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Image

Joseph Beuys

Capri-Batterie (Capri Battery)

Description

Maker

Joseph Beuys (German, 1921-1986)

Title

Capri-Batterie (Capri Battery)

Year

1985

Medium

  • Light bulb with plug socket,
  • screenprinted wooden box,
  • Offset lithograph on paper,
  • lemon

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

  • Light bulb with plug socket,
  • screenprinted wooden box,
  • Offset lithograph on paper,
  • lemon

Geography

Place Made: Western

Dimensions

8 x 16 x 6 cm (3 1/8 x 6 5/16 x 2 3/8 inches) (overall)

Identification

Edition

172/ 200

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Gift of James Baker

Object Number

2008.66

Type

  • Sculpture

Projects & Publications

Publications

  • Journal

Manual / Issue 6: Assemblage

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Nature/Artifice
Contemporary Works from the Collection
Apr 25, 2009 – Feb 28, 2010

Label copy

Joseph Beuys, one of the most influential and charismatic artists of the second half of the 20th century, made his belief in universal human creativity a cornerstone of his socially, politically, and ecologically engaged work. He created Capri-Batterie during the last year of his life, while recovering from a lung illness on the Italian island of Capri. Beuys connected a lemon to a light socket, thus demonstrating that the typical Mediterranean fruit can power the attached yellow bulb and creating a metaphor for nature’s transformative and healing power. The work reveals Beuys’s interest in the circulation of energy and his concern with the commodification and consumption of nature in contemporary society.

Related Objects

Related Objects

No Image Available

Joseph Beuys

Lemon

Joseph Beuys

Capri-Batterie (Capri Battery)
No Image Available

Joseph Beuys

Box with lid
No Image Available

Joseph Beuys

Offset lithograph

More objects +

Use & Feedback

Image use

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This object is in copyright

Tombstone

Joseph Beuys (German, 1921-1986)
Capri-Batterie (Capri Battery), 1985
Light bulb with plug socket, screenprinted wooden box, offset lithograph on paper, lemon
8 x 16 x 6 cm (3 1/8 x 6 5/16 x 2 3/8 inches) (overall)
Gift of James Baker 2008.66

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Feedback

We view our online collection as a living documents, and our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you have additional information or have spotted an error, please send feedback to curatorial@risd.edu.

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