Ja Ja Ja Ja Ja, Nee Nee Nee Nee Nee 1970

This is a piece by Joseph Beuys, done with what looks like screen printing on paper. Beuys was all about expanding what art could be, and this work, with its bold "Beuys" above a red cross, feels like a statement, a logo, a kind of advertisement of the self. The colors here are really direct: red and white, like a first aid kit, and the rough, almost blocky letters and cross feel handmade, immediate. There's a kind of awkwardness to the spacing. The cross sits there below the name like a signature, a visual anchor, and it makes you think, what is this artist offering? Is it healing, a brand, or something else entirely? Beuys, like Warhol, really messed with the idea of the artist as a brand, so it's no surprise to me he made work like this. It's a challenge, a question, and definitely not a simple answer.