It's not black and white
Joseph
Beuys is a controversial figure in the art world, not so much
for his art as for his life story. Born in Germany in 1921, Beuys
joined the Luftwaffe in 1940. It was actually during this time
that he began to consider a career as an artist (after the war,
of course). In 1942, he was sent to the Eastern Front and was
stationed with bomber units in the Crimea.
The critical event in his life came in March 1944,
when his aircraft crashed. According to later accounts by Beuys,
he was found by Crimean Tartars, after German search crews had
given up on him. They apparently nursed him, slathering his body
in animal fat and wrapping him in felt to keep him warm. According
to Beuys, he was slipping in and out of consciousness during that
time. He eventually woke up in a German field hospital.
The difficulty with the account was that records
from the time suggested that Beuys had in fact been found by the
search parties. Casting further doubt, the involvement of the
Tartars was only revealed by Beuys some years later. Students
of history will note that in the summer of 1944, Stalin forcibly
expelled the Tartars from the Crimea and deported them to what
was then Soviet Central Asia, on the grounds that they had collaborated
with the Germans - which could fit with Beuys' account.
In any event, the use of items like animal fat and
felt did become important in Beuys' later work.
This month, the National Gallery of Victoria opens
an exhibition examining the connections between Beuys' art and
the philosophy of Rudolf Steiner, titled Joseph Beuys & Rudolf
Steiner: Imagination, Inspiration, Intuition.
The exhibition concentrates on the use of blackboard and chalk
to communicate ideas and messages. Beuys and Steiner shared more
than just a method or a medium however – they sought to
change the world with their ideas.
Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925) was an influential Austrian
philosopher, scholar and educator. Well-known as the founder of
anthroposophy, he is also credited with establishing biodynamic
agriculture and Waldorf education, commonly known as Steiner education.
Steiner's writings exerted a profound impact on
Beuys, who is now regarded as one of the most important artists
of the second half of the 20th Century. Beuys was fascinated with
Steiner’s teachings on politics, economics and intellectual
freedom.
The exhibition will feature some 40 blackboard drawings
by Steiner, created as visual aids to his public lectures between
1919 and 1924, on loan from the Rudolf Steiner Archive in Switzerland.
It will also bring to Australia - for the first
time - Beuys’ seminal work Richtkräfte (Directive forces),
an installation of 100 blackboards created from public discussions
held at the Institute for Contemporary Art, London in 1974. Using
Steiner’s concept of ‘thought drawings’ Beuys
used chalk on blackboard to communicate to his audience the basic
principles of his theory of ‘social sculpture’ –
freedom, direct democracy and sustainable economic forms –
clearly reflecting the influence Steiner had on him.
Allison Holland, Curator of Prints and Drawings
at the NGV, said: “the colour and movement of the drawings
by these two artists are both engaging and thought provoking.
Steiner and Beuys each used the unique mode of the blackboard
drawing to explain their ideas to the public. Steiner created
blackboard drawings in the 1920s to illustrate his public lectures,
while Beuys adopted the format as an important element in his
performances and interactions with audiences from the 1960s.”
Joseph Beuys & Rudolf Steiner: Imagination,
Inspiration, Intuition will be on display at NGV International
from 26 October 2007 – 17 February 2008. NGV International
is open 10am – 5pm daily, closed Tuesdays.
David Edwards
