Klaus Staeck and Gerhard Steidl: Beuys Book

Description

Joseph Beuys was photographed extensively during his career, whether at work, while traveling, or at home. Yet only a few photographers had the privileged access and tenacity of graphic artist Klaus Staeck and printer/publisher Gerhard Steidl, who accompanied Beuys with their cameras from 1970 until his death in 1986. Staeck and Steidl were part of Beuys' entourage, collaborated closely with him to produce his multiples and objects, and documented intimate aspects of the life of this unmatched artist-performer-from his home at Drakeplatz 4 in Dusseldorf, to international workshops, lectures and the installation of important works such as Honeypump in the Workplace at documenta 6 in 1977, and Wirtschaftswerte (Economic Values) at the Museum of Fine Arts in Ghent in 1980. Beuys Book reveals Beuys' unique, charismatic personality which influenced not only those he met, but society and art in general. I want to configure, that is, to change. - Joseph Beuys

Born in 1938 in Pulsnitz near Dresden, Klaus Staeck is one of Germany's most prominent graphic artists. Renowned for his political posters, Stack received the Gustav Heinemann Citizen Award in 1996 and was president of the Akademie der Kunste in Berlin from 2006 to 2015. Steidl has produced Staeck's posters throughout his career and published many of his books, including Ohne Auftrag (2000), Frohe Zukunft (2004), Pornografie (2005) and Sand furs Getriebe (2018). Born in 1950 in Goettingen, Germany, Gerhard Steidl founded his publishing house and screen-printing workshop for graphic art and posters in 1968. Today Steidl publishes the largest worldwide program of contemporary photobooks and an ambitious German literature list. He furthermore conceives and curates international exhibitions including those of Robert Frank, Orhan Pamuk and Karl Lagerfeld. In 2020 Steidl received the Outstanding Contribution to Photography prize at the Sony World Photography Awards and the Gutenberg Prize from the International Gutenberg Society in Mainz.