Peter Hermann and Jürgen Schilling filmed Joseph Beuys in Düsseldorf in 1984, during the installation of the exhibition “Von hier aus – Zwei Monate neue deutsche Kunst in Düsseldorf”. While the artist talks to them about the works Economic Values and Fonds ½, the mounting of which is shown several times, he also reflects on the choice of the exhibition's title. Through this title, literally signifying “from this place”, Joseph Beuys is inviting us to take Germany's contribution to the field of contemporary art into consideration, but also its importance within the context of international political exchanges. He touches on his relationship to the German pictorial tradition in the course of the discussion, but also comments on German “new painting” and its audience in a critical way, to put it mildly.

Philippe Bettinelli,
Translated by Anna Knight