Fat corner

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Fat corner
Joseph Beuys , 1982

Link to the picture
(please note copyrights )

The fat corner was from 1963 a design element in the work of the German artist Joseph Beuys . The process of a Fettecke removed from Beuys' studio in 1986 caused a particular stir and made it one of the artist's best-known works.

Fat and fat corners in the work of Joseph Beuys

Fat stool
Joseph Beuys , 1963
Wood, wax and metal
Hessisches Landesmuseum, Darmstadt

Link to the picture
(please note copyrights )

Joseph Beuys started using fat in his art from 1958. The chair with fat, 1963 is one of Beuys' prominent works. He later explained: “The fat takes the path from a chaotically dispersed, energy-undirected form to a form. Then it appears in the famous Fettecke. ”A photograph of Fettecke with a filter, from 1963 in his studio apartment on Drakeplatz, has been preserved. In Der Chef THE CHIEF (1964) and EURASIENSTAB (1967), Beuys prepared the corners of the rooms in which the actions were to take place with fat beforehand. He provided the otherwise empty Lucerne fat room in 1969 with eight fat corners .

Fat was also an important element in the actions and in us ... among us ... landunter (1965), MANRESA (1966), vacuum <-> mass (1968) and honey pump at work (1977). The monumental sculpture Unschlitt / Tallow (1977) was cut from large blocks of poured fat in a liquid state. For Beuys, fat was important as a heat-storing material that "best demonstrates the warmth character [of plastic]."

In 1982 Beuys declared: “(...) things with fat make a big claim to theory. And of course this theory may not always be there when people see such an experimental arrangement in a museum. "

A distant fat corner scandal

Events in 1982/1986

On April 28, 1982, Joseph Beuys had installed five kilograms of butter in a corner of his studio, room 3 in the main building of the Düsseldorf Art Academy, about two meters below the ceiling . The reason for the installation was the reception planned for the following day by Lama Sogyal Rinpoche , the representative of the Dalai Lama in Europe, and a seminar at the Free International University, which he co-founded . In the period that followed, the sculpture served "as a permanent demonstration object".

The caretaker of the Düsseldorf Art Academy removed the fat in 1986, about nine months after Beuys' death. On October 9, 1986, Johannes Stüttgen discovered “the completely destroyed Fettecke” in a large rubbish bin at the art academy and preserved it under the name “Remnants of a state-destroyed Fettecke”. He claimed ownership of the work because Beuys started his art campaign with the words “Johannes, now I'll finally make you your fat corner”. A process came about in which property law issues of transfer of ownership , connection with a property and processing (§ § 929 ff., § 946 ff. And § 950 BGB ) played a role. The state of North Rhine-Westphalia paid Stüttgen in a settlement in the second instance 40,000 DM in damages .

It was the second case in which a work of art was not recognized as such by Beuys and was destroyed. As early as November 3, 1973, at a social evening in the SPD local club Leverkusen-Alkenrath, a bathtub with adhesive plasters and gauze bandages was cleaned and used to wash glasses (" Joseph Beuys' bathtub "). In this case, too, compensation (58,000 DM) was paid. This event was the presentation of a television advertisement for the cleaning agent Ata and is often confused with the destruction of the fat corner.

The events around the Fettecke made this work one of the artist's most famous works. The work had a provocative effect on a large part of society and led to controversy over the question of what could be considered art .

Distillation of the remains in 2014

The roughly 2 kg heavy remains of the Fettecke from Johannes Stüttgen's possession were finally destroyed on July 19, 2014 as part of the Geist performance by a "transformation": the Bremen artist duo Korpys / Löffler and Dieter Schmal burned the remains into one with a pharmacist still hard liquor . Then they tasted the liquor , which should be reminiscent of Parmesan in taste . The art action took place parallel to the exhibition Art and Alchemy in the Museum Kunstpalast in Düsseldorf.

In the curator's opinion, the transformation into a “liquid document” condenses the “uprooted, conflict-ridden Beuysian intervention to its essence”. This should also be seen as a “specific way of dealing” with the “ghosts of the past”. The still itself provides a “captivating picture” of Beuys' theory of sculpture . The distillate is exhibited as another work of art.

Beuys' widow Eva condemned the action as "unbelievable insolence" and commissioned the lawyer Peter Raue to check whether the moral rights of her deceased husband had been violated. Heiner Bastian , formerly private secretary of Beuys, had his “Beuys oven” removed from the current exhibition in protest against the action. The dispute between Eva Beuys and the art museum was settled by changing the label on the glass vessel on display, which contains the schnapps distillate. Instead of “Joseph Beuys, remnants of a state-destroyed Fettecke” now “Geist. Remains of the destroyed Fettecke by Joseph Beuys (1982, room 3, Staatliche Kunstakademie Düsseldorf. Edition 1–16, Korpys / Löffler / Schmal 2014, 50 vol) ” .

