Franz West & Otto Zitko "Franz West & Otto Zitko"

‘The white plaster objects on white pedestals are the epitome of a traditional art display. The whiteness emphasises the unassailable quality , and the pedestals place the objects at eye level as well as creating a sense of distance from the viewer. They are artifacts in the classic sense, but with peculiar protrusions, bearing no resemblance to familiar kinds of sculpture. Only their 'pose' is traditional. Arranged between the pedestals, there are beds and chairs, clearly made by the artist from sloppily welded metal; even the soft-looking cushion forms are made from this. The viewer is Invited to sit, lie down or adopt some other specific posture. A videotape shows various personalities from the art world grasping the objects and holding them against their bodies. One piece is held like a guitar , another is placed on the head like a hat, and yet another is moved back and forth. The objects are Körperpaszstücke (body-fitting pieces) which Franz West made during the Seventies and which were used in performance-like gatherings by West's friends and members of the public. Recently West made some new 'Paszstücke' for his show in the Austrian pavilion at the Venice Biennale, and he invited his public to get physically involved with his sculpture again, for the first time in many years. In offering his public an illusory freedom, Franz West is act1,1ally a manipulator. Whether or not you are seated on a piece of West's non-furniture, the posture you have to adopt in order to hold one of the pieces of sculpture is an artificial one, forced on you unawares by the object itself. The object is irritating because it orders you to 'sit!' or 'lie down!'. For West, the objects are primarily signs derived from a 'Nachsprachliche Zeit'(a post-language era) which have come about as a result of his reading: 'Ich zeige Euch meine Vorstellung einer imaginäre Gestaltpsychologie (I show you my idea of an imaginary gestalt psychology)' he wrote. Each new place where Franz West shows his work provides him with an occasion to transform the work, or at least to change the way in which it is presented. For his show at De Appel he has invited the Viennese painter Otto Zitko to make murals. Zitko, who like West lives in Vienna, has taken part in various group exhibitions since the early Eighties including shows in Cologne, Ghent and Venice. His paintings and drawings are made with energetic. expressive gestures, and evoke an intensely physical response.’ (Invitation text by Saskia Bos) Catalogue: Franz West & Otto Zitko, 1990. Text Saskia Bos, Elisabeth Schlebrügge. Dutch & English. 32 pp. 10 f.c. 12 b.w. 22 x 28 cm. Soft cover. Design Irma Boom. ISBN 90 73501 05 9. SOLD OUT