by Joseph Beuys (1970)
11:25', b/w, sound
The “Filz-TV” / “Felt TV” project is one of the first short artist films ever broadcast on German television as part of the forty-two minute show entitled “Fernsehgalerie Gerry Schum Fernsehausstellung” / “Television Gallery Gerry Schum Television Exhibition”. Beuys had performed this action piece for the first time in Copenhagen in 1966. He staged it again for Schum’s cinecamera with slight variations in the home of collectors Jost and Barbara Herbig. For this performance he used the object “Filz-TV-Gerät” / “Felt TV Set”, which was in the Herbigs’ collection. It is a television set with felt stuck over its screen, an additional sheet of felt, a pair of boxing gloves, and a blood sausage. The television set is on during the performance, which lasts just under five minutes and is captured in three fixed shots.
In the 11-minute film, Beuys explored metaphors of communication and energy through the medium of television. As the TV broadcast a talk show, Beuys blocked the image with a felt pad, then punched himself in the face while wearing the gloves, as if the information from the television were assaulting him and meeting with resistance. He carved the sausage into a swordlike shape and moved it over the felt like a stethoscope, then dabbed it on the walls of the room. He ended by pushing the television against the wall, hanging a large felt pad on the wall, and leaving the room.
Beuys explained this cryptic work in terms of opposites. An actor sits opposite the television. Its screen is doubled with a felt "anti-image" that obstructs information. Finally, a second felt pad stands in for artists. In the end, the television is abandoned: a transmitter without a receiver. "The observer himself is very much as important as what comes out of the box," Beuys stated.
To see the work, simply follow the link below. Enjoy.
http://ubu.artmob.ca/video/Beuys-Joseph_Filz-TV_1970.avi
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