This is the first publication to explore the extensive activities of Joseph Beuys in Britain and Ireland. Beuys visited and exhibited in Britain and Ireland more than in any other countries with the exception of Germany and Italy. The period of his visits coincided with the time of his greatest international fame - and notoriety - following his removal from the Dusseldorf Academy, and with his growing advocacy of human activity as an agent of social and political change. Sean Rainbird returns to primary sources and retraces Beuys's footsteps, examining the rich body of exhibitions, lectures and actions which grew out of the strong friendships and creative relationships that encouraged Beuys to return so often to the British Isles. Beuys's interest in Celtic myths and artefacts is fully explored as well as his creative engagement with the literary and political history of Ireland. This book is stunningly illustrated with photographs by the critic and filmmaker Caroline Tisdall and Richard Demarco, Director of the Demarco European Art Foundation in Edinburgh.
An interview with Sean Rainbird and Caroline Tisdall discusses Beuys's work Bits and Pieces 1957-85, a collection of objects, drawings and multiples compiled for her by Beuys.