Joseph Beuys (1921-86), the German artist who was a major force in the Fluxus movement and rivaled Andy Warhol in provocation and public recognition in his day is profiled in Andres Veiel’s energetic but rather muddled documentary. The film is composed largely of archival material, much of it taken from John Halpern’s earlier Joseph Beuys: Transformer, made in conjunction with Beuys’s exhibition at New York’s Guggenheim Museum in 1979. Beuys sketches its subject’s life, although it is circumspect about wartime details (apart from the plane crash he suffered while serving as a Luftwaffe gunner, which Beuys apparently mythologized in later years and, some suggest, led to severe psychological problems). Veiel also covers Beuys’s involvement in left-wing German politics (he was a founder of the Green Party, although it ultimately turned on him). While excerpts from interviews with friends, associates, and critics are included, the majority of the footage shows Beuys creating, often very publicly, some of his more notable projects, or discoursing at length on his ideas about art and society. Unfortunately, Veiel’s scattershot approach, which seems meant to convey Beuys’s mercurial nature, comes at the expense of clarity. Extras include an excerpt from Transformer, an interview with Veiel conducted by John Halpern, and introductions to a screening of Beuys by Halpern and New York gallery owner Ronald Feldman. Art history collections will definitely want to consider, but this is optional otherwise. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)
Beuys
(2017) 111 min. In English & German w/English subtitles. DVD: $29.95 ($349 w/PPR from www.kinolorberedu.com). DRA. Kino Lorber (avail. from most distributors). Closed captioned. Volume 33, Issue 4
Beuys
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