Everyone Is an Artist Cosmopolitical Exercises with Joseph Beuys 27.3 - 15.8.2021 - Exhibition Guide
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Exhibition Guide Everyone Is an Artist Cosmopolitical Exercises with Joseph Beuys 27.3. – 15.8.2021
Exhibition Guide
“All this only be acquired through Everyone Is an Artist
practice. Through daily practice. You can
call it meditation or concentration exer
cises. When I talk about the expanded
concept of art and say that everyone is
an artist, I clearly take into account that
this is one of the most important creative
moments of human beings—to let it
come to a democratic constitution born
out of freedom, that is to say from
creativity, from the creative power of
all people.” Joseph Beuys, 1985
Cosmopolitical Exercises
with Joseph Beuys
27.3. – 15.8.2021Floor Plan Contents Exhibition Guide
1
4
Introduction 2 Prelude 0
Exercise 1
3
4
Everyone Is an Artist
5 Exercise 2 6
2 3 Exercise 3 10
0
Exercise 4 12
Exercise 5 13
9
Exercise 6 14
12 10 Exercise 7 16
6 Exercise 8 18
8
Exercise 9 20
11
7 Exercise 10 22
Exercise 11 24
Exercise 12 26
Cosmopolitical Exercises
with Joseph Beuys
27.3. – 15.8.20210
Introduction Everyone Is an Artist 2 Prelude 3
As a draftsman, sculptor, teacher, politician, activist, and action
and installation artist, Joseph Beuys (1921–1986) left an indelible
mark on the art of the twentieth century. Like no other artist of
his time, he linked art with social processes, proposing it as a uni-
versal creative force for transformation in politics, science, philoso-
phy, and the economy. His influence can still be felt in today’s
artistic and political discourses. The hundredth anniversary of his
birth thus offers an occasion to appreciate, rediscover, and criti
cally interrogate his complex oeuvre and international impact.
Divided into twelve sections (exercises), the exhibition in the
Klee Halle at K20 provides far-reaching insights into Joseph
Beuys’s cosmopolitan thinking as manifested in the performance
pieces he called “Actions.” Taking center stage for the first time
in this show, they illustrate the performative potentials of his art,
his actionist approach, his quasi-ritualistic acts, and his trans
formative handling of objects and materials. In his Actions, Beuys
assumes the role of an acting, speaking, and moving figure in
order to explore the central idea behind his expanded concept of
art: “Everyone is an artist.”
Building on this proposition, Beuys developed a revolutionary
theory of “social sculpture” predicated on a process of self-trans
formation: All individuals should see themselves as artists, shaping
their lives according to the principles of sculpture in order to renew
society from the ground up. The creative capacities and the uncon
ditional freedom inherent in human thought are at the heart of his
expanded concept of art.
In the exhibition, contemporary artists and representatives Lutz Mommartz with people. He called for an art
from diverse areas of society enter into a multilayered transcultural Soziale Plastik whose primary concern is the
dialogue with Beuys. In each chapter, one of Beuys’s Actions forms (Social Sculpture) needs of humankind and society.
the starting point for “exercises in political thought” in the form 1969 The free human being is at the
center of these considerations.
of dialogues as envisioned by Hannah Arendt. These fictitious conver- 16mm film, digitized, black-and-white,
no sound, 11:31 min. The source of this freedom is think-
sations reveal central questions, themes, and potentials for action Lutz Mommartz, © Joseph Beuys Estate ing. Freedom enables creativity.
within the utopia of social sculpture that Beuys placed firmly in and VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2021 Every individual can thus be
the here and now, while the complex dialogues with the selected con- creative: “Everyone is an artist.”
Lutz Mommartz’s films do not tell With this ability, all individuals
temporary positions encourage us to delve more deeply into his stories. His works show what is. are called to collaborate in the great
theses on the possibilities of a future conceived from the standpoint The experimental filmmaker takes social sculpture—a new society
of art. a look at the fundamentals of the that redeems the ideas of freedom,
In view of the discourses on the potential of cosmopolitan medium of film, such as here the equality, and fraternity.
relationship between protagonists
thinking that are being conducted today worldwide and with palpable and viewers. For the filming of
1
Westdeutsche Zeitung, May 2, 2018, online:
urgency, Beuys’s quest for the kind of interpersonal solidarity that Soziale Plastik (Social Sculpture), www.wz.de/nrw/duesseldorf/duesseldorfer-
avantgardefilmer-lutz-mommartz-gastiert-
extends to encompass all living beings seems more topical than Mommartz invited Joseph Beuys in-oberhausen _ aid-25604713 (accessed
to his apartment in Düsseldorf. November 20, 2020).
ever. The questions he formulated, and the tasks he set, are echoed
During the filming, the artist was
in much of today’s crisis thinking, whether in art, philosophy, asked to imagine an “anonymous
politics, economics, science, or ecological endeavors. The exhibition viewer.”1 Without speaking, Beuys
sets out to explore and draw upon this productive potential. gazes highly concentrated into
the camera—and thus directly into
the eye of the viewer. Both sides
must endure the gaze of the other
and thus enter into an intense
dialogue. Beuys described himself
as a transmitter and receiver
of energy. Here, the viewer takes
on this same role.
Beuys always sought to enter
into a dialogue and an exchange1
Exercise Introduction 4 Works / Positions 5
Joseph Beuys conceived a new image of the artist: He or she should Joseph Beuys Thich Nhat Hanh Suzanne Lacy
interfere in life. This is accompanied by the question “What is Transsibirische Bahn Oprah Winfrey talks Across and In-Between
(Trans-Siberian Railway) with Thich Nhat Hanh 2018
the human being?” Beuys sees the human being as someone who 1970 2013
is free and creative—an artist who seeks self-determination in a An Action for a film shot by Ole John in Video, color, sound, 21:47 min.
The artwork includes Border People’s
Parliament and The Yellow Line. Created
never-ending process. The prerequisite for this is a way of thinking February 1970 on the occasion of the
exhibition TABERNAKEL at the Louisiana Oprah Winfrey Network
with Cian Smyth, it involved collaborations
with Garrett Carr, Eva Grosman, Conan
that combines Western rationality and Eastern intuition. Thich Museum of Modern Art, Humlebæk near McIvor, Pedro Rebelo, Helen Sharp, Helen
Copenhagen How can we preserve our planet? Sloan, Mark Thomas, and communities
Nhat Hanh conveys the wisdom of the East to the West in order to How can we build a just and peace- living on the border in Ireland. Co-commis
16mm film, digitized, black-and-white,
jointly advocate freedom. Like Beuys, he sees himself as a teacher. sound, 19 min. ful world? For Thich Nhat Hanh,
sioned by 14–18 NOW: WW1 Centenary
Art Commissions and Belfast International
While Beuys initiated the Free International University as a place © Joseph Beuys Estate and VG Bild-Kunst, the prerequisites for this are com- Arts Festival.
