Joseph Beuys

Joseph Beuys (12 May 1921 – 23 January 1986) was a German artist, teacher, performance artist, and art theorist whose work reflected humanism and sociology. He co-founded the Free International University for Creativity & Interdisciplinary Research, and formed The Party for Animals and The Organisation for Direct Democracy through his talks and performances.

He was a member of the Fluxus movement and was instrumental in developing Performance Art. Beuys taught at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf from 1961 to 1972, and was a founding member of the German Green Party. He fashioned a personal myth of being rescued by Tatar tribesmen after a wartime plane crash, which influenced his use of unconventional materials such as felt and fat in his art.