Joseph Beuys
Capri Battery, 1985

Artist
Joseph Beuys

Title
Capri Battery

Year of creation
1985

Technology and dimensions
bulb with socket in wooden box, edition of 200

Year of acquisition
2009

Acquisition of the foundation

“Joseph Beuys, Capri battery, replace after 1000 hours” is the inscription on the wooden box of the multiple created in 1985. Looking at the work, it appears to be an actual electrical circuit between the light bulb and the lemon, so that the lamp burns permanently.
Through the written addition on the wooden box in which the original work rests, Beuys emphasizes both the transience and finite nature of a natural energy source; The “natural” lemon serves as a symbol of this in this context. The work “The Capri Battery” stands as a metaphor for the fragile, ecological balance of modern society. Our environment is subject to a constant threat from depleted energy sources - due, among other things, to limited resources. The artist's typical social-critical tone, as well as the concept of “transporting ideas” - the actual meaning of the multiple - are particularly evident here.

The prototype of the work was created in 1985 during the artist's convalescent stay in Italy (Naples and Capri). The gallery owner Lucio Amelio, with whom Beuys was friends, had the work produced in an edition of 200 pieces that same year and presented it in his gallery. This series of multiples was to be one of his last before Beuys succumbed to his long-term illness in Düsseldorf in 1986.