joseph beuys merkur.de/aktuell/ku/images/drw_033801.jpg

joseph beuyshttp://www.merkur.de/aktuell/ku/images/drw_033

801.jpg

a brief bio…born 1921 in krefeld, germany, he was raised in a devout catholic environment. in his youth he pursued dual interests in the sciences and art, later choosing a career in medicine. however, as means to avoid the draft he joined the military (1940) where he was a combat pilot and aircraft radio operator. not only was he seriously wounded various times he was also held in a british prisoner-of-war camp for several months. he returned in 1945 entering a long process of coming to terms with his war involvement (an experience that influenced his artwork above all else).

www.kultur-punkt.ch/.../ inhalt.htm

…beuys had often said that his use of felt and fat as sculptural material had derived from his wartime experience: he had been rescued from a plane crash in crimea by nomadic tartars who rubbed him with fat and wrapped him in felt to heal his wounds and warm his body.

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http://ouijacat.com/oui/

felt_suit.jpg

http://www.igadim.de/projekte/vacuum/gutbehueteter_beuys.jpg

…as you can see, upon his return from war he abandoned his medical pursuits and discovered the art within. he studied sculpture at the dusseldorf academy of art in 1952 and during those following years studied other branches of art as well as philosophy and poetry. at the age of 40 he was appointed professorship at his alma mater. during the 1960’s beuys began to do experimental work with fellow artists such as nam june paik and the fluxus group. their ideas encouraged him onward in his own performances, which he called “actions.” he also began making objects and prints that he called “multiples.”

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=annie.gautun.free.fr/Images/illustrations_fichier/montrer_cacher/

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• Charismatic presence• Unconventional artistic

style• Incorporated ritualized

movement & sound• Used earth, honey,

blood, fat, felt, and even dead animals

http://www.deutsche-bank-kunst.com/art/05/assets/images/beuys_k19870398.jpg

…as time went by beuys’s interests in political reform advanced. he went on to establish a variety of activist groups: 1967, the german student party; 1970, the organization for direct democracy by referendum; 1972, the free international university; 1979, the green party.http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=www.enders-projects.de/Bilder/Langer/J_Beuys.JPG&imgrefurl=http://www.enders-projects.de/Bilder_Langer.htm&h=250&w=208&sz=11&tbnid=wankYV8J0skJ:&tbnh=105&tbnw=88&prev=/images%3Fq%3Djoseph%2Bbeuys%26start%3D480%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26ie

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http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=www.comune.roma.it/galleriacomunale/lavorincorso/artisti/pisani/opera6.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.comune.roma.it/galleriacomunale/lavorincorso/artisti/pisani/

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he died in 1986 in dusseldorf

http://www.walkerart.org/beuys/gg3.html