Hidden inside this object are bicycle pumps and fat, one of Beuys’s signature materials. During an “action,” as he called his performances, he piped fat through the bicycle pumps, then encased the pumps inside this iron structure shaped like a halved cross, and finally sealed it shut using a blow torch, creating a relic of the event. Beuys worked in a variety of mediums, including sculpture, installation, drawings, prints, and multiples. As a teacher at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf from 1963 to 1972, Beuys became known for his unconventional, politically minded teaching approach, inspiring a younger generation of artists to challenge traditional art-making practices.

Gallery label from

Studio Visit: Selected Gifts from Agnes Gund, 2018

Medium Iron, fat, and bicycle pumps
Dimensions 22 x 43 x 21 1/4" (55.9 x 109.2 x 54 cm)
Credit Gift of Agnes Gund in honor of Kynaston McShine
Object number 1.2002
Department Painting & Sculpture

Explore more

All works by Joseph Beuys →

From MoMA Design Store

Installation views

We have identified this work in the following photos from our exhibition history.

How we identified these works
In 2018–19, MoMA collaborated with Google Arts & Culture Lab on a project using machine learning to identify artworks in installation photos. That project has concluded, and works are now being identified by MoMA staff.

If you notice an error, please contact us at [email protected].
Licensing
To reproduce installation views, please contact Art Resource (publication in North America) or Scala Archives (publication in all other geographic locations). You will need to include the object identification number found in the caption.
Feedback
This record is a work in progress. If you have additional information or spotted an error, please send feedback to [email protected].

Licensing

Artwork or archival images

If you would like to reproduce an image of a work of art in MoMA's collection, or an image of a MoMA publication or archival material (including installation views, checklists, and press releases), please contact Art Resource (publication in North America) or Scala Archives (publication in all other geographic locations).

Audio and film clips

MoMA licenses archival audio and select out of copyright film clips from our film collection. At this time, MoMA produced video cannot be licensed by MoMA/Scala. All requests to license archival audio or out of copyright film clips should be addressed to Scala Archives at [email protected]. Motion picture film stills cannot be licensed by MoMA/Scala. For access to motion picture film stills for research purposes, please contact the Film Study Center at [email protected]. For more information about film loans and our Circulating Film and Video Library, please visit Circulating Film and Video Library.

Text from a publication or the archives

If you would like to reproduce text from a MoMA publication, please email [email protected]. If you would like to publish text from MoMA's archival materials, please fill out this permission form and send to [email protected].

Feedback

This record is a work in progress. If you have additional information or spotted an error, please fill out this feedback form.