German sculptor and painter (born 1921)

Joseph Beuys

Joseph Heinrich Beuys was a German artist, teacher, performance artist, and art theorist whose work reflected concepts of humanism and sociology. With Heinrich Böll, Johannes Stüttgen, Caroline Tisdall, Robert McDowell, and Enrico Wolleb, Beuys created the Free International University for Creativity & Interdisciplinary Research (FIU). Through his talks and performances, he also formed The Party for Animals and The Organisation for Direct Democracy. He was a member of a Dadaist art movement Fluxus and singularly inspirational in developing of Performance Art, called Kunst Aktionen, alongside Wiener Aktionismus that Allan Kaprow and Carolee Schneemann termed Art Happenings.

Born

1921

May 12

Died

1986

Era

1920s

Country

—

About

Joseph, in brief

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Life timeline

Key dates

1921 Born
1986 Died

Also on May 12

What else happened on this day, through history

113 Roman emperor Trajan dedicates a column celebrating and depicting his victory over the Dacians.
254 Pope Stephen I succeeds Pope Lucius I, becoming the 23rd pope of the Catholic Church, and immediately takes a stand against Novatianism.
907 Zhu Wen forces Emperor Ai into abdicating, ending the Tang dynasty after nearly three hundred years of rule.
1157 A church council presided over by Byzantine emperor Manuel I Komnenos in the Palace of Blachernae investigates the orthodoxy of the patriarch of Antioch, Soterichos Panteugenos.

See all of May 12 →

The world in 1921

When Joseph arrived

april 11 Emir Abdullah establishes the first centralised government in the newly created British protectorate of Transjordan.
april 2 The Autonomous Government of Khorasan, a military government encompassing the modern state of Iran, is established.
august 14 Tannu Uriankhai, later Tuvan People's Republic is established as a completely independent country (which is supported by Soviet Russia).
august 23 British airship R-38 experiences structural failure over Hull in England and crashes in the Humber Estuary; of her 49 British and American training crew, only four survive.

Read the year 1921 →

Same-day contemporaries

Also born on May 12

Abelardo L. Rodríguez 1889–1967 substitute president of Mexico (1932–1934) (born 1889) Dante Gabriel Rossetti 1828–1882 English poet and painter (born 1828) Domingos Maubere 1952–2025 East Timorese Catholic priest and activist (died 2025) Felipe Alou 1935– Dominican-American baseball player, coach, and manager Florence Nightingale 1820–1910 Italian-English nurse and theologian (born 1820) Gabriel Fauré 1845–1924 French pianist, composer, and educator (died 1924) George Karl 1951– American basketball player and coach Graeme Dott 1977– Scottish snooker player and coach Henry Cabot Lodge 1850–1924 American historian and politician (died 1924)

See everything on May 12 →

Same-year contemporaries

Also born in 1921

Ágnes Keleti 1921–2025 Hungarian Olympic gymnast (born 1921) Alexander Dubček 1921–1992 Slovak soldier and politician (died 1992) Art Clokey 1921–2010 American animator, director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1921) Bill Willis 1921–2007 American football player and coach (born 1921) Brian Moore 1921–1999 Northern Irish-Canadian author and screenwriter (died 1999) Esther Williams 1921–2013 American swimmer and actress (died 2013) Ezzard Charles 1921–1975 American boxer (died 1975) Franciszek Blachnicki 1921–1987 Polish priest (born 1921) Franco Corelli 1921–2003 Italian tenor and actor (died 2003)

Read about the year 1921 →

Keep going

More to explore

Joseph's birthday May 12 Joseph's zodiac Taurus When Joseph arrived 1921