Those guys fascinate me. Tell me more about the meeting!
M
Here's an interesting statement of theirs referring to the film that I
took from someplace a while ago (I forget where):
βAn unambiguously CORRECT result of experiments exists; this is
obtained when it works, when this construction collapses. Then again,
there is a BEAUTIFUL which ranks above the CORRECT; this is obtained
when it's a close shave or the construction collapses the way we want
it to β slowly and intricately, that is, a beautiful collapse. The
aesthetic layer on top of a function is like the butter on a sandwich β
rather thin and smooth. The wrong result is obtained when things get
going of their own accord, and the wrong result is obtained when they
don't get going at all. The CORRECT range (which in terms of moral
theology might also be called GOOD) is, in our view, incredibly narrow.
Similarly, GOOD and EVIL are often very close, for example when the
candle on the swing sets fire to the detonating fuse. Because they are
nice and childish, the candle and the swing tend towards the good,
whereas the detonating fuse is evil because you don't need it for
harmless things. On the other hand, every object in our installation is
good if it functions, because it then liberates its successor, gives it
the chance of development. Not destructive in that sense.'
Fischli/Weiss
On Jul 21, 2005, at 4:06 PM, Lanny Quarles wrote:
If you haven't ever seen Fischli and Weiss' 1987 film
"The Way Things Go" I highly recommend it. I had the pleasure of
meeting
them once. It was in Dallas, They're Swiss, and they kept asking us if
we could take them
to buy cowboy hats and boots. The film is available (ulp) at amazon
for about 13 bucks.
One of the best actor free films you'll ever see. Film as Sculpture,
Sculpture as
Film.
or here's a clip:
http://www.tcfilm.ch/pop_lauf1e.htm