Arriving in Japan on May 29, 1984, Joseph Beuys undertook an intensive program of activities in conjunction with the Joseph Beuys Exhibition at the Seibu Museum of Art. These included a joint press conference, the lecture “Art and Society” at Asahi Hall, discussions with students at Tokyo University of the Arts, the performance Two Pianos Performance with Nam June Paik at Sogetsu Hall, and a visit to the Koishikawa Botanical Gardens.
This exhibition was the first major retrospective of Beuys in Japan. Grounded in his well-known belief that “everyone is an artist,” it introduced not only his drawings, sculptures, Fluxus activities, and actions, but also his educational and political initiatives, including the Free International University and the German Green Party. Centered on his concept of “Social Sculpture,” which envisioned social transformation through art, the exhibition offered a comprehensive overview of the diverse range of his activities and ideas. A total of 133 works were exhibited, drawn primarily from the Ulbricht Collection.
The blackboard used in the performance Coyote III, held at Sogetsu Hall during Beuys’s visit to Japan, is now in the collection of the Sezon Museum of Modern Art.