Art is the only political power

 

“I think art is the only political power, the only revolutionary power, the only evolutionary power, the only power to free humankind from all repression…”

 

-       Joseph Beuys, 1974

 

Joseph Beuys was born May 12, 1921, Krefeld, in Germany and died January 23, 1986, Düsseldorf, Germany

 

Joseph Beuys has been described as an enigmatic, pugnacious and controversial figure in the history of modern twentieth century art, many regard his work as impenetrable, many ask if he had great spiritual powers as a shaman, an artistic genius or a political revolutionary. A few sincerely believe he was a con-man, a charlatan, although I believe he was myth-maker, carving, molding and chiseling facts into fictions out his concept of social sculpture (“Social sculpture is a theory developed by Joseph Beuys in the 1970s based on the concept that everything is art, that every aspect of life could be approached creatively and, as a result, everyone has the potential to be an artist...” – Tate Art Gallery). I find him and his work provocative, enchanting and conceptual, he definitely wanted to change our perception and definition of art, society and politics (as a founding member of the German Green Party, and designed the party's campaign poster in 1979). Joseph definitely believed that art was capable of influencing and forming the structure and shape of society and our environment.  Beuys was interested in a radical all-inclusive democracy, positing the concept of ‘Eurasia’ as a utopian combination of Europe and Asia and of East and West. 

 

He certainly had an interesting personal history; growing up in Nazi dominated Germany, he was an active member of the Hitler Youth up to the age of fifteen and during World War II, he served in the Luftwaffe as a bomber radioman, gunner and navigator. After the war Beuys returned to his native Kleve (an industrial town in Germany's Lower Rhine region, close to the Dutch border) where he met local sculptor Walter Brüx and painter Hanns Lamers, who encouraged him to take up art as a full-time career. 

 

As he developed his artistic and sculptural expression the anthroposophical philosophy of Rudolf Steiner became an increasingly important for his personal philosophy. Franz Joseph and Hans van der Grinten organized Beuys's first solo show at their house in Kranenburg in 1953.

 

In 1956, artistic self-doubt and material impoverishment led to a physical and psychological crisis, and Beuys entered a period of serious depression, indeed some claim that Beuys suffered from a form of PTSD – having been shot down as an airman and wounded several times during the war.

 

The reputation of Beuys grew to the extent that her served as a professor at the Kunstakademie Dusseldorf from 1961 until 1972. Both national and worldwide fame and repute came in 1964 when he participated in a festival in Aachen technical school. 

 

For this exhibition Beuys constructed a performance or action that created a dramatic response; it was interrupted by a group of students, one of the hecklers attacked Beuys, punching him in the face. A photograph of the artist, nose bloodied and arm raised, was circulated in the media. It was for this 1964 festival that Beuys produced an idiosyncratic resume, which he called his Life Course/Work Course. The document was a self-consciously fictionalized account of the artist's life, in which historical events merge with metaphorical and mythical speech This document marks a blurring of fact and fiction that was to be characteristic of Beuys' self-created persona

 

Beuys was motivated by a belief in the power of universal human creativity and was confident about the potential for art to bring about revolutionary change.

 

“Only art is capable of dismantling the repressive effects of a senile social system that continues to totter along the death-line: to dismantle in order to build… a social organism as a work of art…”

 

Beuys was a key participant in the 1960s Fluxus movement. At that time, many artists in Asia, Europe, and the United States became dissatisfied with a long tradition of "heroic," or object-oriented painting and sculpture and moving toward conceptual art, performance art and social activism.

 

The principal themes of his art were concerned with change, metamorphosis, adaptation and rebirth. He saw art as essentially a revolutionary act and claimed that ‘everyone is an artist.’ There isnt enough space here to give a detailed and concise report of Beuys life and work – but what we are concerned with is his claim that art is an active revolutionary act that can change society.

 

Beuys still remains largely misunderstood, such freethinking overwhelmed many people back in his day: not just the bourgeoisie and politicians, but also artists and critics. Essentially, I believe that Beuys was demanding a radical reinterpretation of art and of politics, his desire to put it back into the hands of the masses, it is the simple but sharpened genius of the common man that can assault the stronghold of professional politicians. The new artist seeks liberation from the shackles of traditionalism. Beuys redefined society as an artistic creation, his ‘social sculpture’—in an attempt to raise the people from their slumber and awaken them to our freedom to innovate and galvanize this freedom in the name of an anarchist social and ecological vision intent on dismantling state power non-violently (Allan Antliff). The philosophy of Beuys is steeped in holistic interconnectedness and works toward a free, democratic and sustainable future.

 

Beuys proposes society as a social organism – in anarchist terms a self-governing community that has no need of a political hierarchy in order to be successful, this is something we must strive for and nurture to allow it to blossom.  

 

“The most beautiful of the beautiful still needs to be attained: the social organism as a living being shaped by its inherent capacity for freedom and as the great achievement of a culture that goes beyond the modern age…”

Joseph Beuys left a heavy legacy, even after his death, he still remains an influential and complicated artist prone to disambiguation. Little has changed in the socio-political art world. Art and politics are still separate spheres, Joseph Beuys engendered a framework of multi-disciplinary practices that blended sociology, anthropology, politics, and mythology into a living, breathing sculptural form. It is extremely doubtful as to whether an artist could perform the same way as Beuys in the 1970’s, they would likely be ridiculed. I find most of contemporary art is tame, bland, repetitious; it is essentially a replica of all that that has preceded it which is sad. Modern art remains exclusive and difficult to interpret. In order for a revolutionary art to succeed it has to step outside of itself to experience dangerous proposals for change in the social milieu. Yet Joseph Beuys still persists in our imagination, he still pushes us to think of creative solutions to many of the dilemma’s that face us in the world. More than that, he continues to demand that we redefine our conceptions of art and politics into tools to craft a better future for ourselves and our children.

All Rights Reserved DAVID JOHN DREW 2007