CONCEPT_english

The exhibition BEUYS GOES EBAY is based on an unusual concept. In the period from 16 May – 16 August 2003 approx. 80 objects pertaining to/by the artist Joseph Beuys were purchased by the gallerists Michaela Lechner and Carl Peter – this time acting as collectors and curators – through the online marketplace eBay. A budget of 2,500 euros was established for the purchases.

BEUYS GOES EBAY presents a large number of Beuys’ multiples, which are thematically grouped and thus provide insight into the artist’s numerous spheres of interest.

BEUYS AND MULTIPLES
Along with Andy Warhol, Beuys was among the most active artists in terms of prolifically reproducing and circulating his art/ideas. Beyond that, the dissemination of his objects/ideas was a core element of his approach. “I am either interested in the dissemination of ideas, which envision political change, or in the propagation of philosophical knowledge, which also envisions change for the people of the future,“ commented Beuys.
During his lifetime he authorized the publisher Klaus Staeck to produce and sell different works as editions. Beuys multiples include objects, prints, posters and postcards that appear both in limited and unlimited editions. Many of the limited edition multiple were signed by Beuys, and some items bear his characteristic rubber stamp.
Stamping and signing – this may seem an act of whim to some, but for Beuys there were many reasons behind it. „Even when I write my name, I am making a drawing,“ Beuys remarked about the creative aspect of the signature. Like stamping, signing something with one’s own name also signifies authorizing objects and messages; it labels them with the name of the sender before they are scattered throughout the world. Through the signature the mass produced item approximates an original, which is always associated with the person of the signor through the hand-written identification.

DISTRIBUTION OF PHYSICAL VEHICLES = DISTRIBUTION OF IDEAS
Beuys viewed his object-editions as „Seeds of condensation, which can carry many things“ and as “vehicles” that convey information, which is then covered over by a layer of new information. For Beuys a multiple was a “memory prop, in case something different happens in the future” and an “antenna situated somewhere, with which one stays in contact.” An antenna sending out the artist’s ideas and calling to mind the persona of J.B. “I also stay in touch with people that way.”

TRACKING THE ANTENNA SIGNALS
The exhibition BEUYS GOES EBAY is the attempt to track down the memory props produced and released by Beuys for mass distribution. What has become of the limited/unlimited object-editions that have been sent out into the world? Are the Beuys antennae still transmitting? Has the information they convey changed? Are Beuys’ memory props still relevant? Are there now new antennae that draw connections to Beuys’ person and his ideas?

BEUYS GOES INTERNET
The Internet is the ideal medium for tracking down multiples and object-antennae by Beuys. There are numerous websites, which not only deal with the theoretical aspects of Beuys multiples but also offer them for sale.
Many of the Beuys antennae, particularly objects that have been mass distributed, seldom interest museums and can be found for sale at galleries, art dealers and edition shops. Beuys multiples have now become a commodity, and this is certainly not a surprise.

LIVING RELICTS

For the exhibition BEUYS GOES EBAY a large number of the antennae that were produced and distributed by Beuys as multiples were tracked down and purchased at auction. On view are items that one would seldom see in museums or in large Beuys exhibitions due to their incidental nature.
There are also “unauthorized” antennae, which have been created over time, whether from “chance” traces left by Beuys or from objects that people associate with their memory of Beuys.

BEUYS GOES EBAY
For the exhibition BEUYS GOES EBAY a large number of the antennae that were produced and distributed by Beuys as multiples were tracked down and purchased at auction. On view are items that one would seldom see in museums or in large Beuys exhibitions due to their incidental nature.
There are also “unauthorized” antennae, which have been created over time, whether from “chance” traces left by Beuys or from objects that people associate with their memory of Beuys.

BEUYS GOES EBAY tracks the scent of suspected forgers. The question of “real or fake” will be investigated with the help of a graphologist.
The exhibition also documents which objects were offered on eBay – but were not purchased for the exhibition – and thereby illuminates the pool of the available object-editions on eBay.
BEUYS GOES EBAY is also a retrospective, which provides an overview of the artist’s ideas and biography through a small budget. By showing originals, multiples and editions along with fragmentary remnants and spontaneously generated items, an image of Joseph Beuys is created that is directly affiliated with the actual persona of J.B. himself. Perhaps in this way BEUYS GOES EBAY differs from other past exhibitions of Beuys object-editions.

EBAY & BEUYS

It is important to say upfront that without eBay the configuration and organization of the exhibition BEUYS GOES EBAY would not be possible. Without eBay it would have been unimaginable to be able track down the items within the short timeframe of three months and have them simply delivered to the gallery. Also given the kind of small budget available, only through eBay is it possible to obtain a large number of rare original works.
eBay is a virtual forum, which makes a certain constellation of objects, a pool of Beuys objects and meta-objects, available. A pool in which private individuals, dealers and collectors can offer their Beuys objects for sale. Beuys objects and also art in general are made accessible to a broad public – for there are a large number of known and unknown artists offered on eBay. They are virtually freely available. The objects and the ideas associated with them await circulation.
Through eBay art is presented to a broad public – also to people who seldom make their way to galleries and museums. Art can be purchased by a large number of people due to eBay – without going through an art dealer. eBay has created an art market beyond the art market, which has its own rules and which is directly organized by the participants. An art market that one could describe with Beuys’ term of “social sculpture”.