Joseph Beuys – Drawings, Objects and Prints

The nine objects, vitrines, and sculptures that were created in the years 1952 to 1982 stand for Beuys’ engagement with physical bodies and states. Here the material is the carrier of energy. Energy appears in different states of aggregation: these all have different forms but are not lost. In Stück I [Piece I] of the artwork Braunkreuz [Brown Cross], created in 1966, Beuys illustrates this by means of a stage direction: a “Wärmekuchen” [heat cake] is presented on stage which gives off its stored energy in the form of heat.

This theme is also found in the drawings, demonstrated by Energiefeldmesser [energy field meter] and Information über Energiekörper [information about energy bodies], both from 1957. The 72 drawings on show in the exhibition represent the greater part of the exhibits. The earliest drawing, from 1948, was put down on paper with moving pencil strokes and delicate lines. This linear conception informs Beuys depictions of bodies, figures, and also diagrams. The immediacy of the physical impression that a pencil leaves behind on the hand accompanies Joseph Beuys’ conception of fine art drawings. Further, if one understands a drawing as an action that is executed in time, then the performative character of the medium is also addressed. Thus, it is not so much an image as the process of drawing itself that it represents. In the exhibition catalogue Joseph Beuys describes the importance of drawings for him as follows:
“I can only say that if I had not done all these drawings, I could not have done my political work. […] I still consider these drawings to be one of the most important things I’ve ever done, for these entire attempts at, or experiments in, drawing are incredibly important apparatus for me.” (Quoted in Götz Adriani, ed., Joseph Beuys: Drawings, Objects and Prints, exhibition catalogue, Ludwig Muzeum, Budapest 1995, p. 10. online: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/beuys-ar00699)

For Beuys, making a drawing was often a precondition for or a later conceptualisation of works in other genres. His installations and performances were always accompanied by drawings. They served as a means of artistic reflection or contributed to formulating the performances and objects.
The exhibition concludes with five series of art prints, which were created from the mid-1970s onwards. These lithographs and prints stand for Beuys’ democratic understanding of art. Unlike originals, reproductions are cheaper; originals are the exclusive reserve of an elite clientele, whereas reproductions are accessible to all.