I must say that, like many people, I do not quite understand the work of Joseph Beuys. Like any other artistic movement, it needs to be explained within a certain context or given relevancy before the viewer can comprehend it. Perhaps the difficulty I'm experiencing is because we are so far removed from his time or maybe that Beuys chose subjects, displays, and actions that are difficult to interpret. Whatever the case may be, I find his art very difficult to discuss simply because it is so baffling. Therefore, instead of talking about it, here is a video of an installment that Beuys did by living in a room with a coyote.
No matter how hard it is to grapple with Beuys's art, I can still draw a few parallels to my own work. Within my project I Don't Get It, there is an undercurrent of confusion. If the context is not understood, the art cannot be completely understood. Perhaps that is part of my issue with comprehending Beuys and his works.
Contradiction and confusion seem exotic in today's world of short attention spans and 140 character tweets that convey an idea short and fast. Maybe Beuys is getting harder to understand every minute and his "How to Explain Pictures to a Dead Hare" piece has become the icon of the difficulty audiences would have in the future deciphering his obscure personal iconography not unlike what you are intrigued with in the propaganda portraits. What was once obvious, centuries later becomes impossible to penetrate!
Contradiction and confusion seem exotic in today's world of short attention spans and 140 character tweets that convey an idea short and fast. Maybe Beuys is getting harder to understand every minute and his "How to Explain Pictures to a Dead Hare" piece has become the icon of the difficulty audiences would have in the future deciphering his obscure personal iconography not unlike what you are intrigued with in the propaganda portraits. What was once obvious, centuries later becomes impossible to penetrate!
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