Joseph Beuys (1921-86) was an artist who used easily recognisable objects, like felt, copper and more unusually, fat! His ideas and artworks are especially relevant to community group leaders. Beuys believed in human creativity as a positive force for social change and in the importance of a democratic education. He was born in Germany and joined the airforce in 1940. His relationship to Germany and his later travels in Europe and the USA show his questioning of German history and politics. Beuys remains an important artist whose ideas about how and who makes art, how we display it and who sees it are still very relevant in contemporary art practice.

This worksheet has three parts:

Materials and Handling Objects Activity: a group activity designed to prompt discussion around the power and significance of particular objects and materials.

Beuys' Dictionary: Discover the meanings behind some of the objects and materials Beuys chose to use in his work.

Follow-up Activities: More activity suggestions to help you link your own group's art projects with the work of Joseph Beuys.

Handling Materials:

In the box you can borrow we have included the following objects because they are full of suggestions and links to the artworks without being literal copies of what the artist has used.

Activity

• Ask everyone not to look at the text panel until they have all completed the activity. This is to encourage the group to develop their own ideas and responses to the artwork first.
• Divide the group in pairs.
• Give each pair one of the above resources, as well as paper and pencils to note their responses.
• Ask each pair to spend ten minutes looking at the artwork and thinking about links they find between the work and the object in their hands. Links can be in terms of look, texture, smell, emotions evoked etc (see following questions for help). Make sure the group has plenty of time to handle the objects. It is important that a record of these discussions is made; this may be in the form of notes or drawings.

• As a whole group, discuss what connections each pair has made with the artwork. For example, the battery, which is a source of potential energy, could be linked with the torches in the artwork or the chocolate, which is a modern nourishment, could connect with the fat in the artwork.
• End by asking the group to lay out all their note pages in a small area on the floor, similar to the installation displayed in the space but allowing other visitors in the room to view the work.

Other artists to look at in relation to this activity:

Miroslaw Balka
Rebecca Horn
Piero Manzoni

Balka, Horn and Manzoni all use everyday objects in their works, just like Beuys. Balka tends to choose materials that have a powerful personal and historical significance and uses materials like salt, ash or soap to make links with historical events. Horn studied with Beuys and frequently uses materials as an extension of her body or as part of her performances. Manzoni, however, uses the most basic, easy obtainable materials in his artworks, partly to make us think about how far artists can go in their choice of materials.

• When you look at these artists, notice in each case the materials they have used. Discuss in pairs or small groups the materials chosen and possible reasons and associations of each material.
• Make a list of the art materials you most generally use. Are there any materials used by Balka or Horn that you would be interested in collecting or experimenting with?
• Notice how the artworks are displayed; sometimes on the floor, sometimes in display cases and, in the case of Horn, sometimes hanging from the ceiling (‘Concert for Anarchy’ uses an upside down piano!). Again, do these different methods of display suggest possibilities in your own work place? For example, is it possible to display a range of your artworks on a shelf in your entrance/reception area? Could you borrow a display case to show work in your coffee/eating area?
• Try to think of other ideas for displaying work that is different from hanging paintings on the wall and asks your audience to see the artwork in a different way.

Materials

• Fat - nourishment and fuel, a material basic to life and not associated with art
• Felt - insulation, preservation of warmth and energy
• Copper - fast conductor of energy and represents the ‘female’ side of us all
• Iron - slow conductor of energy and represents the ‘male’ psyche and stability
• Battery - storage of energy

Nature:

• Rock/crystal/basalt - the vast scale of time
• Earth/soil - people and their birth place
• Plants/trees - life; growing into the future

Things:

• Flashlight - spiritual guidance
• Sleds - horizontality, death
• Spirals - Celtic symbol of organic energy; growth pattern
• Drawing - ‘thinking forms’; a way of expressing thoughts without using language

Animals:

• Hare - mobility, burrowing underground, the earth
• Bees - social structure, produce energy-giving wax and honey
• Animals (generally) - intuitive powers

Artist as Democrat:

"Everyone is an artist" was a phrase Beuys used to show his belief in the central role of creativity in everyone’s lives, not only those with art training. This was linked to his broader democratic politics and his green activism.

In the 1960’s Beuys was one of the founders of the Green Movement in Germany and he was involved in environmental issues throughout his travels and work internationally.

Activity:

You might want to find out if any of your group members are currently involved in any type of political or environmental activity. These could include discussions about recycling or becoming aware of the Fair Trade Movement. If no-one is involved, you could initiate a discussion as to a range of activities that might interest people. For example, your local Council may be involved in publicising Fair Trade Fortnight (early March each year) or tree planting/environmental activities.

These types of activity that involve sharing ideas and working together were seen by Beuys as being part of a creative life and potential arts practice.

Beuys was also involved in an art movement called Fluxus. This loose association of artists, both trained and untrained, was concerned with challenging elitism in the art world of the 1960s and 70s. Examples include postal art and cheap, easily distributable multiple art objects.

Another art movement where sharing ideas or materials collaboratively was central to the themes of the work is Arte Povera. In another part of this on-line resource you will find an activity linked to the display ‘Traces of Time’ in the History suite on Level 5, exploring the work of Arte Povera sculptor Giuseppe Penone.

Energy:

In relation to The Pack Beuys wrote:

"This is an emergency object: an invasion by the pack. In a state of emergency the Volkswagen bus is of limited usefulness, and more direct and primitive means must be taken to ensure survival."

Earlier in this resource we have made suggestions as to the activities you might wish to do in relation to this display, where as a group you will be using human energy as you work as a group and in your pairs!

Activity:

Think about ‘energy’ in relation to Beuys’ work, in terms of group dynamics, personal energy and body rhythms as well as the force of energy in terms of electricity, or copper as a conductor.
Ask each group member to choose a word or colour or type of drawn line to demonstrate their level of energy.

Then lay these all out on the floor as a group display and think about how these words, colours or drawings could be developed back at your workplace in a more three-dimensional form, for example using wire that is stretched, wrapped or bent.

You might want to notice how the energy in the room displaying The Pack shifts. Sometimes the room seems very calm and contemplative; sometimes it is full of people and discussion and movement. Are there particular rooms or places in your workplace where you could notice such changes (for example, entrance hall, tea room, art room). How could you show these shifts in energy through drawings or writing as people pass through at different times of day or days of the week?

...and finally, some optimistic thoughts about education.

In both of the themes outlined mentioned above, Beuys explored everyday materials and their potential, often crossing different disciplines of science, art, religion and philosophy.

‘If all that remained of our century was a pile of newspapers, you would still have an incredibly rich cross-section of human activities and specialisations on record, a battery of ideas’.
(Joseph Beuys, Bits and Pieces, 1957-85)

As community group leaders you constantly use skills of group work, social interaction, flexibility, and endless creativity. Beuys recognised that you in your educational role are significant artists and he saw all your work in enabling human potential to be realised as great creative acts!

So well done in all your group work on Beuys, which the artist himself would regard as ’social sculpture’.