Publisher's Synopsis
English Descriptions: In the tension of the various disciplines, Joseph Beuys (1921-1986) is regarded internationally as one of the most important artists of the twentieth century. The present volume approaches Beuys from different angles, and in the process reveals new and surprising findings. Joseph Beuys: Parallel Processes - The Archaeology of an Artistic Practice is a compilation of the results of a symposium held in January 2011 to accompany the exhibition of the same name in the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen. Recognized Beuys experts, art historians and philosophers, along with theatre and museum specialists, explore the artist's current relevance. His intellectual superstructure is taken into account no less than the development of his 'sculptural theory'. Individual actions, sculptural works, moulded images and drawings are covered by way of examples. The repeatedly emphasized parallels between natural and social processes which Beuys wanted to see included in the extended artistic concept of 'Social Sculpture' characterizes the universal status which he wanted to see accorded to art. Only through art and from art, according to Beuys, can all natural and social issues be re-thought and re-shaped. The concept of the 'parallel process' is also understood in such a way as to describe parallel phenomena with other artists intellectually close to Joseph Beuys, or whose choice of artistic materials take up from where he left off. German description: Joseph Beuys (1921-1986) gilt international als einer der bedeutendsten Kuenstler des 20. Jahrhunderts. Der vorliegende Band nähert sich dem Kuenstler aus unterschiedlichen Blickwinkeln und bringt dabei neue und ueberraschende Ergebnisse zutage.
