly individual kind. Studied 1947-51 at the Dusseldorf Academy under the sculptor Matar-23. His interest in Rudolf Steiner, Christianity, mythology, botany and zoology led him to evolve a rich and complex symbolism, including archetypal animal images of hares, sheep, swans, bees, etc. First one-man exhibition at the St-28dtisches Museum Haus Koekkoek, Kleve, 1961. Moved from Kleve to D-4sseldorf in 1961 and became professor of sculpture at D-4sseldorf Academy. Participated in the Fluxus movement from 1962 and started in 1963 to give action-performances using such elements as dead hares, fat and felt. Founded the Deutschen Studentenpartei als Metapartei in 1967 and the Organisation f-4r direkte Demokratie durch Volksabstimmung (freie Volksiniative e.V.) 1971, and expounded their principles in discourse-discussions. Conflicts with authority over his teaching methods culminated in 1972 in his dismissal from the D-4sseldorf Academy by the Minister of Science, followed by a strike of his students and widespread protests. Lives in D-4sseldorf.


The Table 1952

Pencil, watercolour and stamp on paper
support: 209 x 297 mm frame: 674 x 540 x 29 mm
on paper, unique

Published in:
Ronald Alley, Catalogue of the Tate Gallery's Collection of Modern Art other than Works by British Artists, Tate Gallery and Sotheby Parke-Bernet, London 1981, pp.51-2