On 27th March 1969, Joseph Beuys and Henning Christiansen came together to perform a concert-style performance art piece titled …Or should we change it at the Städtisches Museum in Mönchengladbach, Germany. This performance, known in the context of Beuys’ practice as an aktionen or “action”, comprised of Beuys playing the piano following a score that had been marked out by sauerkraut draped on a music stand. Christiansen, a composer, accompanied him playing a green-painted violin, replicated in Zwei Fluxus-Objekte: Grüne Geige. Beuys' aktionen were heavily symbolic performance-based events that sought to stimulate social and political conversation. These aktionen were developed as part of Beuys’s practice following his initial interest and involvement in Fluxus, an artistic movement with roots in experimental music.
“My own instruments are all painted green, “Musik als Grün” (music as green), I have to do something in order to observe the matter with new eyes.”
—Henning ChristiansenFounded in 1960 by Lithuanian American artist George Maciunas, Fluxus was made up of internationally based composers and artists with a shared aim: to revolutionise the ways in which people thought about and created art. With Dada-esque approaches, the movement did not follow or advocate for a dictated style of art; rather, they saw rich creativity in the varied use of materials and randomly staged artistic performances. Additionally, collaborations between artists across varied media were encouraged, as was seen in Beuys’s partnership with Christiansen. The present lot visually encapsulates Beuys’s relationship to Fluxus: it acknowledges the link to experimental art, acts as a souvenir from his own musical performance piece, and holds similarities to the found objects of Dadaism. Zwei Fluxus-Objekte: Grüne Geige presents an exciting example of the diversity of Joseph Beuys’s artistic output, challenging what constitutes art and visually capturing the musical elements of his practice.
Joseph Beuys with Joerg Schellmann installing ‘Zeige Deine Wunde’ (Show Your Wound) at Lenbachhaus, Munich, 1980. Image: © Schellmann Art Beuys was the first artist that publisher Jörg Schellmann collaborated with on a major project. Beginning with Ja Ja Ja Ja Ja, Nee Nee Nee Nee Nee in 1969, a felt object containing a 32-minute tape recording, Beuys and Schellmann would go on to jointly produce twenty editioned artworks over the next two decades. Creating a diverse range of art objects, from cast beeswax to found musical objects, together Beuys and Schellman overcame perceived limitations and pushed the boundaries of contemporary edition-making.
Condition Report
To view the Condition Report please Sign In
Sign InDescription
View our Conditions of Sale.
Provenance
Edition Schellmann, Munich
Private German CollectionLiterature
Jörg Schellmann 135
Jörg Schellmann, ed., Forty Are Better Than One, Munich/New York, 2009, pp. 30-31
18
Grüne Geige, from Zwei Fluxus-Objekte (Green Violin, from Two Fluxus Objects) (S. 135)
1974
Wooden violin painted in green.
20 x 60 x 9 cm (7 7/8 x 23 5/8 x 3 1/2 in.)
Stamped 'Fluxus Zone West' on the body of the violin, from the unnumbered edition of 24 (only three or four examples were signed), published by Edition Schellmann, Munich.
Estimate
£7,000 - 9,000 Ω♠
EditionsLondon@phillips.com
+44 20 7318 4024
Rebecca Tooby-Desmond
Specialist, Head of Sale, Editions
rtooby-desmond@phillips.com
Robert Kennan
Head of Editions, Europe
rkennan@phillips.com
Anne Schneider-Wilson
Senior International Specialist, Editions
aschneider-wilson@phillips.com
Louisa Earl
Associate Specialist, Editions
learl@phillips.com
Evening & Day Editions
London Auction 23 - 24 January 2025
