If you haven't heard of Fischli and Weiss and/or recently been to the Guggenheim Museum, then you should. Swiss artists Peter Fischli (b. 1952) and David Weiss (1946-2012) were a formidable creative duo during their 33-year collaboration. They were able to embrace and then parody art history, such as debunking the trope of the Readymade and focusing on the everyday experiences of consumer culture that the Pop artists made famous. The dichotomies of high and low art as well as the sublime and banal reveal a fierce tension in the artists' oeuvre. This wonderful exhibition at the Guggenheim, New York features 300 sculptures, photographs, videos, and installations that reveal the intense intimacy and inventiveness shared between these two men. The exhibition is arranged in no particular order, chronologically or otherwise. Free association opens the work up for discussion, revealing the continuous collaboration these men had, like Picasso and Braque, strapped together as two mountaineers.
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Photo Courtesy of Cherise Klebanov
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Suddenly This Overview (1981- ) uses comical clay sculptures to chronicle a selective history of the world. There is an homage to art history, psychoanalytic theory, literature, metaphysics, mathematics, folk culture, economics, etc. that cleverly and simply reveal a moment in time by means of a piece of clay and a title.
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Photo Courtesy of Cherise Klebanov
(Title: Jacques Lacan at the Age of Two Recognizes His Image for the First Time in the Mirror)
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My personal favorite is a masked James Ensor en route to a costume ball.
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Photo Courtesy of Cherise Klebanov
(Title: James Ensor on the Way to a Costume Ball) |
The
Sausage Series (1979) was Weiss and Fischli's first project. The ten color photographs feature narrative scenes of household objects, brought to life in an anthropomorphic way. One could imagine Tom Wesselmann getting sausage envy...
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Photo Courtesy of Cherise Klebanov
(Title: Fashion Show) |
In the late 80s, Fischli and Weiss came up with a series based on airports, not the act of traveling, but rather the anticipatory moments before the flight. Banal imagery of hangars, runways, airport lounges become atmospheric and scenic. To accompany the
Airport series were
Cars (1988)
and
Hostesses (1988-2012). The monochromatic white sculptures are anonymous, like paper doll cut-outs. The cars have a menacingly phantom-like quality.
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Photos Courtesy of Cherise Klebanov
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Weiss and Fischli transform monotony into a marvel. The light installation of thoughtful and inane questions written in English, German, Japanese, and other languages sheds light on the fragility of human existence. Serving as a modern day, "To be or not to be," questioning one's place in the world reminds us of those universal longings and desires.
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Photos Courtesy of Cherise Klebanov
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Finally, the duo created a sculptural installation that would addle the brains of Marcel Duchamp and Jasper Johns with the lengths of creating a "Readymade."
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Photo Courtesy of Cherise Klebanov
(That's right; all 750 pieces of the table are painted polyurethane to create replicas of the original object) |
Labor, whimsy, process, frivolity, intellectualism, universalism, high art, low art, would be apt words to use for Peter Fischli and David Weiss: How to Work Better at the Guggenheim. The show runs until April 27, 2016 and should absolutely not be missed. Pay special attention to the fantastic videos, The Way Things Go (1987), where in a domino-like effect, balancing acts and chemical reactions reveal balletic precision of setting off a chain reaction of absurdity. Fischli and Weiss bring a healthy dose of youthfulness to their work by sweeping away the spiders of art history as well as turning pyromania into an art form.
The attendees were most interesting as well...
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Photo Courtesy of Cherise Klebanov
(Fischli and Weiss enthusiast in full regalia, wearing an animal print onesie) |
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