THE SYMPOSIUM IOEPH BEUYS： Mapping the Legacy took place at the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota, Florida, December 4-6, 1998. The culmination of several years of planning and a major commitment from the Ringling, the symposium coincided with the exhibition of Joseph Beuys Multiples, a major traveling exhibition organized by the Walker Art Center, as well as extensive programs developed and implemented by the cura torial and educational teams at the museum. It would be no exaggeration to say that the effects of the intense encounter with the work and spirit of Joseph Beuvs continue to be felt on many levels by the Sarasota community.

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JOSEPH BEUYS was arguably the most important figure in postwar European art.Seemingly tireless,he produced a torrent of objects,performances and promouncements,and tuained a generation of German artists.Courting controversy,he polarized the critics and claimed to havve fundamentally altered the role of the artist in society.Looking both to the past and the future,his"expanded comcept of art"challenged the system with a vision integrating comcepts of ecology,religion,and political economy.The images he created still haunt,astonish,and provoke.But what are we actually able to say about the impace of his innovations and ideas?How,if at all,is art different after Beuys?What,if anyting,is his transatlantic relevance?These aer the questions explored in this book by a distinguished group of critics,art historians,and artists gatherde at the Ringling Museum's international symposium Joseph Beuys:Mapping the Legacy.The papers presented here examine the artist's various productive modes by means of different critical tools and criteria.The result is a much needed reader that will help both students and art professionals come to terms with this controversial and enormously influential artist.

Acknowledgments

PREFACE

CRASH COURSE

BEUYS

JOSEPH BEUYS

JOSEPH BEUYS AND THE AFTER-AUSCHWITZ SUBLIME

RECONSIDERING JOSEPH BEUYS

THE CAUSES LIE IN THE FUTURE

MY RELATION TO JOSEPH BEUYS IS OVERRATED

IN THE RUBBLEFIELD OF GERMAN HISTORY

SOME NEGLECTED BEQUESTS

INTERVEEW WITH BEUYS ABOUT KEY EXPERIENCES

BEUYS:THE TWILIGHT OF THE IDOL

Notes on the Comtributors