Room 2
Felt, fat, and metal
Action / Performance
Beuys the Political Activist and his Organization for Direct Democracy
Note: All works are from the Thomas Modern, Munich Gallery; many of them belong to private collections preferring anonymity.
“Provocateur – that’s exactly [what the artist is]. To provoke means to evoke something. By making a sculpture with fat or a piece of clay I evoke something. I ignite a thought within me […] Every man is a potential provocateur […] Everything under the sun is art!” JB
In March 1943, during World War II, Beuys was sent to fight the Russian army in Crimea. His plane was shot down but Beuys survived. Later, the artist would make reference to those events in his work by creating a mythical tale of death and “resurrection” in which he was rescued by Tartan tribesmen who nursed him back to health. To keep him warm, they covered his body with fat and felt; they fed him honey. Whether true or not, this story was the source of much of the iconography Beuys would use in his work. After he recovered, Beuys was awarded an Iron Cross metal whose image would later appear in his work.
Beuys made many works with the materials he encountered during that survival experience, materials that are a source of heat, energy, vitality, and a symbol of harmonic coexistence with nature. Materials like fat, blood, and honey also make reference to ancient rituals.
This gallery contains a selection of Beuy’s objects made in felt, fat, and metal. The work Sled comes with a “survival kit” for contemporary man: a felt blanket, a source of light and a source of heat, and fat. Felt Suit, which is conceived as a protective garment for contemporary man, isreminiscent of the coats used by the Tartars. And Backrest For a Fine-Limbed Person of the 20th century AD, an iron object for heeling, also makes reference to the myth of survival in the snow. Art, for Beuys, is—among other things—a form of heeling. This section, which centers on Beuy’s experimentation with materials, contains other works in felt as well as drawings.
Though all the objects in this gallery were created to be used in actions or performances, for Beuys the original object is not important. What concerns him is the series of “multiples” produced to spread his ideas and to break with the myth of the work of art as unique object.
Flag (Torso I), 1958
Bandera (Torso I) Mixed media and collage on cardboard. Signed, dated and titled 27,5 x 19 cm
Untitled, 1958-59
(Sin título) oil on cardboard
26,5 x 18 cm
Reflected Felt, 1963
(Fieltro reflejado)Mirror, felt
13 cm (espejo), 14 cm (fieltro)
2 Moons, 1969
(2 Lunas) Felt and fingernails. Adhesive label on underside signed
dated and titled
Diámetro: 14,2, espesor: 0,5 cm
Yes Yes Yes, No No No, 1969
(Si Si Si, No No No) pile of felt with recording tape 32 min. Numbered and with signature stamped on the tape edition of 100 + 10 examples
15 x 25 x 25 cm
Sledge, 1969
(Trineo) Sledge, felt blanket, belt, torchlight, fat sculpture
Stamped with brown numbered on a metal plaque edition of 50 + 5 h.c.
35 x 90 x 35 cm
Felt Suit, 1970
(Traje de Fieltro) Felt Suit, stamped and numbered on sewn-on label
edition of 100 + 10 h.c. 170 x 100 cm
Untitled (I Know No Weekend), s/f, ca. 1970
Sin título (No conozco fines de semana) Glue, felt fibers, stamp on paper Signed
8,5 x 10,5 cm
Object to Smear and Turn, 1972
(Objeto para engrasar y girar) Tin, with gear grease, screwdriver with brown handle, Signed and numbered on card edition of 100
3,8 x 5,6 (silver) , 13 cm (screwdriver)
Backrest For a Fine-Limbed Person of the 20th century AD, 1972
(Sostén de descanso de espalda para una persona de extremidades delgadas del siglo XX d.c) Iron cast. Signed and numbered on metal plaque
edition of 12 + 2 artist's proofs 96 x 45 x 15 cm
Samurai Sword, 1983
(Espada Samurái) Felt roll around steel blade. signed and numbered on small label editon of 30
55 x 9 cm
Hat from below, 1984
(Sombrero desde abajo) Black-and-white orginal photograph. Signed and dated
49,5 x 61 cm
Hat with Beuys from above, 1984
(Sombrero con Beuys desde arriba) Black-and-white orginal photograph. Signed and dated
50 x 61 cm
“It is impossible for human beings to bring their creative intention into the world any other way than through action […] the ideas of change and transformation are key to all action.”. JB
Beuys believed in the power of action to transform society. This belief led him to produce new art forms based on direct action: individual performances for camera; actions in the street questioning people or handing out fliers; collective actions in conjunction with his students and other artists; large-scale interventions on nature; and conferences and lectures in educational venues or spontaneously in the street due to the impulse to pick up a microphone and talk to people in order to spur them into action. It was due to all of this that Beuys was often called a prophet.
