Joseph Beuys
04 Aug - 29 Oct 2006
Joseph Beuys, Basisraum Nasse Wäsche, 1979, MUMOK, Wien, permanent loan of the Österreichische Ludwig Stiftung, Photo: MUMOK © Joseph Beuys, VG-Bild Kunst/VBK, Wien 2007
Joseph Beuys
from the MUMOK Collection
04.08.–29.10.06
This year marks the twentieth anniversary of the death of Joseph Beuys, one of the most important and controversial artist figures of the twentieth century. His work, rich in contradictions, is animated by the avant-garde utopia of the redemption of the world and humanity through art. In the radicalness of his thinking, Beuys broke the limits of the traditional concept of art and with his visual works, actions, and lectures inspired later artist generations like no other. With the Cologne Portfolio, MUMOK shows an extensive body of prints and paintings, providing an essential contribution to our understanding of Beuys’ actionist and sculptural oeuvre. In this exhibition, the portfolio is shown in its entirety for the first time. In addition, the early object Tür (Door, 1954–56), Basisraum Nasse Wäsche (Basic Room Wet Laundry, 1979), an environment made in Vienna, and the documentation of the action Honigpumpe (Honey Pump, 1985) will be shown, works also from MUMOK’s collection.
The sixty-four works on paper from the period 1945 to 1973 is called the Cologne Portfolio because the sheets were compiled by a Cologne collector before being acquired by Peter and Irene Ludwig. In 1979, the portfolio was first lent to MUMOK; on the occasion of the founding of the Österreichische Ludwig Stiftung, Irene and Peter Ludwig introduced another 43 drawings from the portfolio into the Stiftung, along with other significant works. An extension of the foundation contract in 1991 resulted in the gift of additional drawings. The Cologne Portfolio exemplifies the drawings of Beuys. None of the issues that are dominant for Beuys and informative about his thinking is missing from the Cologne Portfolio. The drawings attest to the spontaneous, transitory character of his artistic drive. Geographical and physical themes, considerations on humanity, especially women, who are sketched in their mythical relations and symbolic acts, as in the works dickes Mädchen (fat girl) or Bergsteigerin (female mountaineer). Other sheets attest to Beuys’ fascination with biology and the animal world.
One of the first acquisitions of the Österreichische Ludwig Stiftung in 1981 was Beuys’ large-scale environment Basisraum Nasse Wäsche, created in Vienna in 1979. In January of that year, the first version was realized in Galerie nächst St. Stephan, and a few months later the work was adapted for exhibition at Vienna’s Secession. The starting point for this work, as the artist later reported, was a visit to Palais Liechtenstein. Beuys said the Palais, which had just been adapted as a temporary location for the Museum moderner Kunst, was fully inadequate to this purpose: as a location it only sufficed to hang up wet laundry over and over again.
With Tür (1954-56), MUMOK acquired a work by Joseph Beuys that was long underestimated in the literature. At the time of its creation, Beuys was in the midst of a difficult physical and intellectual crisis. The wooden doors, burned in an explosion in his studio, opened the way for Beuys to an expanded concept of art. As he recognized their significance, Beuys added two rabbit ears and an egret skull. In this work, Beuys’ personal experiences with older myths, magical rites, and the openness of significance of traditional symbols are intensely interwoven with one another.
Honigpumpe (Honey Pump, 1985) is the documentation of a six-hour long action that took place a year earlier in Beuys’ Düsseldorf studio. With the materials typical of Beuys’ work, like fat, felt, a rabbit figure, honey, and soon, he created the apparatus Honey Pump. The documentation consists of a silkscreen print, fifteen photographs, an audiocassette, and a booklet.
An information table will be set up for the exhibition in MUMOK Factory with material from the holdings of MUMOK’s library, which has over 130 publications on Joseph Beuys and his work.
Curator
Wolfgang Drechsler
from the MUMOK Collection
04.08.–29.10.06
This year marks the twentieth anniversary of the death of Joseph Beuys, one of the most important and controversial artist figures of the twentieth century. His work, rich in contradictions, is animated by the avant-garde utopia of the redemption of the world and humanity through art. In the radicalness of his thinking, Beuys broke the limits of the traditional concept of art and with his visual works, actions, and lectures inspired later artist generations like no other. With the Cologne Portfolio, MUMOK shows an extensive body of prints and paintings, providing an essential contribution to our understanding of Beuys’ actionist and sculptural oeuvre. In this exhibition, the portfolio is shown in its entirety for the first time. In addition, the early object Tür (Door, 1954–56), Basisraum Nasse Wäsche (Basic Room Wet Laundry, 1979), an environment made in Vienna, and the documentation of the action Honigpumpe (Honey Pump, 1985) will be shown, works also from MUMOK’s collection.
The sixty-four works on paper from the period 1945 to 1973 is called the Cologne Portfolio because the sheets were compiled by a Cologne collector before being acquired by Peter and Irene Ludwig. In 1979, the portfolio was first lent to MUMOK; on the occasion of the founding of the Österreichische Ludwig Stiftung, Irene and Peter Ludwig introduced another 43 drawings from the portfolio into the Stiftung, along with other significant works. An extension of the foundation contract in 1991 resulted in the gift of additional drawings. The Cologne Portfolio exemplifies the drawings of Beuys. None of the issues that are dominant for Beuys and informative about his thinking is missing from the Cologne Portfolio. The drawings attest to the spontaneous, transitory character of his artistic drive. Geographical and physical themes, considerations on humanity, especially women, who are sketched in their mythical relations and symbolic acts, as in the works dickes Mädchen (fat girl) or Bergsteigerin (female mountaineer). Other sheets attest to Beuys’ fascination with biology and the animal world.
One of the first acquisitions of the Österreichische Ludwig Stiftung in 1981 was Beuys’ large-scale environment Basisraum Nasse Wäsche, created in Vienna in 1979. In January of that year, the first version was realized in Galerie nächst St. Stephan, and a few months later the work was adapted for exhibition at Vienna’s Secession. The starting point for this work, as the artist later reported, was a visit to Palais Liechtenstein. Beuys said the Palais, which had just been adapted as a temporary location for the Museum moderner Kunst, was fully inadequate to this purpose: as a location it only sufficed to hang up wet laundry over and over again.
With Tür (1954-56), MUMOK acquired a work by Joseph Beuys that was long underestimated in the literature. At the time of its creation, Beuys was in the midst of a difficult physical and intellectual crisis. The wooden doors, burned in an explosion in his studio, opened the way for Beuys to an expanded concept of art. As he recognized their significance, Beuys added two rabbit ears and an egret skull. In this work, Beuys’ personal experiences with older myths, magical rites, and the openness of significance of traditional symbols are intensely interwoven with one another.
Honigpumpe (Honey Pump, 1985) is the documentation of a six-hour long action that took place a year earlier in Beuys’ Düsseldorf studio. With the materials typical of Beuys’ work, like fat, felt, a rabbit figure, honey, and soon, he created the apparatus Honey Pump. The documentation consists of a silkscreen print, fifteen photographs, an audiocassette, and a booklet.
An information table will be set up for the exhibition in MUMOK Factory with material from the holdings of MUMOK’s library, which has over 130 publications on Joseph Beuys and his work.
Curator
Wolfgang Drechsler