Beuys and Fluxus

Joseph Beuys (May 12, 1921 – January 23, 1986) was a German artist who came to prominence in the 1960s. He is most famous for his ritualistic public performances and his energetic championing of the healing potential of art and the power of a universal human creativity. As well as performances, Beuys produced sculptures, environments, vitrines, 450 prints and posters, and thousands of drawings. He was also a committed teacher and increasingly devoted much of his energy to German politics. A charismatic and controversial figure, the nature and value of Beuys’s contribution to Western art has elicited a hotly contested and often polarized debate.

I find Joseph's artwork extreme, that's for sure. I mean, explaining art to a dead hare? Locking yourself in an art gallery with a coyote? Are you nuts? With the radical art movement in the 1960's, however, this behavior seemed "out of the box." It was genius and insanity. Beuys became part of the Fluxus movement:

Fluxus, a loose international group of artists who championed a radical erosion of the boundaries of art, bringing aspects of creative practice outside of the institution and into the everyday.

This movement radically changed the evolution of art into what it is today. Without these extremist so break out of the standards, we'd all still be coloring inside the lines.