Fischli/Weiss (1979−2012)

The Zurich artist duo Peter Fischli (b. 1952) and David Weiss (1946–2012) made their international breakthrough in the late 1980s with a clever system of cause and effect. In the short film Der Lauf der Dinge (“The Way Things Go”, 1987), the camera follows a setup that perpetuates motion via physical and chemical chain reactions: the angular momentum of a suspended garbage bag turns into a rolling tyre, a sliding table and a liquid that ignites. The playful, heuristic interaction of the objects and states made the work a magnet for visitors when it was shown at documenta 8 (1987).

The motivation for Der Lauf der Dinge was nevertheless born out of earlier photographic works from the series Stiller Nachmittag (“Quiet Afternoon”, 1984/85), namely the so-called Equilibres (“Equilibriums”): extremely precarious balancing acts involving everyday items such as chairs, jugs and ladders or fruit and vegetables. These elements were placed on top of and inside each other in a sculptural equilibrium achieved with the aid of the forces of compression, thrust and traction. The fragility of these assemblages varied and was pushed to the limit until everything fell apart. These collapses inspired the artists to harness the energy thereby released, “to train the objects, to tell them how they ought to behave” – whereupon they made Der Lauf der Dinge. […]

Source: Kunst Heute. Die Sammlung Gegenwartskunst Teil 3 / The Collection of Contemporary Art Part 3, Ed. Kunstmuseum Bern / Kathleen Bühler, Bielefeld: Kerber Verlag, 2014, p. 110f. (author: Gabriel Flückiger)