12 rooms in Artist and Society
Discover how both of the artists in this display used actions to engage the public with social, political and environmental concerns
During the 1970s Beuys developed the role of the artist as teacher. In his actions and exhibitions he outlined theories of creativity and the relationship between art and society. The centrepiece of his Tate exhibition was a performance entitled Information Action. For six and a half hours, Beuys discussed art, politics and the idea of using art as a force for change.
The blackboards shown here were used in Information Action, and in a related event at the Whitechapel Gallery, London. Since the mid-1960s, Beuys had used blackboards in his performances as carriers of information that he could alter as the event progressed. Many of them were preserved as records of his actions. They are now seen as artworks in their own right.
Nicolás García Uriburu wanted to raise awareness about water pollution. At the 1968 Venice Biennale he poured fluorescein into the waters of the Grand Canal. This non-contaminating pigment reacts with micro-organisms in water and turns bright green. In a matter of seconds, the surface of the canal started to change colour. The video Actions in nature captures this brief transformation. Uriburu went on to repeat this action in rivers, coastlines and fountains around the world. It became his best known work.
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Joseph Beuys, Tate Gallery actions Seven exhibitions Date not known
For Seven Exhibitions at the Tate Gallery, Beuys contributed a poster with photographs of previous Actions on one side, and English translations of some of his political manifestos on the other. The video shows part of Beuys’s Information Action, in which Beuys responds to questions from artists Gustav Metzger and Richard Hamilton.
Gallery label, November 2015
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artworks in Joseph Beuys and Nicolás García Uriburu
Nicolás García Uriburu, Actions in nature 1968
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artworks in Joseph Beuys and Nicolás García Uriburu
Art in this room
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Art Term
Performance art
Artworks that are created through actions performed by the artist or other participants, which may be live or recorded