By means of these actions, Beuys made political and social messages a part of his work. These messages were often bound to his own life experiences and daily existence. Beuys frequently kept the objects used in those actions. He would sign them and put them in display cases, or multiply them by means of serial production. This gallery contains the manifestoes for the founding of his Organization for Direct Democracy, photographs of a number of actions, and video-performances like Trans-Siberian and Eurasia, both of which were acts of protests against geopolitical conflicts taking place at the time.Â
In interviews and lectures, Beuys asserted that any artistic act depends on both the human being’s ability to think and to reflect and on innate and free creativity. Beuys declared that “every human being is an artist,” and hence every human action an artistic-social fact.
A Street Action, 1971-75
(Un acción de calle) Installation, comprising seven works: Stones, two drawers wooden piece of felt, nylon bag, Documents folder with multiple work and sound file of the original action. Variable dimensions
Eurasienstab, 1968
(Eurasia) Film in 16 mm., Black and white, with sound, no dialogue. 20 '
Produced by Joseph Beuys and Henning Christiansen
Note: The action was carried out for the first time in 1967 in Nächst Gallery in St. Stephan, Vienna. This is a recording of a version of the Wide White Space Gallery in Antwerp in February of 1968.
Transsibirische Bahn, 1970
(Transiberiano) Film in 16 mm., Black and white, with sound, no dialogue. 22’
Filmed at the Museo Louisiana de Humblebaek, Dinamarca
Transsibirian Rail, 1980
(Ferrocarril Transiberiano)Film in metal tin,railway plaque, sticking plaster. Signed, numbered and stamped edition of 45 + 5 artist's proofs
19 cm. Diámetro
Beuys the Political Activist and his Organization for Direct Democracy
“Art became politics and politics art. ”. JB
Very few artists have had as much impact on the public sphere as Joseph Beuys. His direct actions went beyond the confines of museums and galleries to bring art closer to life and make it a natural part of social existence.
Beuys observed that democracy was in the hands of political parties and individuals largely unconcerned with representing people. With statements like “we are the revolution,” Beuys attempted to remind men and women of their sovereign power and self-determination.
Before any sort of social struggle or political debate, Beuys would say “we can’t do it without the rose,” a flower that, for him, symbolized the search for an ideal, free, and harmonious form of society. In 1970, Beuys suggested to West German Chancellor Will Brandt that, on a monthly basis, public television provide a space in which the “true” opposition could explain its ideas. Pursuant to a referendum, the next year the Organization for Direct Democracy (ODD)—an institute to devise new models for democracy—was founded. In 1972, the ODD was moved to Documenta V, where Beuys set up an office in which, for a period of one hundred days, he engaged the public in debate on the true nature of democracy. This section of the exhibition contains Beuys’s designs for the Green Party’s poster, the ODD’s manifestoes and pamphlets, and photographs of the action before Will Brandt.
The Messenger (12-pieces), 1970-1981
(El mensajero ( 12 piezas) Transcribed original photograph, each photograph described by Beuys
20 x 31 cm
Free Democratic Socialism, 1971
(Socialismo Democrático Libre) Stationary sheet with handwritten addition. Signed and numbered edition of 300 + some artist's examples
29,5 x 21 cm
Better Active Today, 1972
(Mejor activos hoy) Offset text, franked stamp and handwritten text, stamped. Monogrammed and numbered edition of 100
15 x 21 cm
La rivoluzione siamo Noi, 1972
(La revolución somos nosotros)
Silkscreen on polyester with handwritten text, stamped
Signed and numbered edition of 180 + 18 a.p.
191 x 102 cm
Rose for Direct Democracy, 1973
(Rosa para Democracia Directa) Measuring cylinder with etched writing. Signed and numbered unlimited, titled on certificate
33,5 x 5 cm
3 Tone Edition, 1973
(Edición de 3 tonos)
Silkscreen on soft sheets of PVC, both sides. All sheets signed and numbered
edition of 100
48 x 48 cm
Informations Graphic, 1973
(Gráfico de Informaciones) Offset facsimile (b & w) Approx. 100 of which are signededition of 500
29,5 x 21 cm
Foundation Manifest for Direct Democracy, 1971-72
(Manifiesto fundacional para Democracia Directa) Mixed media on paper. Each page signed by Beuystwo pages signed by Karl Fastabend
29 x 42 cm c/u
L´udito, 1974
(La audición) Offset print, 3 colours. Signed and numbered
edition of 5000 + some artist's examples 31 x 23,5 cm
Tramstop, 1977
(Parada de tranvía)
Silkscreen on cardboard. Signed and numbered edition of 150
100 x 63 cm
Europe Election, 1979
(Elección Europea) Silk screen on paper. Signed and dated edition of 30
84 x 59 cm
FIU Wine, 1983
(Vino FIU) Carton of 12 bottles of red wine, bottle with F/U label. Carton and bottle labels signed in print edition of 100
60 x 40 x 40