Joseph Beuys: The End of the 20th Century

by Susanne Willisch (Editor), Bruno Heimberg (Editor)

In 1984 Joseph Beuys assembled his monumental The End of the 20th Century in Haus der Kunst in 44 basalt blocks with conical sections drilled out of them, the resulting "stoppers" slotted back into place using a bed of felt and clay. He arranged the blocks to create an animated vibrant formation that charged the entire room with meaning. The relocation of the work to the new Munich Pinakothek der Moderne set an almost impossible challenge for conservators, not least owing to the fiery debate whether an aeuvre an artist had himself laid out could be touched in the first place. But in the end, they a key late 20th-century artwork was given a new location and none of its suggestive powers had been forfeited in the process.

Hardcover

First published May 1, 2007