Bonn 2021; video on loan from the Medien- passion, attentiveness, modesty,
for discussion and the planning of collective action, Thich Nhat archiv Joseph Beuys, Zentrum für Kunst Across and In-Between: The Yellow
Manifesto, 2018
and the insight that all beings and
Hanh founded the Order of Interbeing, which is dedicated to “the und Medien Karlsruhe (Joseph Beuys
Media Archive, Center for Art and Media things are interconnected. The Bud-
Created with Garrett Carr, Eva Grosman,
and residents on the border in Ireland,
development of compassion, understanding, and committed action Karlsruhe)
dhist monk and Zen master rep- print on paper, 237.8 × 168.2 cm
in the individual and social spheres.” He opened several Buddhist Joseph Beuys’s Action is based on resents a committed Buddhism that Across and In-Between: Border People’s
centers in Europe. Suzanne Lacy is concerned with diversity in the eponymous installation from is politically and socially active for Parliament, Stormont, 2018
45 (of 113) black-and-white photographs
1961/69, which was initially to human and animal rights, equal
society and analyzes social relationships. In the spirit of Beuys, she be set up in a shed, into which one opportunities, an ecological way of
by Helen Sloan, each 59.4 × 45.9 cm
is not an elitist artist. Lacy brings together people of different could only look through a small life, and peace. His interest in Across and In-Between: Voices from
the Border in Ireland, 2021
backgrounds and interests who, with her as games master, realize hole with one eye. In the film, the Western philosophy and religion HD video 1080p by Conan McIvor, color,
stereo sound, 29:52 min.
collaborative projects and performances to inspire change. camerawork simulates this view enables Thich Nhat Hanh to appeal
through the static perspective. also to Western audiences on a Courtesy the artist
The camera shake evokes the fatigue spiritual level.
of concentrated looking, while In the mid-1960s, Thich Nhat Using art to effect social change
the double exposures remind Hanh convinced Martin Luther is the leitmotif throughout the work
us of changing eyes. The swaying King Jr. and Pope Paul VI to advo- of Suzanne Lacy. She herself calls
of the camera also emphasizes cate an end to the Vietnam War. her art “public.” Since the early
the motif of the journey—a journey He was a member of the Buddhist 1970s, when she became a key figure
that connects Europe and Asia delegation to the peace negotiations in the feminist movement in Cali-
like the Trans-Siberian Railway in Paris in 1969. His commitment fornia, she has addressed social
connects Moscow and Vladi- to peace displeased the government and political issues in performances,
vostok. In his Action, Beuys lends in Saigon—so much so that he was installations, videos, and photo-
artistic expression to the fusion not allowed to return to his home- graphs. She often works collectively
he strives for between the West, land. However, he continued to with other artists, experts in various
determined by reason and intellect, promote social projects in Vietnam disciplines, and affected groups
and the East, characterized by and supported the boat people around the world.
spirituality and intuition—which, who fled the country. In France, Lacy’s art leaves the exhibition
moreover, were at the time opposed Thich Nhat Hanh founded the space. It goes directly into life.
to each other in two mutually Buddhist center Plum Village in For example, Lacy’s Across and In-
hostile power blocs. Only in this 1982, and in Germany, the Euro Between project involved over 300
way can the utopia of a new human pean Institute for Applied Buddhism people on both sides of the Irish
community be realized. in 2008. border from communities in the
At the same time, the Action countryside where the demarcation
embodies the path from traditional line is not visible. Participants
art to the expanded concept of were invited to express their feelings
art. The canvases are turned with and hopes for the region. In vari-
their fronts facing the wall. For ous Actions, they marked the invis-
Beuys, art was more than painting, ible border as The Yellow Line.
as it were. According to his under- Finally, 150 border residents gath-
standing, art was a process, art ered for the Border People’s Parlia-
was politics; the task of art was to ment at the Northern Ireland
create the social sculpture, in which Parliament building. From their
all people were called upon to responses to questions about
participate. the Irish border, the writer Garrett
Carr developed The Yellow Mani-
festo: A true account of a border
and its people.2
Exercise Introduction 6 Works / Positions 7
Beuys fought for direct democracy. Angela Davis calls for the “aboli- then flown out to a special clinic mother. Coming from urban High Line Park, drew attention
tion of democracy,” which, in her opinion, is characterized in the in England. The assassination at- dance, he studied choreography to ongoing social problems
tempt did not stop her from contin- in Berlin and is active today as in the United States and reflects
United States by racism and capitalism. Michel Houellebecq predicts uing to demand the right to edu- a choreographer, director, curator, Leonard’s commitment. “I want
the destruction of society. The Milk Tee Alliance demonstrates cation for all children from her exile and lecturer. a dyke for president. I want
how the commitment of individuals to new ideas can become a mass in the UK . On the contrary, she Hillebrand conducts projects a person with aids for president
movement based on solidarity. Masala Yousafzai, too, was initially has become known worldwide as worldwide with young people, and I want a fag for vice president
a result and receives support from to whom he strives to convey self- and I want someone with no
a lone fighter for the right to education for women; today, she politicians and the United Nations. esteem and courage. At the same health insurance […].”
is a role model for millions of others. International Criminal Court In 2014, Malala Yousafzai was time, he develops choreographies
Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda advocates human rights. The awarded the Nobel Peace Prize to- with professional, often local
lawyer Christopher D. Stone fights to give natural objects the status gether with the Indian social reform- dancers, whether from the field Phyllida Barlow
er Kailash Satyarthi, who cam- of urban dance or ballet. In working STREET untitled: banners
of persons in environmental law, something Beuys also saw as paigns against the exploitation of with others, as he says himself, 2010
a mandate. Raphael Moussa Hillebrand fights against racism and children. he finds his best ideas. In 2020, Fabric, timber, Styrofoam, cement, cotton
discrimination with dance, while Zoe Leonard and Jenny Holzer Hillebrand was honored by the jury fabric, c. 400 × 900 × 500 cm (installation
dimensions)
work as visual artists with texts. Phyllida Barlow sees “sculpture of the German Dance Prize in the
Raphael Moussa Hillebrand category Outstanding Artistic Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst,
as language,” with which she gives physical presence to “non-visual Von der Straße auf die Bühne: Developments in Dance. In 2017,
Zurich
experiences.” Like Beuys, Goshka Macuga is convinced that, in Raphael Hillebrand the artist co-founded the Berlin- Phyllida Barlow’s sculptures are
thinking about the future, not only all people, but also all living (From the Street to the Stage: based minor party Die Urbane. Eine large. They fill the space in such a
beings and the earth should have a voice. Raphael Hillebrand) HipHop Partei (The Urban: A Hip- way that one can hardly experience
2020 Hop Party), which advocates, among them from a distance. And yet
Television broadcast of the program
other things, equal rights for all, they are not sculptures “with
Drehscheibe, ZDF climate protection, equal opportuni- a capital ‘S,’” as the British artist
Video, color, sound, 6:29 min. ties in education and work, and puts it. They are not monumental,
global peace. but provisional and alive, as if
ZDF and Raphael Moussa Hillebrand
they could be changed at any time.
