:Quanta, 1982; Serigraph on two sheets of Rives BFK White Paper; Signed Joseph Beuys and numbered 20/75 in pencil lower right of second sheet; Published by Anthology Film Archives, New York; Printed by Porter-Wiener Studio, New York; Catalog Raisonne: Schellmann 448; Size - Each sheet: 13 1/2 x 10"; Unframed.
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"Every human being is an artist, a freedom being, called to participate in transforming and reshaping the conditions, thinking, and structures that shape and inform our lives." - Joseph Beuys
Joseph Beuys (1921-1986) was a politically active artist who was involved in large-scale installations, happenings, sculpting, graphic arts, as well as a performance artist who expressed positions on contemporary issues. He was a member of the Fluxus Art movement, known for experimental contributions to different artistic media and disciplines, and one of the greatest influential artists of the twentieth century.
":Quantum" is a serigraph on paper in two parts. Each sheet is printed in two colors; grey used to depict graphite notations, and gold. Gold was a color and form that was used extensively by Beuys for his artistic output, and was a recurring part of his lexicon. Gold's significance was it's application in alchemy, as well as the idea that ordinary objects could be transformed to a higher state of value. The right sheet shows three columns; two running the full height of the printed image, and a third that is about a fifth the height of the other two. The gold gilt is used as a "white out" as it obliterates most of the notations in the columns. Numbers and lines are visible, but it is not apparent whether they were left uncovered or were added after the gold was applied. The Beuys drawing vocabulary is described by art critic Athur Danto as "unmistakably his, blobs and blots in sepia or brown, on throwaway paper, and connected by some desultory scribbled lines."
Right sheet of :Quanta, 1982 by Joseph Beuys.
The left sheet appears as a column of words and phrases in German, most illegible; due to Beuy's uneven and loose handwriting. Examples of legible words are: Pilze, buch, pelt, Eichel, felsen, fels which translate as fungi, book, pelt, acorn, rock, and cliff. These refer to aspects of the physical world, which were key vocabulary terms and central to Beuy's artistic production, sociopolitical consciousness, and commentary. Art critic Rober Hughes has stated, "His obsessive interest in shamanism and the invocation of animal totems - hare, bee, stag, and the like, scribbled out in countless drawings, molded in wax, and scratched like Klee or Franz Marc than it does with real anthropology, despite Beuy's insistence on the need for an 'anthropological' art which could give ordinary human actions the character of ritual."
Left sheet of :Quanta, 1982 by Joseph Beuys.
The print's title "Quanta" translated from German means quantum, a discrete quantity of energy proportional in magnitude to the frequency of the radiation it represents. This is a strong reference to the atomic bomb; which directly affected Beuys when he became a prisoner of war in England in 1945 when Germany surrendered.
Close up of the Joseph Beuys signature and edition number.
On the bottom left is a printed inscription "to John Cage with love and admiration. Joseph." In the early 1960's Joseph Beuys, through the Fluxus art group, met and became aware of the work of the American avante-garde composer John Cage. Their connection was specifically through the artist Nam June Paik. Paik. Paik was still a composer when he attended a 1958 John Cage performance in Darmstadt, which would prove transformative for Nam. Paik emerged from the performance vowing to become an artist. He would go on to create the piece "Hommage a John Cage," which concluded with the intention of "overthrowing" the piano. Paik stated "The piano is a taboo that must be destroyed." Later in an exhibition in Wuppertal, Paik showed four prepared pianos and at the time, a little-known artist named Joseph Beuys, destroyed one of them. This was a defiant act, that not even Paik had ever accomplished. Cage, Paik, and Beuys would become lifelong friends and collaborators. When asked in an interview what artists he was closest, Beuys answered, "John Cage. These concepts are not alien to him."
This is an absolutely wonderful original work by Joseph Beuys, who was one of the centuries greatest influential artists. There are numerous references to Beuys symbolism, artistic vocabulary, and a direct attribution to one of his significant collaborators. An important signed and numbered artwork, perfect for any modern art collection.
