Recommended Viewing: Joseph Beuys and the Coyote

This post isn't really related to the main themes of this blog, but you don't have to read it if you don't want to.  Okay?

 I Like America and America Likes Me, Joesph Beuys, 1974

Photo copyright Caroline Tisdall

The Joseph Beuys story is one of the most captivating and iconic artist stories of all time.  As a young man, Beuys flew for the Luftwaffe as a rear gunner in a bomber unit.  In 1943, his plane was shot down in the Crimea.  Beuys claims he was discovered in the snow by nomadic Tartars, who nursed him back to health with natural medicines.  He remained unconscious until after he was returned to a German field hospital, but he maintains that the images of the Tartars and their healing methods penetrated his subconscious.  Most notably, he recalls being packed in animal fat and wrapped in felt to help his body retain heat.  Read more about his story at the wikipedia page linked above.  Regardless of the story's truth, these images and materials featured prominently in his art for the rest of his life.

Beuys was later among the most influential art figures of the 20th century.  His first trip to America was to mark the opening of the René Block Gallery in New York with a performance art piece.  The piece, I Like America and America Likes Me, began with Bueys's ride directly from the airport to the gallery in the back of an ambulance.  At the gallery, he spent three days in a room with a coyote, interacting with the animal as the situation dictated.  After the three days, he was taken back to the airport, again directly by ambulance.  Beuys later explained his mode of transportation: "I wanted to isolate myself, insulate myself, see nothing of America other than the coyote."  This video clip gives more about the work and Beuys's life, well worth the 15 minutes.  If the quicktime video doesn't work for you, I believe you can select a different format.