Myth is In the Making: On Crafting the Artist Statement and Persona
Over the weekend, I wrote about visiting the art amusement park Luna Luna: Forgotten Fantasy. I was thrilled to see the artworks of renowned American artists Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat at Luna Luna. However, my main motive for visiting the space was to explore the works of German artists, particularly Joseph Beuys. I was delighted to find that his manifesto-writing was a stand-alone exhibit in the warehouse. Although Beuys wrote his manifesto on “Capital and Creativity” in German, I could sense the spirit of the piece and Beuys’s influence as an artist known for controversy and social criticism.
I was first introduced to Joseph Beuys’ work through his 1965 performance art piece “How to Explain Pictures to a Dead Hare.” In this piece, Beuys reads to a deceased rabbit covered in honey and gold leaf while a group of onlookers observe through the window of an art gallery. Although this particular piece did not catch my attention, I was intrigued by Beuys’ artistic persona and began to read more about him. In reading the responses to his work, I learned that Beuys’s work incorporated mysticism, shamanism, and psychoanalytic theory, which served as recurring…
