The Mythology Of Joseph Beuys as Shaman
Joseph Beuys has often been linked with the role of shaman or magician in his
approach to his artwork. His goals and methods have often been seen as
mystical, ritual and shamanistic. Both his approach to his own biography
(deliberately vague, and misleading), and the way in which he spoke about
his work, suggested that Beuys was aiming to nurture the notion. Even his
manner of dress seems crafted to create certain impressions:
�The hat is the symbol of the person with power. The magician always had a hat
to distinguish himself from other people. So if you always have a hat even
if you are in a restaurant or in a reception. That's because you are a
magician. That's what Beuys wanted to point out. That he was shaman.�*1
In fact, the turning point for Beuys' work and philosophy has been connected
with his alleged experiences with the Tartars who inhabited the Crimea, and
his subsequent rescue by them , when on 16th march 1944 his bomber crashed
on the Crimean front; in his own words:
�Had it not been for the Tartars I would not be alive today. They were the
nomads of the Crimea, in what was then no man�s land between the Russian and
German fronts, and favoured neither side. I had already struck up a good
relationship with them, and often wandered off to sit with them. �Du
nix njemcky� they would say, �du Tartar,� and try to persuade me to join
their clan. Their nomadic ways attracted me of course, although by that time
their movements had been restricted. Yet it was they who discovered me in the
snow after the crash, when the German search parties had given up. I was
still unconscious then and only came round completely after twelve days or
so, and by then I was back in a German field hospital. So the memories I
have of that time are images that penetrated my consciousness.�*2
But Joseph Beuys often attracted criticism in regards to the way he viewed his
work and his self, the most notable being Benjamin Buchloh. So, how
close was Joseph Beuys to the practice of shamanism? To answer this question
we have to look at existing forms of shamanism across the world.
There have existed many different types of shamanism, ranging from
the Native American, to Siberian shamanism. While different in many ways,
all of these different types of shamanism share certain key elements.
These can be rounded up into the following categories: The social
role of the Shaman, the physical expression of shamanism, and the
psychological experience of the shaman.
The shaman's role in a community is that of healer and spiritual leader. He is
often said to have attained or inherited a powerful knowledge of the
world around, both spiritual and material. In the words of Andreas Lommel:
�The Shaman is the centre, the brain, and the soul of such a community. He is,
so to speak the regulator of the soul of the group or tribe and his function
is to adjust, avert and heal defects, vacillations, disturbances,
and diseases of the soul�*3
The shaman's role in the community is also that of performer. In order to carry
out his tasks as spiritual leader he often has to show a material form of
that part of his practice which is intangible. He has to create a play made
of symbols and suggestions. The shaman often undergoes public rituals,
sometimes involving members of the community. The shaman whilst carrying out
these rituals has to create an atmosphere in which the ritual touches
each member of the audience individually whilst still holding
together the whole group. Here is an account of an Aborigine shamanic rite,
in which we can see these ideas take form:
�The men go to a bare, desolate plateau in the interior of the country and there
sit down in the shade of a tree. On the way they have caught a small
lizard. The rough outline of a human figure is cut into the bark of
the tree. In front of the tree a small fire is lit. After singing for
hours and finally going into a trance, the men throw the lizard into the
fire, loudly shouting the victim's name, and then stab it with pointed
sticks or bones.�*4
Similar examples of rituals run throughout all types types of shamanism. The
shaman becomes a teacher and performer through his instructions and his own
ritual actions. This is how he leads others, and holds communities together,
through representation.
The physical expression of the shaman
As previously discussed, the shaman relies heavily on material aspects, in order
to represent that certain ethereal qualities. Aside from shamanic
rituals, there are many other physical aspects of the shaman crafted to
enhance his role as spiritual leader. One of which is the dress of the
shaman, which is aimed toward cementing his role among those around him:
�One important work of art that is full of importance is the shaman's dress with
all it's accessories... Among the Eskimos, the shaman was distinguished
from other members of the tribe merely by details-amulets,
belts or headbands; in other regions, rattles, 'magic wands', head coverings
or body-painting mark out the shaman.�*5
The psychological experience of shamanism
The psychological aspect of shamanism contains many different stages and
elements ranging from initiation to trance and ceremony. Nearly all types of
shamanism involve some sort of psychological ritual of initiation to be
undergone by the prospective shaman here is an explanation of one of these
processes:
�From Siberia come numerous accounts of the future shaman being cut in pieces by
spirits. The shaman is 'boiled'. All the spirits over which he will later
have power eat his flesh before putting him together again and
resurrecting him.
During this purely psychic experience the shaman lies in a deep swoon.
He undergoes an extraordinarily dangerous psychological experience, a
process of transformation, the result of which is an increase in his
psychic potency.�*6
There is also, in most types of shamanism a psychological and spiritual link
with nature held by the shaman. The shaman becomes part of the natural world
which surrounds him, therefore his identity becomes something outside
of himself. We can see the echoes of the natural world in this
account of an initiation by a North American Sioux shaman:
�Sounds came to me through the darkness: the cries of the wind, the whisper of
the trees, the voices of nature, animal sounds, the hooting of an owl.
