JOSEPH BEUYS

 

Born 1921 in Krefeld, Germany, worked in the 1960s, 70s and 80s as photographer, sculptor, installation artist, performance artist, theorist, but above all, his ideas and concepts of art have guaranteed him one of the most influential place amongst artists in the 20th Century. His works are often related to society, nature and energy, using materials that could represent these concerns (such as felt and metals), frequent political background (The Pack, 1969), performances alluding to the animal spirit men have lost in time (I Like America and America likes me, 1974) and warning ecological causes (7000  Oaks, 1982). His main contribution is probably the concept of Social Sculpture, where the world is seen as one great work of art and each person contributes in a different way, turning society into this big machine of creativity and creation. In essence, art would go beyond physical limits and become a vehicle of integration and engagement of one with the world. Beuys died in Dusseldorf in 1986; his oeuvre continues to influence artists in contemporary scenario.

​

BLITZSCHLAG MIT LICHTSCHEIN AUF HIRSCH

LIGHTNING WITH A GLARE ON THE STAG (1958-1985)

​

Not inscribed.

Ex. 2/4 acquired by the Museum für Muderne Kunst (MMK), Frankfurt, in 1987 from the artist’s studio.

Work permanent in the MMK collection.

The other editions belong to the following collections: Guggenheim Museum Bilbao (on loan from 11/09/2010 to 16/01/2011 to the show Joseph Beuys: Parallelprozesse at K20, Düsseldorf), Tate Modern, London and Hirschhorn Museum, Philadelphia. Room with 39 parts:

- Lightning: bronze, 624 x 248 x 50 cm

- Stag: aluminium, 48 x 104 x 172 cm

- Goat: bronze, 49 x 72 x 93 cm

- Boothia Felix: bronze, sculptor’s modelling base iron, compass, 143 x 75 x 75 cm

- 35 Primordial Animals: bronze, various individual measurements

 

Lightning with a Glare on the Stag is a theatrical installation with multiple references to the artist’s whole career, therefore, considered to be one of his most important works. The room in which it is set has been through a few modifications in order to accommodate the installation better – the height had to be redrawn and a skylight has been added. The environment (the only one Beuys cast in bronze) is composed by different pieces representing animals and the force of nature in a specific situation: A bolt of lightning hits the ground of a forest, casting light into a stag but not into the primordial animals around it. There’s also a goat and another element (the Boothia Felix) in the scene. Each sculpture is made of a conductive metal – an allegory to the process of energy flowing in the universe – and has a symbolic meaning in Northern Europe/Christian culture.

 

The lightning is a sharp sculpture made of clay and cast bronze, suspended by a rod hanging down from an iron structure across the room. This makes sure the “bolt” touches the floor only at one point, while the skylight above brings in natural light in the room. The stag plays an important role in Beuys own oeuvre (it can be seen in numerous drawings) and in Northern European mythologies. It represents a noble animal, the king of the forest in romanticized German nature pictures, a guardian for the others and a chance of redemption – like a Christ figure. It is cast in aluminium and is the brightest sculpture in the room (illuminated by the lightning). The primordial animals are made of everyday tools and clay, symbolizing the first stage of evolution in the animal hierarchy and the beginning of civilization. They are lost – therefore the only elements manifesting movements – and depend on the stag’s intelligence to survive. The goat, viewed as the domestic animal, most closely symbolizes man in the narrative. It is composed by a cart cast in iron, clay and a pickaxe on top of it, references to men’s primary works (e.g. mining). It stands apart from the other animals, like a silent labourer working, and represents the middle of the animal hierarchy, between the primordial animals and the stag. The last element in the room is the Boothia Felix, a sculpture made of earth and pottery and cast in bronze, put on a three-legged sculptor’s modelling plinth, with a compass on top of it.

 

This was named after the first established location of the North magnetic pole, a strip of land in Canada. The compass is alluding to the natural sciences, the Earth’s own energy and power, while the plinth marks the spot of the artist himself – a sculpture unifying men and nature.

 

The importance of spiritual powers of animals in Beuys oeuvre as symbol of the innocence lost amongst humans (e.g. I like America, America likes Me), his preoccupation with ecological issues (e.g. 7000 Oaks) and references to other activities in his works (e.g. photography) can be seen in this installation. The fact that the viewer can walk around the pieces, turns him into a witness of the force of nature, and also part of the work.

 

Eva Beuys helped the staff of the museum to install the work according to her husband’s idea, which started in a workshop of an exhibition in Berlin, 1982 (at the Martin Gropius-Bulding). After the show was finished, Beuys decided to explore some of the elements he presented, modifying some pieces. When the work was concluded a few years later, it still resembled the artist’s studio.