Joseph Beuys is regarded worldwide as one of the 20th century’s most important and influential artists. But where exactly did he find his artistic roots? What were the sources of his strength? In January 1978, photographer Gerd Ludwig impressively captured Joseph Beuys as he revisited his past in the town of Kleve and its Lower Rhine surroundings, the very places where it all began for him.
In 2021, Frank Mehring conceived the idea of displaying six large-format photographs by Ludwig of Beuys in the Lower Rhine landscape, exactly where they were taken in 1978 and linked them via a bicycle route. Freddy Langer, accompanied by Mehring and Ludwig, spent a day cycling the route and composed an essay about their journey. This essay weaves together their conversations, unexpected encounters, and musings on art and ecology with insights into Joseph Beuys’s relationship with nature.
In his text, Mehring analyzes how we can recognize the person Joseph Beuys beyond the brand, focusing on his biographical origins in the Lower Rhine to understand his significance for the digital generation. He emphasizes that photography was crucial for Beuys to permanently capture his ephemeral actions in public spaces.
Mehring sees Gerd Ludwig‘s photographs of Beuys as a central key to discovering a landscape that is at the center of Beuys‘ life and work. Using the photos, Mehring explains how this region shaped Beuys‘ artistic energy, his ecological awareness and his vitality, which catapulted him to the top of the international art world.
Beuys Land is the first book to position the Lower Rhine’s natural landscape and Beuys’ (alleged) birthplace, Kleve, at the core of Beuys’ universe.
Gerd Ludwig, Frank Mehring : Beuys Land
29,7 x 21 cm
108 pages
59 photos
English, German
Hardcover
978-3-903101-99-9
EUR 49,90
http://edition.lammerhuber.at
Book Presentation
17 April 2024, 19:30
Museum Kurhaus Kleve
Tiergartenstraße 41
47533 Kleve Germany
