HYLAND
By now, Beuys' tale of rescue by Tatars
from after his plane was shot down
during World War II has acquired the
aura of myth, attacked sometimes as
fabrication. Beuys famously recounted
being wrapped by his saviors in
felt and animal fat, materials which
appear again and again in his work
as surprising amulets, the stuff of
protection. Just as there is truth in myth,
so there is truth in the elements Beuys
derived from his experience, whatever
the verity of his autobiography. The
material traces of the story—felt, fat—
were transformed by Beuys his whole
life long into mysteriously powerful
artifacts, some monumental and one-
off, others reproduced in multiples.
Both kinds of objects emanate nous,
presence, magic.
Of the over six hundred editions Beuys
created between 1965 and his death
in 1986, it is notable that many were in
the modest form of postcards which
anyone could buy, some signed,
others not.
My second, equally privileged
encounter with Beuys was upon
another staircase, or more accurately
a winding ramp, this one at the
Guggenheim Museum in New York,
which in 1979 was the inspired venue
By now,
Beuys'
tale of
rescue by
Tatars
from after
his plane
was shot
down
during
World
War
II has
acquired
the aura
of myth
