Collage franz west1/17/2024 I maintain that this is how it would look if you could see neuroses’, Franz West once remarked. ‘It is actually supposed to be a depiction of neuroses. According to West’s conception, subconscious conflicts and annoyances are thus conveyed by the ‘adaptives’. At the artist’s request, the visitors are permitted to handle the ‘adaptives’ - such as Ion (2010), a work now on view at the MMK - and ‘adapt’ them to their own bodies. The three-dimensional, usually neutral white shapes are often vaguely reminiscent of commonplace objects, which can be worn on the body in everyday life, for example articles of clothing, jewellery or handbags, while others are completely abstract. They were formed from plaster and polyester and have an inner - often invisible - core which can be a random object. Franz West’s so-called ‘adaptives’ constitute a key element of his sculptural work. ‘The constant questioning of his own role, the continual recombination of his own works, and self-mockery are among his unmistakable trademarks’, says Görner. With his highly individual approach, Franz West broke through the traditional distinction between work, artist and viewer and dissolved the monumental idealisation of artistic works. At the same time, the artistic issues he pursued derived from philosophical reflections touching on epistemological themes: How do I experience the world and what can be said about it’ - and ultimately: What role does art play, and what, indeed, is art’ Deliberately rejecting this ‘sensation art’ (West), he embarked on his artistic oeuvre with drawings, gouaches and objects characterised by an emphatic lack of pathos and spiced with a good pinch of humour. In the Vienna of the seventies, the art scene was dominated by the after-effects of Viennese Actionism and its excessive use of the body with the aim of breaking taboos in a shocking manner. He not only undertook in-depth studies of Sigmund Freund’s theories of psychoanalysis and Ludwig Wittgenstein’s linguistic philosophy, but also acquainted himself with the artistic avant-garde of his own time. West began his artistic career as an autodidact in 1970s Vienna. ‘New forms for handling his works have to be developed - forms which, after the death of Franz West, do justice to his participatory concept of the artwork while at the same time protecting the actual material’, explains exhibition curator Klaus Görner. For reasons of conservation, however, many of the works originally intended for use may no longer be touched by exhibition visitors today. The recipient is no longer limited to the role of the beholder but becomes part of the work: Some of West’s so-called ‘adaptives’ and furniture can be used, touched and occupied as a sitting surface. Owing to its participatory nature, his art contrasts with traditional concepts of the artwork. As a player on the international art stage he developed a highly independent and innovative stance on these matters. Pieces dating from his Frankfurt period - some executed in cooperation with local artists - are among the highlights of our exhibition.įranz West’s oeuvre is based on a fundamental examination of the relationship between the artwork and its recipient as well as the role of the artist at the end of the twentieth century. The MMK has in its collection a number of outstanding works by Franz West. A further important show followed in the late 1980s at the Portikus, and from 1992 to 1993 West held a professorship at the Frankfurt Städelschule. It was in Frankfurt am Main that, in 1979, Franz West had his first exhibition outside Austria, staged by artist and gallery owner Jürgen Wegner in his Gallery ‘forme’. The artist initiated the exhibition himself and was enthusiastically involved in its development, ‘Franz West had close ties to Frankfurt for many years, and we are accordingly very pleased about the fact that - following its first presentation in Vienna - this comprehensive exhibition will be featured in the second city of significance for this artist’s oeuvre’, comments MMK director Susanne Gaensheimer. Carried out in cooperation with the mumok Museum moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig in Vienna, the presentation is the first since West’s death to feature a large number of his sculptures, collages and large-scale room installations. The MMK is paying tribute to one of Austria’s most famous contemporary artists - Franz West (1947-2012) - by staging a major survey of his oeuvre. MMK Museum für Moderne Kunst, Domstraße 10, 60311, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
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