Joseph Beuys :: Filz-TV / Felt TV, 1970

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the-night-picture-collector

The “Filz-TV” / “Felt TV” project is one of the first short artist films
ever broadcast on German television as part of the forty-two minute
show entitled “Fernsehgalerie Gerry Schum Fernsehausstellung” /
“Television Gallery Gerry Schum Television Exhibition”.
In the 11-minute film, Beuys explored metaphors of communication and
energy through the medium of television. As the TV broadcast a talk
show, Beuys blocked the image with a felt pad, then punched himself in
the face while wearing the gloves, as if the information from the
television were assaulting him and meeting with resistance. He carved
the sausage into a sword-like shape and moved it over the felt like a
stethoscope, then dabbed it on the walls of the room. He ended by
pushing the television against the wall, hanging a large felt pad on the
wall, and leaving the room.

source of text: Niklas Goldbach

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Joseph Beuys ::
from the “Filz-TV” / “Felt TV” project,

11:25’, b/w, sound,

1970

Beuys explained this cryptic work in terms of opposites. An actor sits
opposite the television. Its screen is doubled with a felt “anti-image”
that obstructs information. Finally, a second felt pad stands in for
artists. In the end, the television is abandoned: a transmitter without a
receiver. “The observer himself is very much as important as what comes
out of the box,” Beuys stated.

source: Niklas Goldbach


more [+] by this artist