Ein Kubaner in Chemnitz Barlow deliberately processes
(A Cuban in Chemnitz) Zoe Leonard everyday materials such as fabric,
2020 I want a president cardboard, plywood, plaster,
1992 cement, paint, plastic, and foam
From the series Unterdrückung – Selbst
Typewritten text on paper, 27.9 × 21.6 cm in an artless manner so that the
ermächtigung – Befreiung (Suppression—
Joseph Beuys Christian-Moebuss had challenged Malala Yousafzai Self-Empowerment—Liberation) traces of production remain visible.
Courtesy the artist, Galerie Gisela
Boxkampf für direkte Demo Beuys in a heated discussion with Christina Lamb Interpretation: Yester Mulens Garcia; Capitain, Cologne, and Hauser & Wirth, Before the sculptor achieved
kratie durch Volksab about direct referendum and the I am Malala: The Story of Camera Operator: Yester Mulens Garcia; © Zoe Leonard her international breakthrough
stimmung / “Abschiedsaktion” democratically constituted party a Girl Who Stood Up for Artistic Director: Raphael Moussa in 2010 after a long artistic and
Hillebrand; Choreography: Raphael
(Boxing Match for Direct state in the office of the Orga Education and Was Shot by Moussa Hillebrand, Yester Mulens Garcia; The art of the US -American pho- teaching career, she repeatedly
Democracy through Referen nization for Direct Democracy by the Taliban Color Correction: Lea Bethke; Music: tographer and sculptor Zoe Leonard destroyed her sculptures and reused
Nuuki, Perspektiven Zählen; A production
dum / “Farewell Action”) Referendum. The office was Beuys’s 2013 of Ballett Chemnitz is political. The observation and the materials. Economic necessity
1972 official contribution to the docu- questioning of social developments became an artistic strategy. As
London: Orion Publishing Group Courtesy the artist and Städtisches
An Action together with Abraham David
menta. Founded by him—together Theater Chemnitz, Ballett Chemnitz, form the background of her multi- with STREET untitled: banners—
Christian-Moebuss on October 8, 1972 with Johannes Stüttgen and Karl Book Production "Made in Chemnitz 20|20" faceted photographs and instal which evokes a forest of banners
at 3:00 p.m., documenta 5 at the Museum Fastabend—at Andreasstrasse 25 in lations. In 1992, Leonard caused at a demonstration—her works
Fridericianum, Kassel
Düsseldorf in 1971, the Organiza- Malala Yousafzai was fifteen years Video Loop of Decolonial a sensation with her appearance invite viewers to make their way
Documentation by Karl Oskar Blase (super- tion for Direct Democr acy by old when, on October 9, 2012, Resistance at documenta 9. In the Neue Galerie through or along them, sometimes
vision), Walter Cuntze (camera): video,
Referendum pursued the goal of members of the Taliban stormed 2019 in Kassel, she replaced portraits even to stoop down. The experi-
digitized, black-and-white, sound, 9:32 min.
renewing society through the her school bus, asked for her, Video, color, sound, 4:50 min. (loop) of men with photographs of female ence of Phyllida Barlow’s sculptures
Karl Oskar Blase Estate © Joseph Beuys cooperation of each individual and and shot her in the face. After the Choreography, Interpretation, and
genitalia she had taken herself, opens up further possibilities
Estate and VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2021;
video on loan from the Medienarchiv shaping it into a social sculpture. Taliban took power in Yousafzai’s Concept: Raphael Moussa Hillebrand; which now hung next to the baroque for reflection and goes beyond the
Joseph Beuys, Zentrum für Kunst und For documenta 5, Beuys moved the home region, the Swat Valley Music: Prolific the Rapper feat. John
Trudel, It’s not over; Camera Operator:
portraits of women. In doing so, concrete engagement with the
Medien Karlsruhe (Joseph Beuys Media
Archive, Center for Art and Media information office to Kassel. He in Pakistan’s hinterland, she had Naoto Hiéda; Place: Academy of Per- she drew attention to the fact that objects themselves—in the artist’s
Karlsruhe) was present there on a daily basis dared to speak out against the forming Arts Hong Kong in both the still male-dominated words, “like walking through a
and discussed tirelessly with vis- reign of terror and continued going Courtesy the artist art scene and in museums, women landscape.”
On the last day of documenta 5, itors. His expanded concept of art to school. Through the mediation appear primarily as objects. In
a boxing match took place in the explicitly encompassed language of a friend of her father, an educa- Dancing as a democratic exercise— the 1980s and ’90s, Zoe Leonard
Fridericianum in Kassel in the and speech as a sculptural process tion activist, she had blogged this is an important aspect of became involved as an activist Goshka Macuga
room dedicated to the French Swiss that was to contribute to the under a pseudonym for the BBC ’s Raphael Moussa Hillebrand’s artis- against discrimination against Make Tofu Not War
Fluxus artist Ben Vautier. The shaping of the social sculpture. website about the Taliban’s terror tic work. He is concerned with people with AIDS. She spoke up 2018
opponents: Joseph Beuys and the and oppression of girls and women the equality of all people and for equal rights for African Ameri- 3D wool tapestry, 293 × 447 cm;
sculptor Abraham David Christian when she was only eleven years the courage to live and represent cans and the concerns of queer edition: 5 + 1 AP
(then Christian-Moebuss), an art old. She soon also made public this ideal without compromise. communities. Private Collection
student of Beuys and, like the latter, appearances and reported under Dancing helped him to come to Her text I want a president
a documenta participant. The her real name. terms with the racist discrimina- (1992), displayed in 2016 as Goshka Macuga pursues an expand-
referee was Anatol Herzfeld. Beuys In an emergency operation, tion he experienced as the son a monumental banner on one of ed concept of the artist. She
won after three rounds, on points. Malala Yousafzai was rescued and of an African father and a German the retaining walls of New York’s not only uses the artistic genresWorks / Positions 8 Works / Positions 9
of painting, drawing, collage, tea with milk, which is not common and Lithuania—are being inves Jenny Holzer Activist, civil rights campaigner, the works of the French historian
sculpture, film, photography, and in the People’s Republic of China. tigated. The United States therefore VOTE YOUR FUTURE feminist, and philosopher Angela and politician Alexis de Tocque-
installation, but also slips into the The protests of the movement imposed sanctions on Bensouda 2018 Davis, an icon of the civil rights ville. In 1831/32, Tocqueville
roles of curator, collector, and have now reached the streets. in 2020 and banned her from enter- movement of the 1970s, would traveled to the United States on
Text: VOTE YOUR FUTURE by March for
scholar. Thus, in her installations, People arrange to meet as flash ing the country. Our Lives, Jenny Holzer, and many others,
like to see the younger generation behalf of the French government.
