Room 4
The Defense of Nature
Energy and Spirituality
Note: All works are from the Thomas Modern, Munich Gallery; many of them belong to private collections preferring anonymity.
“Our relationship to nature is increasingly twisted. The relentless destruction of our ecological nest is a threat.”. JB
In 1980, Beuys began working on one of his most ambitious projects. The Defense of Nature is an extensive series of individual or group actions, debates and interventions, most of which were carried out directly on the landscape, in forests or fields. Beuys was always physically present for these actions. Like a proclamation, a sign bearing the words The Defense of Nature was used by Beuys at a number of actions in urban and rural landscapes.
Beuys would often keep the objects and tools used in his actions, as well as their material remains, which he would exhibit alongside film or photographic registers. This gallery contains a number of those objects as well as drawings, studies like the one on the social system of bees, and images of various extinct species. The specific works in this gallery include a bottle from the piece Rhein Water Polluted containing water collected after an action that took place in 1981; and the register of the action Save the Woods, in reference to a forest in Düsseldorf threatened by the expansion of a tennis club.
In 1982, Beuys was invited to Documenta in Kassel for the third time. At the age of sixty-one, he undertook his most monumental action yet: planting 7,000 oak trees in the city. Due to the enthusiasm and power of the action, artists from all nations along with students and the general public took part in the work, supporting the call to protect green spaces.
For the Defense of Nature project, Beuys found fertile ground and inspiration in Italy, where he spent a great deal of time starting in the mid-seventies. This gallery closes with documentary photographs that show Beuys engaged in actions that protect and keep the environment.
Save the Woods, 1972
(Salven los bosques)
Offset print (black/red)
Signed and numbered edition of 200 (+ 20 proofs)
49 x 50 cm
Fondazione per la Rinascita dell´ Agricoltura, 1977
(Fundación para el Renacimiento de la Agricultura) Two silkscreens (black & wihte). Signed, numbered and stamped 75 examples of each (+ 10 artist's examples)
93 x 63 cm
Honey Bee-Metal Pail from the Honey Pump (Documenta 6), 1977
(Miel de abeja en lata …)
Honey bees metal pail. Signed
17 x 14,5 cm
From Life of the Bees, 1978
(A partir de vida de las abejas)
Colour lithograph, honey yellow. Signed and numbered edition of 234 + a.p.
56 x 76 cm
Flight of the Eagle into the Valley and back, 1978
(Viaje de ida y vuelta del águila hasta el valle) Lithograph on grey cardboard
Signed and numbered edition of 120 + 15 trail prints
103 x 23 cm
Zappa, 1978
(Zapa) Hand-wrought hoe with olive wood handle, branded stamp. Signed and numbered edition of 35
88 x 22 x 7 cm
Smell Sculpture, 1978
(Escultura odorífica) Preserving jar with information material, aetheric oils, chlorophyll. Signed and numbered edition of 30 + 8 a.p.
34 x 9 cm
Appeal, 1980
(Apelación)Bronze wedge, incised branch with bee's wax, newspaper page
Signed, numbered and stamped edition of 40. Dimensions variable
The resin of the Takamahak, 1980
(La resina de la Takamahak) Pencil, resin on cardboard. Dated december 26th, 1980
27,7 x 5,3 cm
Oil Can F.I.U., 1980
(Lata de aceite F.I.U)Metal container with olive oil. Signed, numbered and stamped edition of 50 + X examples
53 x 30,5 cm
New Beginnings are in the Offing, 1980
(Nuevos comienzos en ciernes)Offset (b & w). Signed and numbered edition of 400 + 50 a.p.
60 x 45 cm
Rhein Water Polluted, 1981
Agua contaminada del río Rin) Bottle with green-coloured Rhine water, label, screw cap. Signed and numbered edition of 24 + some a.p.
Bottle with water from the River Rhin with natural pigments in green, label and screw cap. Action in collaboration with Nicolás García Uriburu.
28 x 7,5 cm
Difesa della Natura (Clavicembalo), 1981
(Defensa de la naturaleza) Silkscreen (b & w). Signed and numbered edition of 300 + some artist's copies
99,5 x 67,5 cm
Three Lithographs, 1981
(Tres Litografías)3 colour lithographs. Signed and numbered edition of 90
76 x 56 cm
Seal, 1981/83
(Foca) Colour lithograph. Signed, numbered and titled edition of 150 + 20 a.p.
100 x 60,5
Difesa della Natura, 1982
(Defensa de la naturaleza) Canvas with black and red writing, stamped. Signed and numbered edition of 20
105 x 390 cm
A.E.I.O.U. (Difesa della Natura), 1983
(A.E.I.O.U. (Defensa de la Naturaleza) Colour offset, two parts
Signed and numbered edition of 200
70 x 100 cm
Shovel, 1983
(Pala) Wrought iron shovel with ash wood handle, branded. signed and numbered on handle edition of 35 + some a.p.
