Joseph Beuys

1921–1986

Joseph Beuys, ‘Joseph Beuys: ‘Ja, jetzt brechen wir hier den Scheiß ab’. Galerie René Block, Berlin’ 1979
Joseph Beuys: ‘Ja, jetzt brechen wir hier den Scheiß ab’. Galerie René Block, Berlin 1979
© DACS, 2022
License this image

In Tate Modern

Artist and Society

Free

In Tate Britain

Prints and Drawings Rooms

7 artworks by Joseph Beuys
View by Appointment

Biography

Joseph Heinrich Beuys ( BOYSS, German: [ˈjoːzɛf ˈbɔʏs]; 12 May 1921 – 23 January 1986) was a German artist, teacher, performance artist, and art theorist whose work reflected concepts of humanism, sociology, and anthroposophy. He is a founder of the provocative art movement known as Fluxus, and was a key figure in the development of Happenings.

Beuys is known for his "extended definition of art" in which the ideas of social sculpture could potentially reshape society and politics. He frequently held open public debates on a wide range of subjects, including political, environmental, social, and long-term cultural issues.

This biography is from Wikipedia under an Attribution-ShareAlike Creative Commons License. Spotted a problem? Let us know.

Read full Wikipedia entry
Conceptual art Environmental art Fluxus 5 more art terms …

Artworks

Left Right
See all 579

Artist as subject

Left Right
See all 196

Film and audio

  • Listen

    Katie Guggenheim Recordings - Joseph Beuys

    Working with six actors and using published interviews as scripts, artist Katie Guggenheim re-staged conversations with some of the twentieth …

Features

Left Right
  • Maurizio Cattelan Installation view of All at Kunsthaus Bregenz 2007

    Tate Etc

    Now is for ever, again: The everyday

    Francesco Bonami

    From Gabriel Orozco’s exhibition of yoghurt pot lids to Rirkrit Tiravanija’s transformation of a gallery into a kitchen to serve …

  • Artists march to demand the release of detained prominent Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, Hong Kong, 23 April 2011 - photo © Laurent Fievet / Getty Images

    Tate Etc

    Opinion: Art and Democracy

    John-Paul Stonard

    A response to Ai Weiwei's quotation on art's relation to democracy

  • Jeff Koons, ‘Three Ball Total Equilibrium Tank (Two Dr J Silver Series, Spalding NBA Tip-Off)’ 1985

    Art Term

    Vitrine

    A large, glass cabinet used for displaying art objects

  • Joseph Kosuth, ‘Clock (One and Five), English/Latin Version’ 1965

    Art Term

    Conceptual art

    Conceptual art is art for which the idea (or concept) behind the work is more important than the finished art …

  • William Blake, ‘The Good and Evil Angels’ 1795–?c.1805

    Art Term

    Iconography

    The iconography of an artwork is the imagery within it

  • Mona Hatoum, ‘Performance Still’ 1985, 1995

    Art Term

    Performance art

    Artworks that are created through actions performed by the artist or other participants, which may be live or recorded, spontaneous …

  • Anya Gallaccio, ‘preserve ‘beauty’’ 1991–2003

    Art Term

    Ephemeral art

    Ephemeral art is art that only lasts for a short amount of time

  • Joseph Beuys, ‘7000 Oak Trees’ 1982

    Art Term

    Social sculpture

    Social sculpture is a theory developed by the artist Joseph Beuys in the 1970s based on the concept that everything …

  • Joseph Beuys, ‘The End of the Twentieth Century’ 1983–5

    Art Term

    Environmental art

    Environmental art is art that addresses social and political issues relating to the natural and urban environment

  • Joseph Beuys, ‘Free International University. Discussion with Beuys - Fondazione per la Rinascita dell’Agricoltura’ 1978

    Art Term

    Educational turn

    A theme that emerged in the mid-1990s, educational turn refers to collaborative or research-based art where the impetus is on …

You might like

Left Right