Burning Hat (from "For Joseph Beuys")
Color serigraph on Rives laid paper, black
numbered (signature was in the bottom right corner - unfortunately no longer available)
This work is number 54 from an edition of 90 copies published jointly by Bernd Klüser, Munich, and Edition Schellmann, Munich and New York, in commemoration of the death of Joseph Beuys.
Year: 1986
formerly hand-signed
Size: 60 x 80 cm
Condition: Image in good condition, several tears, significant paper loss (see photos); but still beautiful to look at!
Nam June Paik created this silkscreen edition as part of the group portfolio “For Joseph Beuys” as a tribute to the influential German artist and Fluxus colleague.
The print, in bright red and orange tones, depicts a fedora-style hat—Beuys' iconic trademark—ablaze.
The image oscillates between homage and transformation and symbolizes Beuys' radical legacy and his mythologized personality.
With characteristic wit and symbolism, Paik transforms the burning hat into a visual metaphor: for transference, sacrifice, memory, and creative energy.
The work reflects the close connection between the two artists, who were both dedicated to performance, education, and the merging of art and life. Burning Hat becomes a poetic, visual eulogy—at once personal and universal.
