How to Explain Pictures to a Dead Hare
Encyclopedia
How to Explain Pictures to a Dead Hare was a performance piece
enacted by the German
artist Joseph Beuys
on 26 November 1965 at the Galerie Schmela in Düsseldorf
. While it was only Beuys’s first solo exhibition in a private gallery, it is sometimes referred to as his best known action.
, he began to explain pictures to a dead hare
. Whispering to the dead animal on his arm in an apparent dialog, he processed through the exhibit from artwork to artwork. Occasionally he would stop and return to the center of the gallery, where he stepped over a dead fir tree that lay on the floor. After three hours the public was let into the room. Beuys sat upon a stool in the entrance area with the hare on his arm and his back to the onlookers.
, which had already begun in his drawings of the 1950s. He ironically celebrated the ritual of "explaining art
" with an action that was, for his viewers, effectively silent.
The relationship between thought, speech, and form in this performance was also characteristic of Beuys. In his last speech Speaking about Germany (, 1985) he emphasized that he was essentially a man of words. In another instance he is quoted as saying: "When I speak, I try to guide that power's impulse so that it flows into a more fully descriptive language, which is the spiritual perception of growth." The integration of speech and conversation into his visual works plays a meaningful role in How to Explain Pictures to a Dead Hare.
The hare is an animal with broad, centuries-old symbolic meaning in all religions. In Greek mythology
it was associated with the love goddess Aphrodite
, to the Romans
and Germanic tribes it was a symbol of fertility, and in Christianity
it came to be connected with the Resurrection. This interpretation is also supported by the "mask" that Beuys wore during his performance: gold as a symbol for the power of the sun, wisdom, and purity, and honey as a Germanic symbol for rebirth.
Thus Beuys:
The performance is considered a key work, and was re-created by Marina Abramović
in 2005 at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York as part of her series Seven Easy Pieces
.
Such materials and actions had specific symbolic value for Beuys. For example, honey was the product of bees who, for Beuys (following Rudolf Steiner), represented an ideal society of warmth and brotherhood. Gold had its importance within alchemy, and iron, the metal of Mars, stood for the masculine principles of strength and connection to the earth. A photograph from the performance, in which Beuys is sitting with the hare, has been described "by some critics as a new Mona Lisa of the 20th century," though Beuys did not agree with that.
Performance art
In art, performance art is a performance presented to an audience, traditionally interdisciplinary. Performance may be either scripted or unscripted, random or carefully orchestrated; spontaneous or otherwise carefully planned with or without audience participation. The performance can be live or...
enacted by the German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
artist Joseph Beuys
Joseph Beuys
Joseph Beuys was a German performance artist, sculptor, installation artist, graphic artist, art theorist and pedagogue of art.His extensive work is grounded in concepts of humanism, social philosophy and anthroposophy; it culminates in his "extended definition of art" and the idea of social...
on 26 November 1965 at the Galerie Schmela in Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
. While it was only Beuys’s first solo exhibition in a private gallery, it is sometimes referred to as his best known action.
Process
At the beginning of the performance Beuys locked the gallery doors from the inside, leaving the gallery-goers outside. They could observe the scene within only through the windows. With his head entirely coated in honey and gold leafGold leaf
right|thumb|250px|[[Burnishing]] gold leaf with an [[agate]] stone tool, during the water gilding processGold leaf is gold that has been hammered into extremely thin sheets and is often used for gilding. Gold leaf is available in a wide variety of karats and shades...
, he began to explain pictures to a dead hare
Hare
Hares and jackrabbits are leporids belonging to the genus Lepus. Hares less than one year old are called leverets. Four species commonly known as types of hare are classified outside of Lepus: the hispid hare , and three species known as red rock hares .Hares are very fast-moving...
. Whispering to the dead animal on his arm in an apparent dialog, he processed through the exhibit from artwork to artwork. Occasionally he would stop and return to the center of the gallery, where he stepped over a dead fir tree that lay on the floor. After three hours the public was let into the room. Beuys sat upon a stool in the entrance area with the hare on his arm and his back to the onlookers.
Interpretation and context
The performance was the high point of Beuys' development of a broadened definition of artSocial sculpture
Social sculpture is a specific example of the extended concept of art, that was advocated by the conceptual artist and politician Joseph Beuys. Beuys created the term Social Sculpture to illustrate his idea of art's potential to transform society. As an artwork it includes human activity, that...
, which had already begun in his drawings of the 1950s. He ironically celebrated the ritual of "explaining art
Art criticism
Art criticism is the discussion or evaluation of visual art.Art critics usually criticize art in the context of aesthetics or the theory of beauty...
" with an action that was, for his viewers, effectively silent.
The relationship between thought, speech, and form in this performance was also characteristic of Beuys. In his last speech Speaking about Germany (, 1985) he emphasized that he was essentially a man of words. In another instance he is quoted as saying: "When I speak, I try to guide that power's impulse so that it flows into a more fully descriptive language, which is the spiritual perception of growth." The integration of speech and conversation into his visual works plays a meaningful role in How to Explain Pictures to a Dead Hare.
The hare is an animal with broad, centuries-old symbolic meaning in all religions. In Greek mythology
Greek mythology
Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
it was associated with the love goddess Aphrodite
Aphrodite
Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of love, beauty, pleasure, and procreation.Her Roman equivalent is the goddess .Historically, her cult in Greece was imported from, or influenced by, the cult of Astarte in Phoenicia....
, to the Romans
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
and Germanic tribes it was a symbol of fertility, and in Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
it came to be connected with the Resurrection. This interpretation is also supported by the "mask" that Beuys wore during his performance: gold as a symbol for the power of the sun, wisdom, and purity, and honey as a Germanic symbol for rebirth.
Thus Beuys:
The performance is considered a key work, and was re-created by Marina Abramović
Marina Abramovic
Marina Abramović is a Belgrade-born New York-based Serbian performance artist who began her career in the early 1970s. Active for over three decades, she has recently begun to describe herself as the “grandmother of performance art.” Abramović's work explores the relationship between performer and...
in 2005 at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York as part of her series Seven Easy Pieces
Seven Easy Pieces
Seven Easy Pieces was the title of a series of performances given by Marina Abramović at the Guggenheim Museum in New York City in 2005.In an interview in the New York Times in early November, 2005, Abramović explained the impetus for her most recent performances, stating that "she felt a strong...
.
Such materials and actions had specific symbolic value for Beuys. For example, honey was the product of bees who, for Beuys (following Rudolf Steiner), represented an ideal society of warmth and brotherhood. Gold had its importance within alchemy, and iron, the metal of Mars, stood for the masculine principles of strength and connection to the earth. A photograph from the performance, in which Beuys is sitting with the hare, has been described "by some critics as a new Mona Lisa of the 20th century," though Beuys did not agree with that.
Note on translations
The English translations of quotes from Beuys used in this article are not in any way official. Any misrepresentation of the artist's intentions is unintentional. For the purpose of transparency the original German is presented below.Further reading
- Thompson, Nato. Becoming Animal: contemporary art in the animal kingdom MIT Press, 2005 ISBN 0262201615 P. 10 http://books.google.com/books?id=PG-yhOdZ61YC&pg=PA10&dq=how+to+explain+pictures+to+a+dead+hare&client=firefox-a#v=onepage&q=&f=false