Peter Fischli and David
Weiss:
(Artist from chapter
4 of “The Photograph as Contemporary Art”)
Peter Fischli
and David Weiss were an artist duo who had been collaborating work ever since
1979. They were from Switzerland and were very well known for their
contemporary work as photographers in particular. Their most famous work was in
a film called “The Way Things Go”; their
work in this film was described as being “post-apocalyptic”. Their work in this
film was all about objects flying and crashes and explosions. Fischli is still alive;
he lives and works in Zurich. Weiss died on the 27th of April in
2012.
Fischli studied
at Accademia di Belle Arti, Urbino and the Accademia di Belle Arti, Bologna.
Weiss, after discovering that he didn’t enjoy any type of design and decorating
degree, he enrolled in Kunstgewerbeschule in Basel and for a while worked as a
sculptor. He then moved to New York and this is where he discovered minimalist
art. Fischli and Weiss met in 1978. They were in a rock band called Migros for
a very short time. Their first collaborated work was called “Wurstserie”(“sausage series”, 1979).
This work depicted scenes constructed with different types of meat, sausages and
everyday objects.
Fischli and
Weiss’s work was described as being ironic and humorous. Their work seemed like
it was influenced by Marcel Duchamp, Dieter Roth and Jean Tinguey. Fischli/Weiss’s
work was described as being “parody bearing”. They used photography, film,
sculptures from different materials and installations. They took objects from
everyday life and arranged them into art pieces in a humorous and ironic
manner.
“Wurstserie” was a very interesting piece of
Fischli/Weiss. They created normal and ordinary scenes which no longer appeared
ordinary as they created these scenes with sausages and meat. They created
scenes in the city with buildings made out of cardboard boxes, cars made out of
mini sausages (that have been cut to resemble cars) and sliced gherkins to
resemble sidewalks. Another part to this piece shows people that have been made
out of sausages and thinly sliced meat. One that caught my attention in
particular is of one sausage that is stooped over with a thin piece of ham
wrapped around it. To me it looks like an old man with a shawl around his
shoulders. This is so original and very clever as the items of meat really do
resemble what they are intended to look like (i.e. cars, people and shawls).
In a point in
their work Fischli and Weiss experimented a lot with balancing daily objects
and making them into art pieces. My favourite of these “balancing works” is “Equilibres – quiet afternoon”. This was a
series of balancing objects that Fischli and Weiss photographed. They are
arranged in very precarious positions and in very Avant-Garde ways. Dull, mundane
backgrounds were used as shadows could be cast on them and they were fully
visible in the photograph. Fischli/Weiss used harsh shadows behind their objects,
but this created another dimension to their works. My favourite photograph out
of the series is of 5 shoes that are interlocked and are balancing in that
position. It’s so dynamic and geometric.
These contemporary artists who create art works using everyday objects
intrigue me anyway, so Fischli and Weiss’s work intrigues me to no end! They
take these daily objects and not only create an art work, but they position
them in such a way that their works can never just be glanced over. Their work
is extremely attention grabbing, dynamic and original.
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“Equilibres – quiet afternoon”.
“Wurstserie”
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