Joseph Beuys: Beuys in America

A reconceived edition of Steidl's classic account of Beuys' 1974 American tour

On January 9 1974, Joseph Beuys (1921-86), together with Klaus Staeck and Gerhard Steidl, traveled for the first time to America. This trip was a carefully planned performance that took place in airplanes, taxis, hotels, universities and galleries, and was comprehensively documented in photographs and video. The tour began with a lecture at New York's New School, visited by artists including Claes Oldenburg, Lil Picard and Al Hansen; the next stop was Chicago, the site of more controversial lectures and an unexpected performance reenacting the death of John Dillinger; then Minneapolis, with more conferences and discussions. Upon returning to Germany, the hundreds of photographs and many hours of videotape were assembled, but it was only in October 1985, shortly before his death, that Beuys finalized the sequence for the book. Originally published in 1987, this new Steidl edition has been wholly reconceived by Klaus Staeck and Gerhard Steidl.