Suddenly I felt an overwhelming presence. Down there with me in my
cramped hole was a big bird. The pit was only as wide as myself, and I was a
skinny boy, but that huge bird was flying around me as if he had the whole
sky to himself.�*7
From this account, we can see that the shaman's psychological state has been
guided into embracing nature. The shaman believes he is experiencing these
things and is influenced accordingly. Though the explanations of
elements which are common to most types of shamanism are very brief, we can
get a general picture of what shamanism means, and the reasons it exists
in the way it does. So now we come back to Joseph Beuys and his link
with the world of shamanism. Beuys' ideology, method of working, and ideas
about the role of the artist in society share a lot of parallels with
the shaman. Beuys often appeared to be taking on the role of teacher,
when talking about his work, or performing. He believed his works and words
would start to bring about a change in the way man views the world
around him:
�If I want to create a revolutionary concept of man, I have to talk about
all the powers that are related to him. If I want to give man a new
anthropological position, I also have to attribute a new position to
everything that concerns him. �*8
He also talks about renewing man's link to nature:
�To establish his downward ties with animals, plants, and nature, as well as his
upward ties with angels and spirit. I have to talk about these powers once again.�*9
Through these statements we can already begin to see links forming between the
idea of a shaman's role as teacher, and spiritual guide, and Beuys views on
his responsibility as an artist. Beuys' saw himself as someone that had the
knowledge to teach those around him, thus creating a new sociological
balance, and this is mirrors the role of the shaman in the social group, who
exists to give man a higher concept of himself in terms of those around
him and the environment he exists in. Beuys also shares physical
aspects with shamanism, his appearance, the objects he chose to use in his
works, the actions and themes of his performances all seem geared toward
setting himself up in the role of shaman and teacher. Beuys' referred to his
performances as 'social sculptures' which is very similar to the
ideology which exists behind shamanistic performance:
�There was some confusion of terms. For Beuys this was not 'performance,' but
'social sculpture,' a means of suggesting and effecting change beyond
restricted art concepts. 'I feel it is important to appear with nothing now
in order to get closer to people, to make contact, to take a step away
from alienation towards an organic alternative. ... The energy of the
mental process gives the energy for a change in physical actions.�10
This idea can be seen in a lot of Beuys' 'events', which were often presented as
social rituals involving other people, for example, '1000 oaks', or
'Sweeping up'. Beuys also echoed the character of the shaman in his everyday
life, he always courted the mystery and rumor which surrounded him,
even misrepresenting his own biography, so he remained an enigma.
Another aspect of shamanism present in
beuys' work was his extensive use of materials like felt and lard, which he
referred to as 'shamanistic initiatory features' the use of such materials
in his work seems to have come from his experiences with the
Tartars of the Crimea. As for Joseph Beuys' psychological approach to the
creation of his work parallels can be drawn between his public
exhibition of his processes in works such as 'Arena' and his use of complex
diagrams on blackboards , this echoes the shamanic process of a
physical manifestation of the steps taken in order to obtain knowledge as a
shaman. But whereas shaman's show this process as a physical performance,
Beuys has presented all the objects and thoughts which led to
his current conclusions:
�I would say the central concern is one of anthropology, illustrated in as many
ways as possible. I found out that in an elementary manner in my own life
that the times we live in are ill-suited to man. This problem appears
in a purely instinctive way in the early drawings, and gradually becomes
more explicit and conscious.�*11
It seems that although Joseph Beuys was fully aware of his image as a
shaman superficially, he also shares many underlying elements of his work
and beliefs with shamanism. . His interests and his efforts to put his
theories into action led him on a quest for borrowed elements that would
allow him to move toward fulfilling his goal of a 'new sociology'. To put Beuys
into one box would be a mistake, he embodied a mixture of many different
methods and beliefs.
�Now, when everyone speaks rationally, it is necessary for a kind of enchanter to appear.�
*1 Lucio Amelio in an interview with Pamela Kort � 'Joseph Beuys: Arena- where would I have got if I had been intelligent!' Ed. Lynn Cooke and Karen Kelly
*2 Beuys in Caroline Tisdall: Joseph Beuys (Guggenheim, 1979) � Taken from Wikipedia
*3 'Shamanism:The Begininnings of Art' Andreas Lommel
*4 'Shamanism:The Begininnings of Art' Andreas Lommel
*5 'Shamanism:The Begininnings of Art' Andreas Lommel
*6 'Shamanism:The Begininnings of Art' Andreas Lommel
*7 'Shamanic Voices: A Survey of Visionary Narratives' Joan Halifax PhD
*8 Beuys speaking in an interview with Achille Bonito Oliva 'Art Talk: The Early 80s' Ed. Jeanne Siegel
*9 Beuys speaking in an interview with Achille Bonito Oliva 'Art Talk: The Early 80s' Ed. Jeanne Siegel
*10 Caroline Tisdall writing about Beuys 'Energy Plan For The Western Man, Joseph Beuys In America: Writings By And Interviews With The Artist' Ed. Carin Kuoni
*11 Beuys speaking in an interview with Achille Bonito Oliva 'Art Talk: The Early 80s' Ed. Jeanne Siegel
*12 Joseph Beuys speaking in 'Energy Plan For The Western Man, Joseph Beuys In America: Writings By And Interviews With The Artist' Ed. Carin Kuoni
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