the Polish British conceptual artist mobs. Their equipment includes Los Angeles, 2018 engaged across differences In his two-volume work Democ-
often uses—in addition to her hard hats and goggles, gas masks of gender, sexual orientation, racy in America, he described
3 color photographs, each 46.7 × 70 cm
own objects—works by other artists, and umbrellas. Similar to the Christopher D. Stone and ethnicity. the dangers that could emanate
found objects, archival material, so-called Umbrella Movement Should Trees Have Courtesy the artist, © 2018 Jenny Holzer, From 1968 to 1991, Davis from democracy and capitalism.
ARS, photos: Collin LaFleche (images 1
and literature. Macuga links art in Hong Kong in 2014, people com- a Standing? Law, Morality, and 2: LED bus); © 2018 Jenny Holzer, ARS,
was a member of the Communist A new, “soft” dictatorship
with social, political, historical, municate during the demonstra- and the Environment photo: Ed Mumford (image 3: LED truck) Party (CPUSA). In 1970, she can emerge in which the state
philosophical, and scientific events tions via a code of hand signals 2010 was among the ten most wanted takes everything from the people,
and questions. In doing so, she or whisper Chinese words that “Abuse of Power Comes As No criminals in the United States. who are only interested in money,
Klein Jasedow: thinkOya
uncovers hidden or repressed refer- are passed from mouth to mouth. (american first edition 1972) Surprise” and other laconic one- The starting point was her advo- consumption, and pleasure.
ences. The artist attaches great Protesters in Hong Kong and Book
liners by Jenny Holzer appeared cacy for the release of Black prison- They revolve solely around them-
social importance to art and culture, Thailand have been subjected to in large LED lettering on a bill- ers, including George Jackson. selves and no longer assume
which enable experiences that massive violence by the state, Christopher D. Stone is an expert board in Times Square, New York When the latter’s brother tried to any social responsibility, either
contribute to the emancipation with deaths, injuries, and arrests. on international environmental in 1982. Amid the many neon signs, free him from the courtroom, he in private or in public life.
of the individual and the cohesion law and professor emeritus at a message that made one stop killed four people with a gun owned
of society. the University of Southern California and think. Text has been the US - by Davis. Davis was subsequently
Macuga’s themes are embed- Fatou Bensouda at Los Angeles. As a young lawyer, American artist’s form of expression charged with murder, hostage-
ded in the complex of the history The Life and Times of an Stone set a milestone in the legal since the mid-1970s, after she taking, and conspiracy. As a result,
of humanity. The 3D tapestry Make International War Crimes and ethical debate over human- had first devoted herself to abstract the “Free Angela” movement
Tofu Not War conveys little pros- Prosecutor: Fatou Bensouda, kind’s relationship with nature. painting. Initially pasted as formed around the world and be-
pect of good progress. The Tower ICC Deputy Prosecutor In 1966, the Walt Disney posters, the writing soon appeared came a symbol of the struggle
of Babel on the right in the back- 2011 Company planned to develop a with modern computer technology against the abuse of justice against
ground represents the hubris ski resort in California’s Mineral on LED signs and as projections minorities. In 1972, Angela Davis
of humankind. People dressed as Fatou Bensouda in conversation with King Valley. The oldest conser on walls of buildings, as well was acquitted.
Prof. Leila Sadat, Washington University
wolves, reindeer, and polar bears vation organization in the USA , as on buses, T-shirts, and postcards. Angela Davis is convinced
warn with protest posters. Are Video, color, sound, 36:18 min. the Sierra Club, filed a suit—legally Holzer’s conceptual text work that capitalism, racism, and sexism
animals wiser? In any case, as Whitney R. Harris World Law Institute, unpromising because the project ranges from Truisms and political are inextricably intertwined. To
a result of their behavior, humans © 2011 Washington University would not have personally harmed messages—which she has placed this day, she advocates for peace,
are on the verge of destroying the plaintiffs’ rights. This is in public especially since Donald women’s rights, better working
nature, their own basis of existence, Fatou Bensouda is convinced where Stone came in. He suggest- Trump’s election—to color revisions conditions, health care, and the
as well as themselves. that “every single person can do ed the Valley itself as a plaintiff of American documents about abolition of prisons.
something … to change the world.” since entities such as business war and intelligence operations.
She herself draws strength for corporations are also considered For the German Bundestag,
Milk Tea Alliance her task as Chief Prosecutor of “legal persons.” In 1972, Stone she installed a stela in the Reichstag Michel Houellebecq
How demonstrators the International Criminal Court published his seminal plea under building on which LED lettering Houellebecq, Tocqueville,
in Thailand marshal anti- (ICC ) in The Hague from her pas- the title Should Trees Have Stand- runs with 447 speeches by Reichs Democracy
government protests sionate conviction that she can ing? Toward Legal Rights for tag and Bundestag members 2011
with hand signs thus give a voice to the defenseless Natural Objects. The dispute finally from 1871, the year the Reich was Michel Houellebecq in conversation with
October 18, 2020 victims of genocide, war crimes, ended in 1978 with the congres founded, to 1999, when the building Sylvain Bourmeau
crimes against humanity, and sional decision to annex the was reopened after reconstruction.
Video, color, sound, 7:14 min.