reception

literature

  • Johannes AmEnde, Joseph Beuys: Joseph Beuys and the Fettecke: a documentation on the destruction of the Fettecke in the Düsseldorf Art Academy, Edition Staeck, Heidelberg 1987, ISBN 3882430893
  • Richard, Junker: The Destroyed Fettecke , LG Düsseldorf, NJW 1988, 345, JuS 1988, 686
  • Schäfer: Again: The destroyed Fettecke , LG Düsseldorf, NJW 1988, 345, JuS 1989, 443
  • Louwrien Wijers: Writing as plastic. 1978-1987 . Ernst & Sohn / Academy Editions, Berlin / London 1992, ISBN 3-433-02900-8
  • Barbara Kahlert, Rolf Spilker, Margret Baumann: The cleaning lady. From maid to cleaning lady . Exhibition catalog, Museum Industriekultur Osnabrück, Rasch Verlag, Bramsche 2008, ISBN 978-3-89946-112-1 , p. 104

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Heiner Stachelhaus : Joseph Beuys. Heyne, Munich 1993, ISBN 3-453-03399-X , pp. 91-94
  2. ↑ Susanne Willisch, Bruno Heimberg (ed.): Joseph Beuys. The end of the 20th century. The implementation of the Haus der Kunst in the Pinakothek der Moderne Munich. Schirmer / Mosel, Munich 2007 (Doerner Institut; Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen), p. 359.
  3. ↑ a b c Lothar Schirmer (ed.), Alain Bohrer (introduction): Joseph Beuys. An overview of the works, 1945–1985. Schirmer / Mosel, Munich / Paris / London 1996, ISBN 3-88814-810-3 , therein fig. 83 - chair with fat, fig. 103 - Lucerne fat room, fig. 68 - fat corner with filter.
  4. ↑ Johannes Stüttgen in an interview: "Yes, it is the best known, similar to the Mona Lisa at Leonardo." ( Archived copy ( memento of the original from January 9, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and still not checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this note. , p. 109) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.omnibus.org
  5. ↑ a b Uwe M. Schneede : Joseph Beuys. The actions, annotated catalog raisonné with photographic documentation. Gerd Hatje publishing house, Ostfildern-Ruit 1994, ISBN 3-7757-0450-7
  6. ↑ Interview with Südwestfunk ( SWF1 ) on July 25, 1982
  7. ↑ An appraisal from the restoration center of the state capital Düsseldorf showed that the butter was so-called winter butter . - See violent dispute about Fettecken schnapps ( memento of the original from April 5, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Article from July 23, 2014 in the portal wz-net.de , accessed on April 5, 2016 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.wz-net.de
  8. ↑ Susanne Anna (ed.): Joseph Beuys, Düsseldorf , Hatje Cantz, Stadtmuseum Düsseldorf, September 29 to December 30, 2007, Ostfildern 2008, p. 180
  9. ↑ Johannes Stüttgen: THE FETTECKE . In: Louwrien Wijers: Writing as plastic. 1978-1987 . Ernst & Sohn / Academy Editions, Berlin / London 1992, p. 163
  10. ^ Roland Kirbach: Art in a bucket . Article from November 6, 1987 in the zeit.de portal , accessed on July 22, 2014
  11. ↑ Beuys' destroyed Fettecke (LG / OLG Düsseldorf ) ( Memento from April 14, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) by attorney Prof. Dr. Klaus Sakowski
  12. ↑ A TAZ article from June 28, 2006 dates the destruction of the Fettecke somewhat more precisely to "nine months after the artist's death".
  13. ^ Jan Wilhelm: Property Law . De Gruyter Handbook. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2010, ISBN 978-3-89949-708-3 , p. 455, paragraph 1077 ( online )
  14. ↑ Helmut Friedel, Lothar Schirmer (ed.): Joseph Beuys in the Lenbachhaus and donation from Lothar Schirmer. P. 43.
  15. ↑ Harald Keller: When cleaning women rage in the museum. In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung of March 18, 2008, No. 66, p. 40
  16. ↑ Video of the advertisement for ATA
  17. ↑ Artists burn leftovers from Beuys-Fettecke into schnapps ( Memento of the original from July 29, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Article from July 22, 2014 in the monopol-magazin.de portal , accessed on July 24, 2014  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.monopol-magazin.de
  18. ↑ A Beuys-Fettecke becomes Schnaps , welt.de, July 23, 2014, accessed on July 24, 2014
  19. ^ Art campaign in Düsseldorf: Artists burn Fettecke from Joseph Beuys to Schnaps , spiegel.de , accessed on July 22, 2014
  20. ↑ Thomas Hag: Artful mandala made of fruit and beer . Article from July 21, 2014 in the portal rp-online.de , accessed on July 24, 2014
  21. ↑ Stefanie Böttcher: Geist - Korpys / Löffler & Dieter Schmal: Distillation and tasting of the remains of a state-destroyed Fettecke by Joseph Beuys (July 19, 2014) ( Memento of the original from October 6, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link became automatic used and not yet tested. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , PDF in the smkp.de portal (Museum Kunstpalast Foundation), accessed on July 24, 2014  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.smkp.de
  22. ↑ Dispute over Fettecken schnapps ends up with the lawyer . Article from July 24, 2014 in the portal rp-online.de , accessed on July 24, 2014
  23. ↑ Annette Bosetti: The Beuys room is no longer complete . Article from July 26, 2014 in the portal rp-online.de , accessed on July 28, 2014
  24. ↑ Fettecken-Schnaps-dispute ended: label changed . Article from August 1, 2014 in the portal rp-online.de , accessed on August 1, 2014