The Orwell Leg
ADDPMP739
The Orwell Leg—Trousers for the 21st Century is an installation of six pairs of denim jeans with circular holes cut into the knees by German artist Joseph Beuys (1921–1986), named after the dystopian social science fiction novel 1984 written by the English writer George Orwell.
On New Year’s Eve 1983, Joseph Beuys and his daughter Jessica wore a pair of jeans with two round holes in the right and left hollows of the knees during the performance Good Morning, Mr Orwell organised by Korean American artist Nam June Paik at the Centre George Pompidou in Paris, France, in 1984.
In Beuys’ opinion, the holes in random places in the Orwell jeans symbolised free creativity. He said that he would wish for everyone in the world to cut holes into their pants to make a statement against the materialistically-driven society of that time.













































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































