Joseph Beuys studied Sculpture at the Düsseldorf Art Academy. Beuys' oeuvre includes various artistic media. The artist's declared goal was to create a unity of art and life. He repeatedly participated in the documenta and the Venice Biennale. In 1979/80 the Guggenheim Museum in New York hosted a comprehensive retrospective of his work. The artist won international recognition especially for his long-term happening of planting a total of 7000 oak trees, which he began at the opening ceremony of the 1982 documenta.