In the Memory of Joseph Beuys: An Exhibition from the 1980s and Its Impact on the Izmir Contemporary Art Scene

Abstract

In the 1980s, one of the most important debates in the arts and culture scene in Turkey is the commercialization of art. One of the results of the commercialization of art is the transformation of the work of art into a decorative object. As a solution to this problem, instead of a work of art produced by traditional mediums, an artistic practice outside the demands of the art market has been proposed. The question of how and with which mediums to create this artistic practice has brought out alternative artistic tendencies. Held in 1986 at the Izmir German Cultural Center, Another Art Collective Exhibition in the Memory of Joseph Beuys exhibition is an important example to understand these discussions. Joseph Beuys, one of the important artists who determined the language of contemporary art with his artistic practice, blurred the border between art and life and expanded the field of art disciplines with the concept of social sculpture. The fact that it is the first group exhibition in the Izmir culture and arts environment where alternative art practices are exhibited determines the place of the exhibition in the art history chronology. The aim of this study is to convey the previously unwritten content of the exhibition, which shows an extremely important historical shift in visual art practices, and to reveal its art-historical importance.