(Timed trial)

Discuss the similarities and differences between the works of Joseph Beuys and Montien Boonma. You may cite examples for your answer. [10]

The relationship of the two artists, Montien Boonma and Joseph Beuys, is that Montien Boonma looked to Joseph Beuys as an inspiration for his art.

One of the similarities that both artists possess is the emphasis of material in their artworks. Boonma, whose works deal largely with Buddhism and its ideals, used materials in relevance to their abstract symbolism. Soil and earth pigments are just two examples of perishable materials that often appear in his works. For example, in “Soil Pagoda with Ten Panels” (1989), he mixed brown earth pigments with latex glue and stuck them on pieces of paper to make the shapes of pagodas. In “Black Stupa” (1989), he also involved the use of soil and ash, mixed with rice glue and pasted on five panels. The intended use of perishable materials was a symbolic choice in itself as it represented the impermanence of tradition in the modern era.

Similarly, Joseph Beus has himself revealed that he works not with symbols but materials. He used found objects, food, metallic elements and others such as his signature materials: fat and felt. These choices were made purposefully, carrying symbolic quality in relation to his works. Like Boonma, he used food (like fats) as it not only represents nourishment, but also transformation as food is susceptible to decay. An example of such a work is “Fat Chair” (1964), where fat was chosen because of its function as a life-sustaining substance.

Both Montien Boonma and Joseph Beuys were similar in their emphasis on the choice of material in their artworks with material acting with symbolic value. However, in this there are also differences in choice of material – Boonma picked materials in reference to Buudhism and Beuys for personal symbolism. For example, in “Temple of the Mind: Sala for the Mind” (1995), he constructed stupas with flimsy and impermanent stacked boxes with herbs and bells. Sure enough, these were objects directly linked to healing (medicinal herbs) and peaceful meditation (bells), and were used to represent a sacred space for pilgrims to rest and engage in contemplation. It is evident that Boonma’s works were closely linked to Buddhism and its concepts of contemplation and healing. As for Beuys, his choice of materials reflects his personal life and his past. Referring back to his signature materials fat and felt, these were themselves inspired by his plane crash in 1943 where after crashing in Crimea, Beuys had been discovered in deep snow by a group of nomadic Tatars who treated his wounds with animal fat and wrapped him in felt to keep him warm. Thus the way he reveres these materials and his choice of using them as ‘warmth’ for his later sculptural works reveals the significant influence that his personal life has had on his perception of the function of his materials.

The emphasis on material in both Montien Boonma’s and Joseph Beuys’ works proves to be a reference point for both their similarities and differences. Both use materials as symbols, but Boonma’s artworks touch on the universal values of Buddhism while Beuys’ choice of materials reflect his own personal perceptions and values in life.