Peter Fischli
Born 1952 in Zurich, Switzerland, residing also in Zurich
David Weiss
Born 1946 in Zurich, Switzerland, died 2012 in Zurich
Since 1979, Peter Fischli and David Weiss had been inseparable partners. They have shown that art can be made from anything, even from salami and sausages. For example, you can carve automobiles, make a carpet shop from slices of salami, or put on a fashion show with ordinary sausages. Later, you only need to photograph everything and call it “Wurstserie” (The Sausage Photographs). However, these two artists entered the history of modern art in 1987 when they shot their now legendary film “Der Lauf der Dinge” (The Way Things Go). In a film lasting only eight minutes, the camera follows a chain reaction: a plastic bag with trash starts to move a standing tyre underneath it. This hits a platform containing a tray with chemicals, and that spills into a bottle, which falls over and starts a fire … Flames, explosions, smoke, toppled chairs – the audience watches with fascination the unusual devices of these two handymen. Their film became a popular work of art in 1983 during Document 8 in Kassel, Germany.
Humour is an effective tool for their other work as well, for example, in “Plötzlich diese Übersicht” (Suddenly This Overview) from 1981: we see 60 small sculptures made of modelling clay on white pedestals, for example, two guitarists crossing the street, a woman and man lying beside each other on a bed – simple, almost boring scenes. However, the descriptions make them immediately interesting: “Mick Jagger and Brian Jones going home satisfied after composing ‘I can’t get no satisfaction’” or “Mrs Einstein and Mr Einstein after conceiving their genius son Albert”.
However humorous Fischli and Weiss’ acts might seem, there is always a deeper layer of meaning underneath. This is clearly evident in their films. Dressed as bears and rats, they walk through Hollywood or the Swiss Alps carrying on serious or even philosophical conversations. When in 2003, these two artists represented Switzerland at the Venice Biennale, they projected on the wall handwritten questions documenting the absurdity of human existence: “Why doesn’t anything ever happen?” or “Do thoughts create themselves?”.
Their theme is humour that discloses the absurdity of everyday life, as well as beauty, however absurd the notion of beauty is in today’s world. Perhaps they discover it in photographs from fashion magazines and advertisements that Fischli and Weiss organize into endless rows in an aesthetic manner, or photographs of flowers wallpapering whole rooms with them as far as the eyes can see.
Text by Noemi Smolik