135 x 40 x 20 cm
Oil Bottle, 1984
(Botella de aceite)Bottle of olive oil with gold label. Signed and numbered
edition of 12 + 12 a.p.
26 x 8 cm
Querce, 1984
(Robles) Two-part colour offset. Signed and numbered in red
edition of 150
69,5 x 31,5 cm
Ombelico di Venere, 1985
(Ombligo de Venus) Pressed plants on paper. Signed and titled
23 x 46 cm
"The generation of energy means the production of warmth and hence the link with social sculpture.” JB
Beuys believed in the sculptural quality of objects, space, and actions. The concept of “social sculpture” formulates art as a force that molds society. Beuys envisioned the social body as a material capable of changing shape and mutating. In his art, Beuys used wax, fat, honey, and felt time and again due, in part, to their ability to convey or preserve heat and energy in different forms. Combinations of these materials, along with action, hold the key to social change.
Beuys’s interest in electricity, movement, and other forms of transformation are key components of his work. He formulates simple metaphors that compare the energy held in a lemon and a battery. These objects are used to present the topics addressed in this gallery.
In addition to science, Beuys’s art addresses the universal human topics of religion, symbols, and shamanism. This gallery contains videos, objects, and remains of installations and actions related to religion, science, and mysticism.
At first, Beuys’s approach may seem simple perhaps in order to address a large audience. Indeed, before the work of art, Beuys asks the individual to summon “his or her own intuition in order to understand that we ourselves are the center of education and information.”
Intuition,1968
(Intuición) Wooden box with pencil line, handwritten addition. Signed
unlimited edition
30 x 21 x 6, cm
Sulphur-covered zinc box (plugged corner), 1970
(Caja de zinc cubierta de azufre (esquina cerrada), Box of zinc sheeting, covered with sulphur, gauze plug. Signed and numbered and stamped
edition of 200
63 x 30,5 x 18 cm
Celtic + ~~~, 1971
(Celta + ~~~), Super 8 film with sound track,10 photos, bottle, box
Signed and numered, object stamped edition of 100
41 x 52,5 x 10 cm
Celtic + ~~~, 1971
(Celta + ~~~), Super 8 film with sound, no dialogue . 25’
Produced by : Bernd Kluser
Note: The work was originally presented at the Edinburgh Festival under the title "Celtic Kinloch Rannoch Scottish Symphony" version displayed here was carried out in a civilian shelter in Basel
In " Inter function, Volume 7", 1971
(En "Función Interna, Volumen 7" ) Offset with handwritten text, stamped
Signed (magazine numbered) edition of 60
22 x 29,5 cm
Hare's Blood, 1971-79
(Sangre de liebre) Plastic bag containing 4 ccm of hare's blood with sticking plaster, mounted on paper. Signed and numbered edition of 45 + XII examples
62,5 x 45 cm
Street Broom - Economic value, 1972
(Escoba de calle - Valor económico) Broom
Signed and titled
147 x 36 x 10 cm
I know No Weekend, 1972
(No conozco ningún fin de semana), Maggi bottle and book, stamped in suitcase lid. Signed in book, edition of 95
41 x 65 cm
Iphigenie, 1973
(Ifgenia), Silkscreen on gold PVC sheets. Signed and numbered
edition of 80 + XX examples
41,5 x 56 cm
Bruno Carò-Tea, 1975
Bottle with herb tea, leaded top. Signed, numbered and stamped on label
edition of 40 + V a.p.
28,5 x 10,5 cm
Dr. Speck-Multiple, 1975
Offset printing on cardboard. Edition signed, sealed and numbered 100 ejemplares 100 + XXX "Exemplary Kunstverein Kassel"
84 x 59,5 cm
Poison, 1975
(Veneno), Bottle, painted brown, interior mirrored, iodine crystal
Signed and numbered edition of 100 + 30 a.p.
19,5 x 10,5 cm
Painting Version 1-90, 1976
(Pintura Versión 1-90) Oil paint and fat on Rives Bütten, torn hole
Signed and inscribed 'Painting Version 12' verso inscribed '2 sheep heads 1961/1975'
76 x 56 cm
Show your Wound, 1977
(Muestre su herida) Object, photo negative and treated black film
Signed and numbered on the label edition of 28 + VI examples + few a.p. + 5 h.c.
107 x 79 x 5 cm
Celtic Kinloch Rannoch, 1980
Offset, with 6 colour photographs. Signed and numbered edition of 200 + 24 a.p.
140 x 31,5 cm
In Case of Fog, 1982
(En caso de niebla), Wooden crate, yellow cap, red lamp, battery, cables
Signed and dated on wooden crate. Hight approx. 200 cm.
Untitled, 1983
(Sin título), Offset color
15 x 10 cm
Iphigenie/Titus Andronicus, 1985
(Ifgenia / Tito Andrónico), photographic negatives with brown-cross, glass plates,frame. Signed and numbered on label edition of 45 + 5 a.p.
71 x 55 x 4,5 cm