Joseph Beuys (1921-1986)

'...one can express an idea by painting a simple watercolour of an olive leaf. Of course one cannot represent such an idea in pictorial form; but by getting close to such an idea, let us say, the olive leaf or sunbeam, or a small bit of gravel on the path appear in a quite different light. So I would never relinquish the desire to portray such simple things just because I supposedly have a grand idea. On the contrary, the great ideas in art often manifest in very humble form, through a small area of colour, or through a green tone around a certain small form, or for instance through such an olive leaf' (J. Beuys, quoted in 'Conversation with Joseph Beuys: What is art?', V. Harlan (ed.), Joseph Beuys: What is Art?, Forest Row 2004, p. 14).