2007.43.52, Peter Fischli and David Weiss, suite of 82 prints, 1984-1986

 

In the Equilibres series Peter Fischli and David Weiss cast everyday objects as players in a succession of elaborate, dynamic, and sometimes humorous scenes. Each object, many on the verge of collapse, is depicted in a fleeting moment of precarious balance. Though the choice of images at first appears haphazard and whimsical, the sheer number of works in the series forces us to consider a more serious motivation behind this project. Taken together, the photographs suggest systematic research into notions of chance and impermanence. In 1987, the artists developed the Equilibres series into the film The Way Things Go, which documents a perfect Rube Goldberg-like series of chain reactions that cause everyday objects to crash, burn, and soar into one another.

Anna Katherine Brodbeck, ed., TWO X TWO X TWENTY: Two Decades Supporting Contemporary Art at the Dallas Museum of Art (Dallas: Dallas Museum of Art), 2018, 102-107.

Until 2007: Galerie Eva Presenhuber, Zürich, Switzerland [1]

From 2007: Dallas Museum of Art, The Rachofsky Collection, The Rose Collection, Alden Pinnell, and Catherine and Will Rose, purchased from above

[1] See invoice and certificate of authenticity in Collections Records Object File 20017.43-82 (1/2)

Apply to objects where number equals 2007.43.52