About this artwork
Beuys's environments developed from the artist's performed 'actions' and his glass cases (vitrines) containing objects. They were large-scale installations which allowed the artist to extend the boundaries of three-dimensional objects by 'staging' an environment, like a theatre set. Environments allowed Beuys to 'freeze' a moment from an 'action', and like the 'actions' and vitrines, a central concept of the environments was Beuys's use of everyday materials. In distinctive matt brown Braunkreuz oil paint, this work sets the tone for a monochromatic environment in the artist's signature colour. The cylindrical shapes with curved ends suggest that organic shapes or rolls of felt may be included in the environment.
Updated before 2020
see media-
artist:Joseph Beuys (1921 - 1986) German
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title:For Brown Environment: Giant Vessels
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date created:1964
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materials:Oil paint on paper
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measurements:73.80 x 105.20 cm
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object type:
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credit line:ARTIST ROOMS National Galleries of Scotland and Tate. Acquired jointly through The d'Offay Donation with assistance from the National Heritage Memorial Fund and Art Fund, 2008
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accession number:AR00130
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gallery:
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artwork photographed by:Antonia Reeve
Joseph Beuys
Joseph Beuys
German artist Beuys believed that art was integral to everyday life. According to Beuys his own art was shaped by an experience early in his life. As a Luftwaffe pilot during the war, he claimed that he was shot down over the Crimea and was saved by nomadic Tartars. Barely alive, he was wrapped in...