Video, color, sound, 3:28 min. aggression. Before becoming the valley to Sequoia National Park— “Enlightenment as Program” was
Screenocean/Reuters and South China first woman to be elected to her the official end of the proposed the title of an article in the Frank- Sylvain Bourmeau
Morning Post post in 2011, the Gambian jurist ski area. furter Allgemeine Zeitung on
had been Deputy Prosecutor Christopher D. Stone’s think- Jenny Holzer’s seventieth birthday— Some honor him for his literary
In 2020, the transnational Milk at the ICC since 2004. That period ing spurred the development of an apt formulation. work, in which they appreciate
Tea Alliance, a democratic solidarity included the trial of Thomas environmental law and the under- the precise language and lucid de-
movement comprised of netizens Lubanga, a Congolese militia standing of nature as a value scription of the state of Western
from Thailand, Hong Kong, and leader blamed for massacres of in itself. Nevertheless, there is Angela Davis society, while others accuse him
Taiwan, emerged on the Internet. civilians, rape, and forced recruit- still much to be done before this Angela Davis on feminism, of being a New Right reactionary:
In addition to their advocacy for ment of child soldiers during the becomes widely accepted—as communism, and being a racist, misogynist, Islamophobic
democratic rights, they are united Second Congo War. From 2002 to regular new editions of Stone’s Black Panther during the civil —Michel Houellebecq is radical
by their protest against China’s 2004, Bensouda was a legal adviser book prove. rights movement and controversial. The writer claims
power politics. In Hong Kong, at the International Criminal 2018 freedom of thought. He criticizes
the People’s Republic is breaking Tribunal for Rwanda. the narcissism and materialism
Angela Davis in conversation with Matt
the guarantee of civil liberties The ICC is currently investigat- Frei, Channel 4 News, London of the West, as well as the loss
given when the former British crown ing war crimes and crimes against of spiritual values. The characters
Video, color, sound, 31:46 min.
colony was handed over in 1997, humanity in Afghanistan. It is of his novels are self-centered,
threatening to annex Taiwan into also focusing on possible crimes Channel 4 News / Getty Images unemotional, and out of touch.
the motherland by force, and increas- committed by the US military and Their lives are unfulfilling and
ing Chinese influence in South- the US foreign intelligence agency, The struggle continues. As it was without hope.
east Asia. The alliance’s name the CIA . Secret CIA prisons—in- fifty years ago, racism remains Houellebecq finds his ideas
alludes to the habit of drinking cluding those in Poland, Romania, a problem in US society to this day. already precisely formulated in3
Exercise Introduction 10 Works / Positions 11
Joseph Beuys and Pope.L bemused people with actions in which Joseph Beuys 2
Joseph Beuys, in: Joseph Beuys, ed. Caroline
Bob Dylan
they subjected themselves to ridicule. The aim was to reveal social ö ö Programm (ö ö Program) Tisdall, exh. cat. Solomon R. Guggenheim Murder Most Foul
1967 Museum, New York (London, 1979), p. 30; 2020
role assignments and conflicts. With the ö ö Program performed quoted in Uwe M. Schneede, Joseph Beuys:
An Action together with Henning Chris- Die Aktionen. Kommentiertes Werkver Audio recording, 16:56 min.
during the matriculation ceremony at the Düsseldorf Academy tiansen in the auditorium of the Staatliche zeichnis mit fotografischen Dokumentationen
(Ostfildern-Ruit, 1994), p. 203. © 2020 by Special Rider Music /
of Art in 1967, Beuys violated conventions. With his nonconformist Kunstakademie (State Academy of
Art), Düsseldorf on the occasion of the Universal Music Publishing Group
behavior, he took sides with the student protests against the war matriculation ceremony on November 30,
1967
In 2020, Bob Dylan published
generation of the fathers and the antiquated structures of West Photograph by Volker Krämer
Pope.L
the song Murder Most Foul. The
German society. In 1978, Pope.L, who holds Beuys in high esteem, (reproduction) The Great White Way,
US folk and rock musician and Nobel
22 miles, 5 years, 1 street
chose the public street as a location for crawling performances. © Nachlass Volker Krämer Estate,
Hamburg, VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2021 (Segment #1:
Laureate for Literature borrowed
His point of departure was homelessness in New York in the 1970s. the title from the drama Hamlet by
December 29, 2001)
William Shakespeare. There, the
With his “crawls,” he made the public aware of the misery of the “Professor bellt ins 2001– 06
murder of Hamlet’s father, the King
street and practiced solidarity with the weak. In doing so, he was Mikrophon! Düsseldorf: CRT monitor, and resin; video, color, of Denmark, is described by his
sound, 6:35 min, edition: 5 + 1 AP
not perceived as an individual, but rather as a representative of Akademie-Happening” ghost as “Murder most foul.” Bob
Black Americans. Law enforcement officers and passersby were (“Professor Barks into a Courtesy the artist and Mitchell-Innes &
Dylan relates the words to the
Nash, New York
Microphone! Düsseldorf: assassination of US President
unwilling to allow this “humiliation of a Black man,” unaware that Academy Happening”) “Friendliest Black Artist in Amer- John F. Kennedy on November 22,
Pope.L himself had commissioned the white cameraman who December 1, 1967 ica” can be read on Pope.L’s calling 1963; and in the song, he takes
filmed him. Both artists used embarrassing situations to create Newspaper article by Alexander Goeb, card. This sounds amusing; at the different perspectives on the assas-
discomfort in order to break down power relations. in: EXPRESS, Cologne, December 1,
1967 (reproduction)
same time, however, it is an allusion sination, including that of the
to the fear many white Americans victim himself. On a second level,
With the kind support of the Universitäts- have of their African American Dylan quotes film titles and pop
und Stadtbibliothek Köln (University
and City Library of Cologne) fellow citizens. Pope.L’s work focus- culture musicians from the last
es on social, gender, and ecologi- fifty years.
After the welcoming address by cal issues. His media include paint- With John F. Kennedy, the
Eduard Trier, director of the acad- ing, video, photography, installa- bearer of hope for America’s awaken-
emy, and a speech by Karl Bobek, tion, and performance, which often ing and renewal, for peace and
Professor for Sculpture, Joseph takes place on the street. In 1997, justice, was laid to rest. In 1965,
Beuys, at the time Professor for wearing only shorts, with a skirt of the United States officially entered
Monumental Sculpture, stepped dollar bills over them, he tied him- the Vietnam War. The disillusioned
up to the microphone. In his trouser self to the door of a bank with a young generation found their anti-
pocket was an axe with a broken, chain of sausages, intending to give bourgeois, socially critical, and
split handle. Instead of a speech, each passerby a dollar bill—which pacifist protest attitude reflected
he emitted the sounds “ö ö” a security guard quickly prevented. in Bob Dylan’s songs—such as The
for approximately four minutes. ATM Piece was a reaction to the Times They Are a-Changin’ and
The Fluxus composer Henning ban on panhandling near automat- Masters of War. Blowin’ in the Wind
Christiansen played two of his own ed teller machines (ATM s) enacted became the anthem of the anti-
pieces from a tape as well as the by then-Mayor of New York Rudy war movement. And this, although
phrase “Rastplatz bitte sauber Giuliani. Bob Dylan has always asserted that
halten” (Please keep the rest area Since 1978, Pope.L has used he is not politically minded.
clean), to which he silently moved crawling performances to draw
his mouth, several times. Finally, attention to his concerns. From
Beuys brought the axe to Chris- 2001 to 2009, he crawled in stages
tiansen’s chest as if taking an along Broadway wearing a Super-
oath, which Christiansen returned man costume. Because of its lavish
with the same gesture. lighting, the street is also known
The axe, a symbol of strength, as “The Great White Way.” Pope.L
had a ritual significance for Beuys. uses this epithet as an ambiguous
By placing it on the heart, he trans- title for the performance: The
formed it into an “inner weapon” wealth and the world of commodi-
that imparts energy.2 Beuys’s sounds ties that characterize Broadway
imitated the roaring of stags. The are primarily reserved for white
(white) stag, whose fur was used people.
