Joseph Beuys : actions, vitrines, environments /

Controversial and always unconventional, German artist Beuys gained an international reputation as a 20th-century sculptor who frequently combined nontraditional materials such as fat and felt with ritualized processes to create evocative sculpture, environments, and performance pieces. This highly illustrated publication is the catalog that accompanies a major exhibition of Beuys's work held at the Menil Collection, Houston (2004-05) and the Tate Modern, London (2005). Included in this publication is a comprehensive discussion (125 pages) contributed by Mark Rosenthal that looks closely at the pivotal nature of Beuys's work. Broadly staging his life and art against the backdrop of German history, WW II, and Christianity, Beuys expanded into and beyond American pop art and minimalism. Rosenthal examines the evolution and far-reaching influence Beuys continues to have on the art world at large. Contributors to this publication also include Rainbird, whose essay on the process of reconstructing Beuys's complex installations brings insightful perspective to the speculative relationship between a curator and the changing nature of the artist's installations. Schmuckli's 52-page detailed chronology and selected exhibition history provides an informative framework of Beuys's life and work. ^BSumming Up: Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty. K. C. Lonbom Illinois State University