Joseph Beuys: We Go This Way

by Caroline Tisdall, Caroline Tisdall

The working partnership of artist Joseph Beuys (1921-1986) and Caroline Tisdall (b. 1945) was among this century's most productive relationships between artist and amanuensis. This photographic record documents their wide-ranging travels for Beuys's actions, installations and lectures over a period of more than thirteen years.
This book's title, We Go This Way, refers to a phrase used by Beuys in his travels with Tisdall and suggests a way forward through the often daunting complexity of Beuys's philosophy and art. More than 400 of Tisdall's own photographs, most of which are previously unpublished, are accompanied throughout by a text in which Tisdall leads the reader through such diverse topics as Beuys's relationship to alchemy, botany, ecology, economics, literature, philosophy, politics, psychology and shamanism.

Genres: Art

416 pages, Hardcover

Published January 2, 2000

Reviews

[Richard Magee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the best explanation of Beuys’s social sculpture and concept of permanent dialogue as well as the best photo archive of his travelling years between being fired from the Düsseldorf Akademie and before founding the German Green Party.

The best work is his Introspector car mirror sculpture.

There are several events (deliberately) misremembered by the author. For details see Retrieval Unit by Sean Lynch.

In all though it’s an extremely diligent and deeply affectionate book. Reading it you do think beuys changed the world.