Untitled 1949

Editor: This is an Untitled sketch by Joseph Beuys, located at the Harvard Art Museums. It's a pencil drawing, and it feels almost like a dreamscape. What do you see in this piece? Curator: The obelisk, of course, acts as a potent symbol of stability, tradition, even aspiration. But consider the swirling lines above. Do they evoke landscapes, maybe even brainwaves? Editor: Brainwaves, that's interesting! They do look like paths, or ways of thinking. Curator: Beuys was deeply interested in how we process and remember. Could these lines represent cultural memory itself, constantly in flux yet anchored by these familiar, enduring forms? Editor: So, it's about how we remember, not just what we remember? Curator: Precisely. The sketch invites us to consider the act of remembering. Something that seems solid might be more ephemeral than we think. Editor: That gives me a lot to think about; it's deeper than it looks at first glance.