Joseph Beuys

Joseph Beuys was a German artist, teacher, and art theorist whose practice encompassed sculpture, drawing, performance, and political activity. Associated with Fluxus, he developed the influential idea of “social sculpture,” which treated social life and collective creativity as artistic materials. Beuys taught at the Düsseldorf Art Academy from 1961 until 1972 and later helped establish the Free International University for Creativity and Interdisciplinary Research. His major works and actions helped expand postwar art beyond traditional objects into participatory and socially engaged forms.