Joseph Beuys
Physico-Chem-Zeit-Konstellation 11:00 23:00 1962

Artwork details

Artist

Joseph Beuys 1921–1986

Title

Physico-Chem-Zeit-Konstellation 11:00 23:00

Date 1962

Medium 2 works on card, oil paint and graphite

Dimensions Support (upper): 208 x 280 mm
support (lower): 212 x 212 mm
frame: 674 x 541 x 28 mm

Collection

Tate / National Galleries of Scotland

Acquisition ARTIST ROOMS
Acquired jointly with the National Galleries of Scotland through The d'Offay Donation with assistance from the National Heritage Memorial Fund and the Art Fund 2008

Reference

AR00698

Not on display

Online caption

Allusions to different branches of science are brought together in this two-part drawing, which refers to physics, chemistry and astronomy. In the top part, selected words have been covered with paint, as if to 'absorb' them into the medium. In the bottom part, the covering of words seems more artful, with longer sweeps of paint used, as if charting the movements of stars. The work includes a sense of passing time over a twelve-hour period, with the top part marked 23:00 hours and the bottom 11:00 hours. It may have been made to record a particular event.