The Shelf as a Mirror of Society

What can people buy for their daily needs, and how much? With a work of art exploring everyday choices and behavior, Joseph Beuys found a simple yet powerful reflection of human societies: the shelf. His installation Wirtschaftswerte (Economic Values) (1980) consists of typical GDR foodstuffs on sparsely stocked iron shelves, serving as a counterpoint to the oversupply found in Western, capitalist supermarkets. Placed around the shelf are 19th-century paintings; next to them stands a plaster block whose chipped corners have been repaired with butter—raising questions about the values of prosperity and the meaning of systems of order. A critique of the throwaway society and rigid thinking. The work was first shown in 1980 in the legendary exhibition Kunst in Europa na ’68 at the Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst and is now the centerpiece of a new exhibition at the museum: Joseph Beuys | Wirtschaftswerte: a conservation history runs from June 27 to September 13 in Ghent.

Unlike at the time the work was created, when the GDR and the FRG still existed side by side, the current exhibition focuses on conservation and restoration: Wirtschaftswerte is one of the most renowned works of art in the S.M.A.K. collection. The conservation of perishable components, such as butter, poses an enormous challenge. The exhibition highlights decades of work and conservation research that has developed various strategies. At the same time, it raises relevant questions that are becoming increasingly important in contemporary art due to the wider range of materials used: How does a museum handle food, discolored packaging, or other perishable everyday objects that have become part of a work of art? The S.M.A.K. offers interesting insights into historical and current measures and methods.

Visitors to the exhibition between September 8 and 11 may wish to attend the thematically related 31st IIC Conference (The International Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works), which is also taking place in Ghent.