The Son’s Coming Home: Narrative Economies of Joseph Beuys’ Art

Abstract

This article deals with the narration of Joseph Beuys’ art in Germany. My focus is set on the ways that particular curatorial strategies have been applied to Beuys’ artistic practice in the Hamburger Bahnhof in Berlin. I contextualize the readings in the interests of different stakeholders involved in the rescaling of the artist’s heritage. Beuys’ framing in the two recent retrospective exhibitions in Berlin and Düsseldorf and the regular display of his works in the Hamburger Bahnhof leads me to argue that private collectors have become closely involved in the process of curating in novel ways, which in turn requires a new critical reading of exhibition practices. Narrative economy is a concept proposed for understanding these interests and their articulations in exhibition curation.