This article examines the context in which Joseph Beuys’s work Wirtschaftswerte was created over time by researching the method of production, the meaning of the foodstuffs, and the techniques that the artist used. Draw¬ing on the development of new conservation strategies of modern and contemporary art, where the focal point has shifted from mate¬rial to immaterial aspects, and by introduc¬ing food-preservation techniques into the decision-making process, the article presents the concept of a material and conceptual conservation strategy for ephemeral works of art. The aim of this essay is to reexamine the strategies and methods of traditional art conservation in the light of new strategies that have been used for temporary works of art, and to present a methodology that offers a framework to manage the specific prob¬lems linked to the conservation of ephemeral works of art
