Personal Context- Joseph Beuys was a leading German Conceptual and performance artist - Beuys's experience of fighting in World War II and was injured in a plane crash in 1943 has greatly impacted his future artistic practice -> On the eastern front in 1944, he was seriously wounded from a Stuka crash, and therefore always wore a hat to cover those scars - Beuys has incorporated his own personal experience into his art, while addressing universal artistic, political, and/or social ideas -> One of the examples would be How to Explain Pictures to a Dead Hare --> he has combined materials that holds personal significance, including: one foot wrapped in felt, the cradling of a recently deceased animal --> suggesting the healing potential of art for a humanity seeking self revitalisation and a sense of renewed hope in the future - He worked in Europe and America, and was associated with that era's international, Conceptual art and Fluxus movements -> Conceptual Art: prioritises ideas over the formal qualities of art, and rejected standard ideas of art. Artists abandoned beauty, rarity, and skill as measures of art. -> Fluxus movement: Fluxus sought to change the history of the world, including the history of art. The goal of most artists was to break the boundaries between art and life. Fluxus artists were most heavily influenced by the ideas of John Cage, who believed that one should embark on a piece without having a conception of the eventual end. It was the process of creating that was important, not the finished product. - Beuys's diverse body of work ranges from traditional media of drawing, painting, and sculpture to performance art -> Performance art may act as a healing effect for both the artist and the audience, taking up on the psychological, social, and/or political subjects - Beuys is famous for incorporating animal fat and felt in his works --> two common materials - one organic, the other fabricated, or industrial - that had profound personal meaning to the artist --> these materials are recurring motifs suggesting that art, common materials, and one's "everyday life" were ultimately inseparable - Beuys was part of the Fluxus movement, which is influenced in part by contemporary experiments in music -> found themselves turning away from the art world's prevailing commercialism in favor of "found" and "everyday" items for creating ephemeral, time-based "happenings," impermanent installation art, and/or other largely action-oriented events - Beuys was also famous for his practice of "social sculpture", where he collapsed the space between life and art, in order to make art more democratic - I like America and America likes me, 1974- In the performance, Beuys has locked himself in a room with a live coyote for three days
- he was armed only with layers of felt, a cane/ walking stick and gloves -> these have became sculptural props throughout the performance -> during the three days, Beuys has tried making eye contact with the coyote --> he would regularly performing gestures, including tossing his leather gloves to it or gesticulating wildly at it with his hands and walking stick, as well as disguising as a shepherd by covering himself head to toe with his felt with a hooked walking stick extending from it - Throughout the three days, the coyote was introduced to 50 new copies of the Wall Street Journal, which was recognised by urinating on them - The coyote's behaviour "was alternately curious and rather nonplussed, oscillating at various times between hostile and docile" (Mann, 2017) throughout the three days --> The coyote was cautious of Beuys, and stripped his felt from him with its strong fangs; but has also allowed him to embrace --> No matter how the coyote acted, Beuys has continued trying to connect with the coyote - The performance's title is filled with irony -> Beuys opposed to the myth of America being a 'melting pot' where people of all ethnicity and backgrounds can live in harmony with each other -> In the 1970s, he witnessed how America has divided over its involvement in the Vietnam War, and also how the white population oppressed indigenous, immigrant, and minority populations - In this performance, Beuys has used a coyote as a symbol of resilience, and suggest a potential for transformation in the United states -> United states has seek to control the population of coyote by killing tens of thousands of them each year -> by interacting with a coyote in the performance, Beuys is implying that America would be more openminded and accepting to different races, animals and people with different perspectives
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Artist StatementOne’s clothing can reflect their character and mood. In particular, changes in their style of clothes and choice of colour correlates to changes in their relationship with closed and loved ones. Archives
March 2019
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