Joseph Beuys
(c)SABAM België, 2017 - Courtesy Museum Ostwall im Dortmunder U, Dortmund, Germany
Schautafeln für den Unterricht I und II, 1971
Schautafeln für Unterricht I und II consists of two black and white photos of concrete bunkers on Ostend beach. These structures form part of the Atlantikwall, founded by the German army during the Second World War as a defence against an allied invasion. They act as silent witnesses to a traumatic past. One of the images features text in Joseph Beuys' handwriting:
“OSTENDE / am Strand oder in den Dünen / ein kubusförmiges Haus / darin “Das Samurai-Schwert ist eine Blutwurst” / SOCKEL”
(“OSTEND / on the beach or in the dunes / a square building / containing “The Samurai sword is a blood sausage” / PEDESTAL”)
The text refers to Beuys' plan from the 1960s to establish a monument in Ostend containing the work Das Samurai-Schwert ist eine Blutwurst.
Edition: 202 planned, only 150 copleted, signed and numbered on board I
Edition Tangente, Heidelberg