as priestly clothing by the Celts
and represents Christ in Christian
symbolism, possessed spiritual
powers for Beuys. At the same time,
the sounds are language that does
not denote a concept, the pure mate-
rial that is formed in the sculp-
tural process—to which Beuys also
included speech.4 5
Exercise Introduction 12 Exercise Introduction 13
Joseph Beuys overtly cultivated the habitus of a savior. He thus Joseph Beuys’s expanded concept of art is based on the assumption
performed Christian acts such as foot washing and baptism. For that every human being has the potential to continually change
Action in the Moor, he stood in the form of a cross in front of a and to be creatively active. For this, the artist found the figure of
bunker and appeared to walk across the water like Christ. However, the nomad, the inquisitive wanderer, who in his or her thinking
he also submerged himself in it— as a person seeking healing in and acting overcomes the boundaries between East and West,
nature. Beuys did not want to be a savior. But he was convinced of between ratio and intuition, between capitalism and communism.
a “higher ego” of every human being, “in whom Christ lives.” His He understood the figure as a political tool, as he demonstrated
expanded concept of art attributed to every individual the ability to in the action EURASIAN STAFF, 82 min fluxorum organum. Beuys
work on improving society, the great social sculpture, which identified himself with the nomadic cultures of Eurasia. Accord-
brings redemption. ing to the myth he invented, having been healed by Tatars with felt
At the time when Beuys emerged on the scene with his and fat after his plane crash in World War II, he was invited by
actions, the youth was rebelling against the war generation of their them to become one of their own.
parents with hippie culture, the anti-Vietnam War movement, and In 1979, Tuan Andrew Nguyen fled as a three-year-old with
student revolts. The anti-establishment pop musicians were revered his family to the United States and recently returned to Vietnam.
like saints: Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon—to name but His work explores how the experiences of refugees, migrants, and
a few—as well as Patti Smith. Like Beuys, Smith is committed nomads complement each other. Despite all the losses and suffering,
to a just society based on love. In order to create this, people do not he sees emancipatory potential in migration. The figure of the
need a savior, but a common commitment. As Patti Smith sings: nomad stands for the constant re-conception of oneself and the
“We Have the Power.” And as Beuys said, “Everyone is an artist.” exchange of knowledge and experience with others.
Joseph Beuys Moors are habitats of great impor- “Outside of Society, They’re Waitin’ Joseph Beuys nothing new can emerge. Made of individual memories. These concern
Aktion im Moor tance for the world’s climate and for Me, Outside of Society, That’s EURASIENSTAB, 82 min the excellent heat conductor copper, Vietnamese history and culture,
(Action in the Moor) the entire ecosystem. Beuys em- Where I Want to Be,” Patti Smith fluxorum organum the staff was for Beuys also a the colonization and decolonization
1971 phasized this importance several sang in Rock N Roll Nigger in (EURASIA STAFF, 82 min. transmitter of spiritual energy. He of Southeast Asia, and experiences
An Action in Eindhoven, Netherlands,
times in conversations. At the 1978. “Nigger” here means a person fluxorum organum) symbolically took the energy from of war and flight. His video The
probably on August 16, 1971 same time, however, the moor was who is outside of society—Jimi 1967/68 the light bulb—a symbol of knowled- Boat People was produced in Bataan
for him a mystical storehouse Hendrix, Jackson Pollock, her grand- The Action was performed twice: on July 2, ge and truth—and coated the felt in the Philippines. In 1975, the
4 black-and-white photographs by
Gianfranco Gorgoni (reproductions) of spiritual energy. Beuys believed mother, and Jesus Christ are men- 1967 at 8:00 p.m. in the Galerie nächst corners with it. With these, he had country played a significant role
St. Stephan, Vienna, and—together with
that, if they wanted a future, tioned in the lyrics. The piece struck Henning Christiansen—on February 9, marked a rectangular space re- in preparing for the resettlement
© Maya Gorgoni, VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2021 humans must return to nature. a chord with Smith’s rebellious 1968 at 8:00 p.m. at the Wide White Space presentative of the principle of solid- of refugees from the Vietnam War
Gallery, Antwerp
The concrete bunker here is a generation. At the same time, it ified reason. In Beuys’s cosmos, to North America, Europe, and
On the car ride from Düsseldorf reminder of war and injury, of the is an affirmation of life as an artist. Henning Christiansen (sound), Paul de Fru the West stands for science and Australia.
to the exhibition of his installa- wounds of society that need to Patti Smith, the “Godmother (camera), 16mm film, digitalized, black- ratio, the East for spirituality and They came across the sea as
and-white, sound, 22:46 min.
tion voglio vedere i miei montagne be healed—this healing is implied of Punk,” is a poet, rock musician, intuition. In the “Eurasian Staff,” boat people—Cambodians, Laotians,
(I want to see my mountains) in in the crucifixion pose. Beuys performance artist, painter, © Joseph Beuys Estate and VG Bild-Kunst West and East are metaphorically and especially Vietnamese. The
Bonn 2021; video on loan from the Medien-
Eindhoven, Beuys—accompanied wanted to open up the possibility and photographer. She initially archiv Joseph Beuys, Zentrum für Kunst united. Only the interaction of boat people in Nguyen’s video are
by the photographers Ute Klophaus of developing a new, free and just saw singing as a way to perform und Medien Karlsruhe (Joseph Beuys
Media Archive, Center for Art and Media
both worlds can lead to true knowl- five children, led by an assertive
and Gianfranco Gorgoni—passed society. her poetry. Her early encounter Karlsruhe) edge and the solution of the girl. They go ashore, where they are
a swamp. There, the artist per- with Bob Dylan and his poetry problems of humanity. all alone. The children find head-
formed a spontaneous Action that was seminal for her. Her reverence The film shows a summarization less Buddha statues, Christian
lasted roughly half an hour. Beuys Patti Smith for the French poet Arthur Rim- of the Action. Beuys repeated figures, dates and names carved
followed the startled birds through People Have the Power baud goes so far that, in 2017, Smith the Antwerp version in full length Tuan Andrew Nguyen in stone, the words “made by Lao
the marshland and imitated their April 21, 2019 bought his house in the village of for the filming. From this, Henning The Boat People refugees,” and a museum of photo-
movement. With his face to the Roche in the Ardennes. The com- Christiansen selected certain parts 2020 graphs and guns. Humanity
wall, he leaned in a crucifixion Live performance of the song by Patti panion of Robert Mapplethorpe and of the Action for the final film. seems to have ceased to exist. Only
Smith from 1988 by the artist together with Single-channel video, 4K, Super 16mm
pose against a bunker-like concrete Choir! Choir! Choir! and the audience wife of Fred “Sonic” Smith, with The staff is reminiscent of transferred to digital, color, 5.1 surround the found objects can tell the young
at the Onassis Festival 2019: Democracy sound, 20 min.; edition: 5 + 2 AP (# 3/5)
structure, went inside and stopped, Is Coming, New York.
whom she has two children, shaped a shepherd’s crook, like those used (JCG11340) “Boat People” about what it once
notebook in hand. Outside, he an—also sexually—self-determined by nomads wandering with their was.
