In the postmodern process, problems such as social and economic inequalities, political tensions, strict traditional rules of art institutions, and the disconnection between art and life have directed artists to alternative art forms. In the developing art environment after 1960, the perspective of art has changed and new forms of artistic expression such as Fluxus, Happening, and Performance Art have emerged. With these show-based activities, 'body' exists beyond the task of representing, but existed in the center of art formation. The concept of 'body' is used only as an artist, and the body of living and non-living animals, which is not limited to the audience, is used as artistic means of expression. Animals that have been frequently used in art in mythological, religious, psychological, symbolic and formal meanings from past to present have taken part in art performances with their bodies. The artist, who has an anthroposophical view, aimed to give complex massages to the audience by using animals suchas rabbits, horses and wolves with their symbolic meanings. In this research, the artistic and culturally opposing attitude of Fluxus, which is an avant garde art movement, which is one of the alternative art movements occurring in the visual arts in the postmodern period, and its performance art and fluxus performances were examined. The subject of the research is limited to the performances of Joseph Beuys using the animal body as art material. While the use of the animal body as a means of expression in art and the active role played by the animal body in conveying the message to the recipient, the importance of the study was discussed through the artist's performance examples. The general purpose of the research is to show the formation of new forms of interpretation in arts through animals. In the research, scanning method was used as data collection technique and written sources and images were used. In the light of the information obtained, attention was drawn to the existence of animals in the art environment and the symbolic meanings attributed to the animals. In this context, the social problems that the artist tackled through the case studies are underlined.
Keywords: performance art, fluxus, Joseph Beuys, shamanism, animal