Bergkönig (Tunnel) 2 Planeten, 1958 – 1961 (casting 1971)

About the Work

The powerful torso, hollowed out like a tunnel, has the archetypal aura of an ancient relic. Time and weathering have left their mark on its surface. The body is like a landscape with jagged mountains and deep valleys. There is a cone-like element reminiscent of a head. ‘Bergkönig’ suggests the dualism of man and nature. Joseph Beuys conceived of the head as the seat of rational thought, which must be complemented by an opposite pole: nature, as a locus for mythology and intuition.