Joseph Beuys
- Bio
German, 1921–1986
- Followers
- 5.6k
Notable Works
A major figure of the postwar German avant-garde, Joseph Beuys viewed art as a vehicle for social change. His performance art "actions" were shamanistic experiences incorporating ritualized movement and sound, as well as non-traditional and even repulsive materials such as fat, felt, honey, blood, and dead animals. For example, in his groundbreaking 1965 performance How to Explain Pictures to a Dead Hare, Beuys—who was covered in symbolic materials such as honey, gold leaf, and iron—explained artworks to a cradled hare. Akin to Andy Warhol in influence but with a more widely (and wildly) ranging formal vocabulary, Beuys counted debate and teaching as part of his art and was a leader in many socioeconomic reform movements.
Notable Works
A major figure of the postwar German avant-garde, Joseph Beuys viewed art as a vehicle for social change. His performance art "actions" were shamanistic experiences incorporating ritualized movement and sound, as well as non-traditional and even repulsive materials such as fat, felt, honey, blood, and dead animals. For example, in his groundbreaking 1965 performance How to Explain Pictures to a Dead Hare, Beuys—who was covered in symbolic materials such as honey, gold leaf, and iron—explained artworks to a cradled hare. Akin to Andy Warhol in influence but with a more widely (and wildly) ranging formal vocabulary, Beuys counted debate and teaching as part of his art and was a leader in many socioeconomic reform movements.
![When Joseph Beuys Locked Himself in a Room with a Live Coyote](http://web.archive.org./web/20201129225015im_/https://d7hftxdivxxvm.cloudfront.net/?resize_to=fill&width=120&height=80&quality=80&src=https%3A%2F%2Fartsy-media-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2FD7eZcEAsxrFR9vmlnqTNSw%252Fd7hftxdivxxvm.cloudfront-3.jpg)
![Why Shamanic Practices Are Making a Comeback in Contemporary Art](http://web.archive.org./web/20201129225015im_/https://d7hftxdivxxvm.cloudfront.net/?resize_to=fill&width=120&height=80&quality=80&src=https%3A%2F%2Fartsy-media-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2FpMJMFMiJZJPK0qFMwr2KbA%252FSaya.jpg)
![Can Anything Be Performance Art?](http://web.archive.org./web/20201129225015im_/https://d7hftxdivxxvm.cloudfront.net/?resize_to=fill&width=120&height=80&quality=80&src=https%3A%2F%2Fartsy-media-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2FSJoGo5_o89tVP0l843aIZg%252FS.png)
![What Memes Owe to Art History](http://web.archive.org./web/20201129225015im_/https://d7hftxdivxxvm.cloudfront.net/?resize_to=fill&width=120&height=80&quality=80&src=https%3A%2F%2Fartsy-media-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2FgZ-OyuECjuCUoMHyQuJzmQ%252Fmarcel-duchamp-l-h-o-o-q-mona-lisa-1919.jpg)