Paris Refake Sieben Säulen / Paris Refake Seven Columns, 2016
7 sculptures (buckets covered with black tracing paper), Performance
dimensions variable, unique piece
“Franz West – Artistclub” curated by Harald Krejci, Belvedere 21, Vienna (AT)
Empty Buckets of glue stuck one on top of the other and covered with carbon paper are carried around by seven naked people until the leader gives the signal to stand still. The buckets are set down and shown just as they are. This procedure may be repeated as often as one wishes, but no modifications may be made once the buckets have been put down.
original text on the columns by Franz West, 1990 (archive Peter Packesch – Wien Museum)
Franz West’s performance with seven pillars was first shown in 1990 at the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris. It is closely related to Samuel Beckett’s 1956 drama „Endgame“, which is defined by the destructive interdependence of a servant and his master. On West’s instructions, seven art students carried sculptures made of empty glue buckets – modelled on Constantin Brancusi’s infinite column in terms of proportion and modular structure – through the room until the artist put an end to the action by giving a signal.
Richard Hoeck now takes up this performance in the sense of a fake – the mimetic imitation of another work of art which, in contrast to the fake itself, points to its counterfeit character – and develops seven fakes of West’s columns as a further consequence. As in the original performance, these are carried through the space by seven art students. At the end of the performance, the pillar fakes will remain in the exhibition on Heimo Zobernig’s „Nutzsockel“ („utility plinth“).
catalogue text, „Franz West – Artistclub“ 2016
