Joseph Beuys only embarked on his artistic career after he had completed his studies in medicine and also his service with the German Air Force during WWII. In 1946 he pursued sculpture at the Düsseldorf Academy, where he became a teacher himself in the early 1960s. This position proved crucial for Beuys. He found the passing on of ideas at least as important as actually creating works of art. Beuys, however, made conceptual work and also engaged in performances in which he explained his view on art and the world. He combined his ideas and theories under the term 'Soziale Plastik' (social sculpture). In this context, Beuys' famous statement is also befitting: "Jeder ist ein Künstler." ("Everybody is an artist.").
