Eight Artists: The Elusive Image (review)

342 Books always teem like fish-tanks' (p. 113). Luckily, Lassaigne's text is ~d . Text and photographs are supplemented by a detailed bibliography, lists of illustrations and of institutions that own Vieira's paintings and an extensive chronology. Joseph Beuys. Caroline Tisdall. Exh. Cat. S. R. Gugge~heim Fund. New York, 1979.288 pp., illus. Paper, $16.50. Reviewed by Dorothy Grotz* This catalog accompanies the first comprehensive exhibition of the 'work of Beuys (Fed. Rep. Ger.) in the U.S.A. There is a carefully worded Preface by Thomas M. Messer, in which he acknowledges the controversial character of Beuys' work, because viewers might be shocked by the materials used (fat, felt, household utensils, assorted iron plates, batteries and many other articles of this kind). The artist himself, even his spoken words, are part of the repertory of his 'ma!erials'. Responsiv~ viewers 'may derive rewards that are predicated upon Beurs own idealistic, Schillerian faith in the ameliorative, restorative and healing powers of a broadened art range and a correspondingly invigorated art form'. . This exhibition was supported by grants from The National Endowment for the Arts of the U.S.A. and the Government of the Fed. Rep. of Germany. The text of the catalog was written by Tisdall in collaboration with Beuys. There are recurring themes or 'stations' that appear in this exhibition-bathtubs, lockers, skeletons, metal constructions, boxes, chairs, drawers, deer and swans. It is Beuys' contention that if freedom occurs in the creative process, art takes shape through creative thought in general, flowing into the public and socio-political life of the time. His text for 'Rubberized Box', Station 8, reads: 'The outward appearance of every object I make is the equivalent of .s?~e aspect of inner life. This box came out of my period of CriSIS m Diisseldorf-Heerdt and expresses my inner condition. My feelings then had this special kind of darkness-almost black, like the mixture of rubber and tar. It is certainly an equivalent of the pathological state mentioned before and expresses the need to create a space in the mind from which all disturbances were removed: an empty insulated space.' The background material that Tisdall supplies may be interesting for interpreting Beuys' work. Born in Cleves in northern Germany (a Catholic and Celtic region), he was an only child the son of a storekeeper who sold fodder. As a German combat pilot in World War II he crashed in a snowstorm in the Crimea and was unconscious until rescued by Tartars, who enwrapped him in felt and fat. This saved his life. After release from imprisonment in the War, he studied sculpture at the Diisseldorf Kunstakademie, where he later taught monumental sculpture. He was dismissed in 1972because he refused to abide by rules for student admission. In revolt against the burgher class of his country, he was active for short periods in several political groups. In 1974he organized the Free International University at Dusseldorf, Tisdall wisely takes Beuys as he is-a reformist, a poet, sometimes a clown, a controversial Chaplinesque figure able to attract attention and to shock. The catalog with detailed comments by Beuys is at times so obtuse that I wished for better editing. As an artist, Beuys must be viewed as an 'environmental performer', who makes demands on himself by merging ~isual artworks with physical performance. He displays something of the spirit of Savonarola; for example, he states: 'The human condition is Auschwitz ... in the delegation of responsibility to groups of specialists and the silence of intellectuals and artists. I found myself in permanent struggle with this condition and its roots. I find for instance that weare now experiencing Auschwitz in its contemporary character. ... Ability and ~reativitya;e burnt out: a form of spiritual execution, the creation of a chmate of fear perhaps even more dangerous because it is so refined.' I might share some of his views without responding in any way to the art that he presents for I find it difficult to accept the 'total art concept'. *7 St. Lukes Place, New York, NY 10014, U.S.A. Eight Artists: The Elusive Image. Exh. cat. ~alker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN, U.S...