Joseph Beuys

Joseph Beuys was an artist who came into light during the FLUXUS movement. Although he did participate in many FLUXUS performances he decided to take a different route in art. His main goal in his artwork was to present political and social issues within in order to show his feelings about a subject and to evoke emotion in others. An example of one of Beuys' performances was him holding a dead hare and whispering things to it behind a glass wall. People didn't know the hare was dead and they didn't know what he was saying. He was also covered in honey and gold leaf. Each aspect of the performance meant something to Beuys and symbolized some sort of social or political relationship. Another interesting image is a piano covered in clot with a stiched red cross on it called "Homogeneous Infiltration for Piano." To me he is saying playing the piano is old art. It is art, but needs to be combined with other mediums to create something special in this era. By covering the piano, he is enclosing it's identity and forcing the music to be closed off. By the addition of the red cross I am getting the idea that it needs to be fixed, or combined with other art otherwise it is not new and fresh. He was making a stand for his new way of art that presented problems in society.