Page 35 - Studio International - December 1972

new teaching appointments, but nonetheless illustrates better its lack of perception of the Academy's council (i.e. among others, Beuys
many school-leavers have now been waiting very personal teacher-pupil relationship in art. himself). However, the breach of the peace is
two years to begin their studies in medicine, The Academy is not autonomous, as is the only a pretext. Beuys, with his nose for
pharmacy, psychology or architecture. The university. Its only written constitution dates relationships and connections, put his finger
numerus clausus has assumed nightmare from 1831, when it was under the direct control on the vital point. The real reason was given by
proportions and the State often has to compel of the local ruling prince; now it is directly Minister Rau at a press conference, when he said
professors, against their will, to take a set controlled by the Minister of Education. In 'Unrestricted admission — you can imagine
number of students, so that all available 1968 a crisis arose when the conservative what sort of a political slogan that would make!'
resources may be used to the full. element of the teaching staff, irritated by so Since many of Beuys's pupils want to become
In addition to all this there was the tension many pupils and the unrest in the hallowed art teachers, 'subsidiary teaching chairs would
of the election atmosphere: nervousness on the halls, expressed their distrust of Beuys as a have to be set up' — in art history, the theory
part of the SPD, which, after the terrorist acts colleague and asked the Ministry to dismiss him. of art education and practical art teaching, for
of the Baader-Meinhof group and the In view of the excitement in the press this did instance. Instead of.this six teachers are to split
Palestinians, is accused by its opponents of not seem advisable to the Minister but, Beuys's 300 or so pupils between them while the
being unable to maintain law and order; instead of giving Beuys the civil servant's Ministry contacts well-known artists on every
nervousness on the part of ministers of security of tenure that the other professors had, hand and reaps a crop of refusals. That, too, is
education in the Ldnder, now that the Federal he gave him a contract of employment for a significant: in the creative field of art an
Constitutional Court, the highest judicial stipulated period, renewable subject to good exponent is not so easy to replace as he is in the
authority in the land, has ruled that the behaviour. In 1969 Beuys put his classroom at scientific fields of sociology or Romance
numerus clausus breaks the fundamental law the disposal of a student function, 'The languages — or as he is in nearly all posts in
that guarantees unrestricted education. The Opening of the Academy', whereupon the government and industry.
Länder have only a short time left in which to Academy was cleared by the police, closed by 'No substitute for Beuys' was therefore the
solve the problem — and the Minister of the Ministry and reopened by court order. banner at the head of two student
Education of Nordrhein-Westfalen is an SPD After these two crises the Minister demonstrations. Many student organizations
man. responsible, Johannes Rau, encouraged the (and a few staff organizations) showed
In this landslide of umpteen thousand Academy towards self-regulating autonomy. solidarity with a professor who had broken a
students the Düsseldorf Academy (and other The weak progressive majority and the strong lance on behalf of his students and against
art schools) was completely neglected, indeed conservative minority among the staff were not, the numerus clausus. But what was surprising
almost forgotten. The Academy was conceived however, able to agree on a new constitution. was the support among the general population
to handle 300 students, but in recent years Nonetheless, decisions taken in conference for an avant-garde artist; also nearly all
the number involved has risen by leaps and became unwritten laws — the admission of well-known German writers protested, among
bounds to 1,118. The Academy's proposals for student representatives to conference them the new Nobel prizewinner Heinrich Boll,
new accommodation and increased staff were sessions, election of a triumvirate of directors as did theatrical people, political journalists, and
largely disregarded, despite the fact that (one professor, one lecturer, one student) even musicians and scientists (who are
particular buildings (which were empty at the and the effective scrapping of the numerus notoriously apolitical). More disquieting for the
time) and the names of particular people (who clausus by allowing each teacher to decide for SPD government than the internal unrest
were ready to teach) were put up to the himself how many students he would take or among intellectuals were the protests from
Ministry. The budget for teaching equipment refuse. And Rau wrote to Beuys that he had to international figures.
is so small that Beuys's class, for instance, has adhere to these conference decisions. Those who were silent should not be passed
an annual budget of DM 500, or DM 1.50 per Beuys and some of his colleagues did away over: all German art colleges, all
pupil — and this for a plastic arts class! In this with the process of assessing a potential student Düsseldorf art institutes and the majority
'empty potato-storage cellar' a hammer and by 'looking through his portfolio'. There are no of German artists with only a few exceptions.
nails are terribly hard to come by, and the quickly recognizable criteria for lack of talent, so In recent months progressive theatrical
students must buy their own modelling clay, Beuys takes for two trial semesters anyone producers and provocative directors in radio and
not to mention tables, lamps and chairs. who is willing to learn; at the end of that period television have been dismissed, autonomous
More than half of the Academy's students he discharges those 'who have done nothing'. university administrations suspended and the
will go on to become art teachers in schools, Obsessed by justice and in the name of the appointment of left-wing professors stopped.
and so must also study theoretical subjects: fundamental law (unrestricted education for Divide and rule — the tactic of exploiting
for the whole student body there is only one all) he now takes on not only the students who rivalries to impede the formation of a common
lecturer in the history of art, one in educational have applied to him but also those turned down front of political interest — has so far been
theory, and none in didactics. A number of by his colleagues. With seventeen such understood by artists less than anybody.
fully-approved Chairs are unfilled, and there probationers he occupied the Academy The personal and special aspects of these
are no assistant lecturers or tutors at all. The secretariat last year in order to get books for occurrences receive a certain amount of
expansion plans and budget increase proposed these 17 step-children to study — and got them. publicity, but the circles affected can discern the
by the Ministry remain on paper; according This year Beuys appeared in the secretariat general trend of the whole process. For
to the spokesman of the students' union, 'We with 54 rejected applicants, but had to yield intellectuals the Beuys case is not only an
have seen no new personnel and have received to the police after a day and a night. He was indication of this trend in the field of art but also,
no new funds'. dismissed without notice and, since he rejected because of the fame of the man involved, offers a
Moreover, traditional professors of art limit the dismissal and carried on teaching, a few possibility of putting a stop to the trend — hence
themselves to quite a small number of pupils, days later he was forbidden to teach in the the fight for Beuys's reinstatement. Hence, too,
many having only five or six and taking on Academy. Since then he has been giving the importance of international protests, for
no others, so that new candidates can only correction on the steps outside. the Beuys case has become an example, a
turn to a very few professors, one of whom is During the occupation he was warned three banner of freedom in teaching.
Beuys. All this, it transpires from the recent times, in legally correct form, about creating a GEORG JAPPE
brouhaha, was unknown to the Ministry. The breach of the peace — but so far legal opinion is
bureaucracy expected a uniform class-size of 30 divided as to whether, in the Academy, the
students per artist/professor — nothing 'master of the house' is the Minister or the