Abstract

From the beginning of the Sixties until his death, Joseph Beuys (Krefeld, Germany, 1921 - Dusseldorf, 1986) dominated the contemporary avant-garde art scene. After participating in the Fluxus group's first exhibitions, he channeled his efforts into performance and political, social, and ecological projects. He founded cultural movements such as the Union for the New Democracy and the Free International University. Many of his conceptual propositions are memorable through their slogans: "All Men are Artists", "Kunst = Kapital", "We are the Revolution", "Defense of Nature". A participant in the most prestigious international exhibitions, from Kassel's "Documenta" to the Venice Biennial, Beuys also has important retrospective in 1979 at the Guggenheim Museum in New York. The artist's works are exhibited in the world's major museums. The anti-traditionalist ideas of Beuysian art aim to renew and improve the manner in which man lives. The German master's prophetic beliefs establish him as an emblematic figure as one of the forerunners in the post-war art world.