BEUYS LAND is the first book to position the Lower Rhine’s natural landscape and Beuys’ (alleged) birthplace, Kleve, at the core of Beuys’ universe.
Joseph Beuys is regarded worldwide as one of the 20th century’s most important and influential artists. But where
exactly did he find his artistic roots? What were the sources of his strength? In January 1978, photographer Gerd
Ludwig impressively captured Joseph Beuys as he revisited his past in the town of Kleve and its Lower Rhine
surroundings, the very places where it all began for him.
In 2021, Frank Mehring conceived the idea of displaying six large-format photographs by Ludwig of Beuys in the
Lower Rhine landscape, exactly where they were taken in 1978 and linked them via a bicycle route. Freddy Langer,
accompanied by Mehring and Ludwig, spent a day cycling the route and composed an essay about their journey. This
essay weaves together their conversations, unexpected encounters, and musings on art and ecology with insights
into Joseph Beuys’s relationship with nature.
In his text, Mehring analyzes how we can recognize the person Joseph Beuys beyond the brand, focusing on his
biographical origins in the Lower Rhine to understand his significance for the digital generation. He emphasizes that
photography was crucial for Beuys to permanently capture his ephemeral actions in public spaces.
Mehring sees Gerd Ludwig‘s photographs of Beuys as a central key to discovering a landscape that is at the center of
Beuys‘ life and work. Using the photos, Mehring explains how this region shaped Beuys‘ artistic energy, his ecological
awareness and his vitality, which catapulted him to the top of the international art world.
German American photographer
Gerd Ludwig is considered one of the pioneering documentary photographers of our
time. He studied under Prof. Otto Steinert at the legendary Folkwangschule (today: Folkwang University of the Arts) in
Essen, Germany, and gained recognition in the late ‘70s for his captivating reportages in GEO, ZEITmagazin, Stern, and
others. Particularly notable are his artist portraits of Friedensreich Hundertwasser and Joseph Beuys. After moving to
the U.S., he became a core member of the American National Geographic Magazine for three decades. His dedicated
coverage of the aftermath of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster is considered a milestone of modern photojournalism. He
is the recipient of the University of Missouri Medal of Honor for his outstanding achievements in journalism and the
Dr. Erich Salomon Award of the German Society for Photography. His photographs are exhibited in museums, galleries,
and public spaces globally. Gerd Ludwig currently resides in Los Angeles, primarily focusing on personal longterm
projects. His books “The Long Shadow of Chernobyl” and “Sleeping Cars” have been published by Edition Lammerhuber.
Frank Mehring is Professor of American Studies at Radboud University Nijmegen. His research focuses on the
intersection of art, culture and politics in transatlantic exchange. Among the numerous publications on the soft power
of the Marshall Plan in photographs, films and exhibitions, his monograph The Democratic Gap (Winter, 2014) on
the American promise of democracy in German emigration history received the European Rob Kroes Award. In his
latest work, Frank Mehring is dedicated to the life and work of the German-American artist Winold Reiss (Deutscher
Kunstverlag, 2022). But Mehring’s contribution is not limited to academic circles. As an Americanist and honorary
director of the Forum Arenacum museum, he is actively involved in building bridges between university and society.
He is particularly committed to projects that use music and art as a key to opening up new perspectives on history and
transnational cultures of remembrance to young people.
Freddy Langer, born in 1957, is an editor at the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. He was responsible for the travel
section for twenty years and is responsible for photography in the features section. For his own series “Blind Date,”
he has been photographing prominent artists with sleeping glasses for more than forty years. He is the author of
numerous books on the history of photography as well as his other passion: hiking all over the world.
