David Weiss

David Weiss – Artistic breakthrough at Documenta

David Weiss was born in Zurich on 21 June 1946. He attended the foundation course at the Decorative Arts School in Zurich from 1963 to 1964 and graduated in sculpture at the Decorative Arts School in Basel. Between 1970 and 1979 Weiss wrote several books in collaboration with fellow artist Urs Lüthi, and was able to present his sculptural works in various European galleries from 1976 to 1979. His artistic breakthrough and great success, however, only came after starting collaboration with Peter Fischli. In 1979, the Swiss artists began their long-term alliance with the project Wurstserie, which comprised ten photographs of carefully arranged sausages and sausage slices. The early works interested and amused audiences, but the big breakthrough came in 1987 with their participation at Documenta 8 in Kassel: The humorous film Der Lauf der Dinge broke the boundaries of the art fair and caused a sensation far and wide. 

Der Lauf der Dinge set international standards

David Weiss and Peter Fischli filmed their most famous work with the cameraman Pio Corradi. In just under half an hour, the 16mm colour film showed a Rube Goldberg machine conceived by the artists themselves – a completely nonsensical apparatus without meaning or purpose – which illustrated basic chemical and physical principles as a never-ending cascade of mechanical triggers and devices, and thrilled an international audience. The British newspaper The Independent credited the cinematic experiment with a degree of suspense similar to that of an Alfred Hitchcock thriller. Der Lauf der Dinge signalled the starting point for a comprehensive exhibition phase for the duo Daivd Weiss and Peter Fischli, with over 300 presentations documented worldwide. Today the film is part of the collection of the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris and can be seen as a permanent exhibit at the Museum of Modern art in New York and Museum Wiesbaden. 

Questions on the deeper purpose of futility

David Weiss and Peter Fischli inspired numerous imitators with their subversive visual language, particularly in the advertising industry. Whilst their ready-mades appeared to be made of everyday objects, they were actually replicas made of synthetic resin – none of that which was visible in Weiss and Fischli’s world had ever possessed any true functionality. Everything revolved around the composition and the punch line. Peter Fischli and David Weiss’ collaboration earned them prizes and awards, including the Golden Lion for their contribution at the Biennale 2003. For this, the artists had projected hundreds of seemingly meaningless questions onto the wall in rapid succession without offering a single answer: Why does nothing ever happen? Does the dog bark all night? Are my juices correct? 

David Weiss died of cancer on 27 April 2012 in his hometown of Zurich.