Filzanzug

In Joseph Beuys’s work his choice of material acquires its own symbolic dimension. Fat and felt—two materials not generally used in art—were often employed by the artist due to their warming qualities, that is to say, life-preserving qualities with a promise of protection.

The felt suit draws its meaning from this context. Although at first glance it looks like a real item of clothing, it has neither buttons nor buttonholes, and according to Beuys, was not intended to be worn but to transport an idea: felt and suit as symbols of the preservation of heat essential for human development. The suit is a shell, a protective second skin, insulating its wearer from the environment.

On top of this, the felt suit is also a multiple, an edition object produced in a series of 100. Beuys created 557 such edition objects which, affordable during his lifetime, were designed to enjoy the widest possible distribution, and also aided Beuys in his efforts to carry his ideas deep into society.