© 2007 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn
Detail, 97.48
The following quotes are excerpted from a 1970 interview with Joseph Beuys by Jörg Schellman and Bernd Klüser, as reprinted in Joseph Beuys: The Multiples (Cambridge, Mass., Minneapolis, and Munich/New York: Harvard University Art Museums, Walker Art Center, and Edition Schellmann, 1997).
S, K: Why doesn't the Felt Suit have buttons?
B: Well, that was dictated by the character of felt. That occurred quite naturally. It was tailored after my own suit and I think the whole thing has to retain the character of felt, in the sense that felt doesn't strive to be smart, so to speak. One has to conserve the character, omit mere trifles, such as complicated buttons, buttonholes and so on, and if somebody wants to wear the suit, he can fasten it with safety pins.
S, K: Does the association with convicts' uniforms on which the buttons and braces have been cut off as a sign of disgrace apply?
B: Of course I thought of that, but there's no direct relation. It isn't meant to be a suit which people wear. The suit is meant to be an object which one is precisely not supposed to wear. One can wear it, but in a relatively short time it'll lose its shape because felt is not a material which holds a form. Felt isn't woven. It's pressed together usually from hare or rabbit hair. It's precisely that, and it isn't suited for buttonholes and the like.
Continue reading this interview by clicking on the second image below.