‘I will re-create Finnegans Wake anyway’: Joseph Beuys reads James Joyce
Journal: Nordic Journal of English Studies
Year: 2018

How did Joseph Beuys read James Joyce’s work? Beuys’ annotated copy of Finnegans Wake, as well as ‘Ulysses Extension’ drawings provide close insight into the artist’s thinking. Beuys’ work expands or ‘furthers’ Joyce in sculptural substances, language and by social means. Beuys used Joyce, especially Finnegans Wake, as a reference point of extraordinary suggestive power for the duration of his artistic career. Beuys’ current reappraisal lets us better understand his importance in pioneering ecol