Joseph Beuys and Shamanism – where perception is, there is reality

A special form of perception that exceeds the norm like the perception of the shaman can also be found in the arts, for example in the work of Joseph Beuys, but a systematic investigation of the manifold references of Beuys to shamanism is still pending.

While Shamanism was still a very marginal phenomenon during Beuys’s lifetime, today it is an internationally oriented and academically founded movement towards the middle of society. As one of the first in the West, Beuys has accepted the shaman concidering a necessary social transformation on many levels.

Both shamanism, with its ancient roots over cultures and times, and Joseph Beuys, especially with his thoughts on social sculpture, are of uninterrupted relevance to the current times and should, therefore,  receive appropriate reception.