Courtesy the artist and James Cohan,
jumped around among the water- Video, color, sound, 6:59 min., excerpt: image of women. As the artist put herds of animals. Nomads do not New York
00:37–05:41
holes, submerging himself several it: “Freedom means that I don’t submit to a rigid order; they are in
times fully clothed up to the brim Courtesy Choir! Choir! Choir! let other people determine me. Out- constant motion. Beuys understood With his sculptures, videos, and
of his hat. He smeared his left hand side of society—that’s where I want movement as a basic condition of installations, Tuan Andrew Nguyen
and sleeve with mud. to be.” the sculptural process. Without it, explores historical traditions and6
Exercise Introduction 14 Works / Positions 15
John Dillinger—the most wanted bank robber in the United States tures and methods responsible Edward Snowden in the world because of its crime
during the Great Depression around 1930, whose shooting Beuys for them, in an effort to undermine NSA whistleblower Edward rate—marked by violence, high in-
these with very concrete projects. Snowden: “I don’t want to live carceration rates, drug abuse,
re-enacted in Chicago—was a hero to many contemporaries. In their In this way, she can help those in a society that does these and broken families. The B-Town
eyes, he rightly stole from the rich—despite the fact that he did not affected and at the same time trig- sort of things” Warriors want to encourage their
distribute the loot to the poor. Joseph Beuys appreciated the cre ger public debate. Güell often oper- June 6, 2013 generation and tell a different
ativity of “action artists” such as Dillinger. In his view, creativity is ates on the edge of illegality. She Edward Snowden in conversation with story of their city: With the help
uses the autonomy of art, which the British newspaper The Guardian in a of Desert Pea Media and the Out-
intrinsically value-free; good or evil are the ends for which it is enjoys social freedom, as a protec- hotel room in Hong Kong
back Division of General Prac-
used. “It’s hard to imagine what would have happened,” Beuys said, tive shield, as she herself says, Video, color, sound, 12:34 min. tice, Bourke High School students
if Dillinger’s energy had been “pointed in the right direction.” to undermine the capitalist and Guardian News & Media have discovered hip hop as their
The B-Town Warriors, a group of Original Nations school students exploitative system. form of expression. The actual
“I do not want to live in a world mission of the Outback Division
from the Australian town of Bourke, a “lost city,” are calling for where everything I do and say is to provide primary health care
just that. They take on the role of “outlaws” assigned to them and Santiago Sierra is recorded,” said Edward Snowden, to remote regions of western
turn it into something positive. In contrast, Núria Güell insti- Destroyed Word: Several arguably the most famous whistle- New South Wales, while Desert Pea
gates the collective expropriation of banks as a modern Robin Hood. Locations, October 2010 – blower of recent years. As an ex- Media is a non-profit institution
October 2012 ternal employee of the US foreign that works with Indigenous young
The looted money is used for social and political projects. Santiago intelligence agency NSA , he re- people in remote areas to create
Sierra exposes parasitic strategies by using them himself. Edward Ten-channel HD video installation, vealed in 2013 the global surveil- audiovisual projects. Desert Pea
black-and-white, sound, 24:08 min.
Snowden used his creative energy to break the law for moral lance—even in the absence of Media works with local institutions
reasons—celebrated as a hero by some and branded as a traitor by Courtesy the artist and KOW, Berlin suspicion—of millions of people’s to promote social and cultural
Internet and telecommunications dialogue between communities and
others. According to Santiago Sierra, cap- connections by the NSA and the build a shared Australian culture.
italism is sadism. In the mid-1990s, GCHQ , the British government’s The B-Town Warriors’ song line
he began employing poor people secret intelligence and security “Get up and rewrite your story!”
at low wages for his performances. service. In Hong Kong, Snowden is an encouraging call to action.
For example, he had a continuous handed over the documentary
line tattooed on the backs of six evidence to the British newspaper
young Cubans standing next to each The Guardian. The United States
other in exchange for $30 each. unsuccessfully demanded his
He also paid African street vendors extradition. Because they invali
in Venice $60 to have their hair dated his passport, Snowden’s
Joseph Beuys the movie theater and spontaneous- Núria Güell dyed blond. Sierra documents his escape accidentally ended in Mos-
Dillinger ly acted it out in the role of the Displaced Legal Application performances with black-and-white cow, where he has lived in exile
1974 gangster boss. In an interview with #1: Fractional Reserve: photographs and videos. ever since.
An Action outside the Biograph Theater in
Klaus Staeck, the artist confessed: How to expropriate money Since the 2000s, the Spanish Snowden is aware of having
Chicago on January 14, 1974, on the artist’s “Yes, I have always lived with from the banks conceptual artist has been exposing broken laws. But he acted in the
first trip to the US the ideas of John Dillinger who was Barcelona, 2010/11 the structural problems of politics belief that everyone has a duty
Filmed by Klaus Staeck and Gerhard Steidl also a lone wolf […]. I place great Installation, blackboard: 120 × 400 cm, man and society with words made of to violate national laws to prevent
(camera), video, digitized, black-and-white, value in the energy that is involved ual: 19 cm high; video: 60 min. oversized letters. In Ciudad Juárez a crime against peace and human-
sound, 21:57 min.
in a biography like that of John Courtesy the artist and ADN Galería on the border between Mexico ity. The world is now warned,
© Joseph Beuys Estate and VG Bild-Kunst Dillinger. This energy, which had and Texas, he dug the word “SUM - even though Snowden fears that
Bonn 2021; video on loan from the Medien-
archiv Joseph Beuys, Zentrum für Kunst a negative orientation in Dillinger’s How can one take money away from ISIÓN ” (submission) into the the US and other countries will
und Medien Karlsruhe (Joseph Beuys case, can also give off positive banks? During the 2008 financial ground in letters measuring fifteen refine their methods using artifi-
Media Archive, Center for Art and Media
Karlsruhe) impulses.”3 Beuys recognized crisis, banks around the world were meters in height. They were to be cial intelligence to monitor and
a great creative potential in people bailed out with taxpayers’ money. filled with gasoline and set on fire, record everyone’s lives seamlessly,
In January 1974, Joseph Beuys like Dillinger or even Hitler, According to Núria Güell, the ball but authorities prevented this. together with the major Internet
traveled to the United States for the which they had, however, “used is now in the citizens’ court. The Between 2010 and 2012, Sierra companies.
