Dead Hare

How To Explain Pictures To A Dead Hare
by Dusty Goodwin
Wie man dem toten Hasen die Bilder erklärt

I’ve recently developed a slight obsession with Joseph Beuys’ public performances. Most notably “How To Explain Pictures To A Dead Hare.” Which is the act of Joseph Beuys pacing back and forth across a contained art exhibit with onlookers peering through glass at Mr. Beuys; whose face is covered with honey and cradling a dead rabbit in his arms like a young baby, whispering and murmuring explanations of photographs and artworks to the lifeless animal. Also, while walking around, the bottom of his shoe is clad with a sheet of iron, making a loud clanking noise as he limps around the room. These are three items used to portray both an extremely symbolic and significant message while performing an action that ties the three of these things together.

First: the honey; but before that, bees. Bees represent a society, or a grouping together of individuals to accomplish a common goal; The product forging honey. Which Beuys defines as being pure thought or a product of unification, which can ultimately be collected and created through the process of adjoining fellowship; A product, in the case of Mr. Beuys, produced by the brain. The fact that it’s honey means that it is something that is acquired when gathered by means of harmony. All while symbolizing life and function; The constant movement of the thought process.

The Iron-soled shoe connects the performer (man) to earth. Since Man and earth are two separate entities, a connection can be established by something involving both. Metal is a product of both man and earth, which, in this performance, connects the two together again, demonstrating the theme of harmony and strength.

In Beuys’ arms was the mangled corpse of a Rabbit; both lifeless and malleable. Beuys would walk his around the room, move the animal’s arms and often times hold his head up to the drawings and speak into his large ears, explaining the depth and meaning of the displayed art pieces. According to Beuys, the human race has become so stubborn that in comparison, it seems as though even a dead animal has the ability to conceive ideas to a better degree than any one person can. The thought of explaining difficult ideas to something so inept is, in a way, demeaning to what the human race has become. Humans have such a high demand for the unveiling of secrecy, that it’s simply humorous that the decision was made to reveal such desired things to an animal; a dead one at that.

Beuys said that the soul meaning and drive behind these actions was to “seek out the energy points in the human power field, rather than demanding specific knowledge or reactions on then part of the public.” Beuys didn’t specifically want to inform the public, but wished to allow the public to draw connections of different ideas for themselves, as opposed to whispering explanations into the ears the people.