Joseph Beuys: trauma and catharsis: Figure 1

Abstract

Joseph Beuys was one of the most significant artists of the 20th century. He was a gunner and radio operator in the German Air Force during World War II, and was severely injured several times. In March 1943 he had a life-changing experience after the dive bomber he was assigned to crashed in the Crimean peninsula. This trauma influenced Beuys' entire artistic career, and is known in art history as the 'Tartar Legend' or 'Tartar Myth'. Profoundly affected by the crash, the severe trauma, the near-death experience and his rescue, which he perceived as a "rebirth", Beuys no longer saw himself, other people or society as a whole in the same way as previously. With his new consciousness, he ignored boundaries and created visions whereby all mankind could experience the healing he had undergone. Beuys did not bring society far enough for the turning point towards "the healing of the world" to be visible, yet today it is important to keep his work alive as a record of his extraordinary strength, which arose from trauma and severe injury, and was carried by a passionate commitment to mankind and to life itself.

The Neglected Place of “Totems” in Contemporary Art

“…In contrast, Western research is not confined to artistic ontology. Scholars examine Beuys' work through various lenses, including ecology, sociology, anthropology, and the intersections between these disciplines (e.g., Adams 1992;Ottomann et al 2010;de Guzmán 2018). Some emphasize ecocriticism in human aesthetics, focusing on the frequent appearances of animals in Beuys' works and exploring the implications for the relationship between existence and the ecological environment (Crowley 2013).…”