first time, accompanied by Klaus negatively” and “against the Spanish artist has given lectures had letters measuring three meters
Staeck, among others. In Chicago, people.”4 and workshops on the subject in height produced for Destroyed
they happened to pass an old movie and published a guide with strate- Word in ten countries around the B-Town Warriors
theater, the Biograph. It had once 3 gies and legal advice. Just as banks world, which together made up
Joseph Beuys, in Klaus Staeck and Gerhard Rewrite Your Story
gained fame through an incident that Steidl (eds.), Beuys in Amerika (Heidelberg, create money under the fractional the word “CAPITALISM .” He then 2017
had gone through the world press. 1987), p. 210; quoted in: Schneede 1994
(see note 2), p. 325. Quoted in English in
reserve system that is only partially had them publicly destroyed. The
Music video, color, sound, 2:58 min.
On July 23, 1934, the long-sought Michael Wolfson, “Joseph Beuys,” trans. secured by credit balances, she individual letters were made of
gangster boss John Dillinger had Michael Wolfson, in Susanne McDowell and suggests taking out loans with ficti- a material important to the econ- Desert Pea Media
Robert Simon (eds.), Beuys / Ulrichs.
been shot dead by police in the adja- ICH -Kunst DU -Kunst WIR -Kunst: Joseph tious collateral and declaring bank- omy of the respective country—
cent alley after visiting the movie Beuys und Timm Ulrich im Kunstmuseum Celle ruptcy after a few repayment in Germany, the letter T was made B-Town is the nickname of the small
mit Sammlung Robert Simon (Celle, 2007),
theater. Because of numerous bank pp. 11–73, here pp. 22–23. installments. of insulating foam. Australian town of Bourke in the
robberies and police killings by This action is just one of many north of the state of New South
4
his gang and various escapes from Joseph Beuys, in: “‘Ich bin ein ganz scharfer with which Güell strives to anchor Wales, approximately 800 km north-
prison, Dillinger was considered Hase’: Joseph Beuys im Gespräch mit art in real life. It is not enough west of Sydney. Roughly 3,000
Birgit Lahann,” Stern 19, April 30 (1981);
at the time to be “America’s Public quoted in Schneede 1994 (see note 2), for her to merely point out unethical people live there, including many
Enemy No. 1.” Beuys immediately p. 325 [translated]. and antisocial practices. She is Aborigines. In 2013, Bourke was
thought of the incident when he saw intensively concerned with the struc- ranked the most dangerous place7
Exercise Introduction 16 Works / Positions 17
The machine is the basis for the success of capitalism. For some, Joseph Beuys The Otolith Group
it brought wealth, for others unemployment. For Beuys, art Honigpumpe am Arbeitsplatz O Horizon
(Honey Pump at the 2018
was capital. Even more influential for him than Karl Marx’s text Workplace)
Das Kapital was the teaching of the anthroposophist Rudolf 1977
Video installation, HD video, color, sound,
90 min.
Steiner, who between 1917 and 1922 developed a threefold division The Honey Pump formed the center of Courtesy The Otolith Group and Lux,
of the social organism into cultural life, political life, and eco- the Free International University (F. I. U.),
which was hosted by the Museum
London
nomic life. For Steiner, the productive capital was the spirit—that Fridericianum in Kassel during the 100
Otoliths are tiny calcium carbonate
days of documenta 6, 1977
is to say, the individual abilities of humankind. Instead of “mechan- particles in the inner ear. They
From: Werner Krüger, Joseph Beuys –
ical machines,” he called for “moral machines.” Beuys’s Honey Jeder Mensch ist ein Künstler (Everyone Is enable the perception of gravity and
Pump at the Workplace was also such a machine. Steiner and an Artist), 1979/80, color, sound, 56 min., acceleration. In a video of the same
excerpt: 45:48 – 48:33
name from 2003, The Otolith Group
Beuys saw the bee colony as an exemplary community, equating © Werner Krüger; © Joseph Beuys Estate imagines a future in which the
its work processes with the metabolism of the human organism. and VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2021; video
on loan from Medienarchiv Joseph Beuys, human ear is no longer calibrated
Rabindranath Tagore named material success as the purpose Zentrum für Kunst und Medien Karlsruhe
(the Joseph Beuys Media Archive, Center
to Earth’s gravity as a result
of the machine, and goodness as the purpose of humankind. When for Art and Media Karlsruhe) of extended stays in outer space.
Science fiction and the shaping
the machine gains the upper hand, humans themselves become In 1977, the honey pump in the of the future in the face of ecologi-
machines. The consequence is a politics without compassion and Fridericianum circulated roughly cal catastrophe in the Anthropo-
responsibility. The Otolith Group strives to use Tagore’s ideas 300 kg of honey through a system cene, the history of global liberation
to solve the problems of the present. It explores the history and of 173 meters of tubes and hoses. struggles, tricontinentalism (the
These stretched from the first floor term replaces postcolonialism and
consequences of global capitalism through the means of art. through the stairwell to under refers to Africa, Asia, and South
the museum’s skylight dome. For America), the close interconnection
this purpose, two electric motors between racism, capitalism, and
made a 2.6-meter-long copper shaft environmental degradation, and
rotate in 100 kilograms of piled-up the development of global modern
margarine. The honey pump formed arts are the fields of research of
a closed circuit. Beuys described The Otolith Group artist collective.
it as a “diagram of a human being” Anjalika Sagar and Kodwo
with vessels, nerves, heart, spine, Eshun realize film essays, installa-
and head. tions, and performative lectures;
Beuys equated honey with they develop projects and programs,
creative thought—the basis for the promote other artists and curate.
social sculpture, to which every In their video O Horizon, they com-
human being is called upon to con- bine visual art, dance, performance,
tribute. The honey pump was a music, and recitation to contem-
visually tangible sign for a second plate the reformist activities of the
“honey pump,” which also had Indian writer, philosopher, painter,
its place in the Fridericianum for and musician Rabindranath Tagore
100 days during the documenta (1861–1941) and their impacts
in the constant presence of Beuys: from today’s perspective.
The Free International University.
Here, topics such as alternative
energies or social problems and
possibilities in a post-capitalist
society based on freedom, equality,
and fraternity were discussed
with the public. It was a “workplace”
because the capital of creativity
was used to create, as Beuys put it,
“knowledge goods” and “intellect -
ual goods.”You can also read
