In 1961, Daniel Spoerri's The Shower was early to make the point that burgeoning prosperity had unseen origins. The 20th century shower head affixed to the 19th century landscape was also an early example of Pop Art or, as Spoerri calls it, Snare Art.“(O)bjects found in chance positions, in order or disorder (on tables, in boxes, drawers, etc.) are fixed (‘snared’) as they are. Only the plane is changed: since the result is called a picture, what was horizontal becomes vertical. Example: remains of a meal are fixed to the table at which the meal was consumed and the table hung on the wall." - Daniel Spoerri
The river is also a rich origin of common words: rivals are two groups living on the same river, to derive means to divert water from a river, to arrive means to come ashore after crossing a river.
In the hands of an artful practitioner like Spoerri, assemblage by any name is never a random creation. A shadow cast by the shower head falls on a spot above the mountain like an appraoching rain cloud. What looked like a cyclical process in 1961 looks a bit more doubtful in a new century.
The son of a Swiss mother (Lydia Spoerri) and a Romanian father (Isaac Feinstein) , Spoerri was born Daniel Isaac Feinstein in 1930. He made his first assemblage in 1960 in Paris. His work combines elements of the new realism with Dada and his best-known work is the book Anecdoted Topography of Chance ( English translation, 1966).
4 comments:
That's fascinating. Thanks for sharing!
My impression is that Spoerri is much better known in Europe. I stumbled on his work by accident when I was reading about Pop art in French. I hope to read his book soon.
I had NEVER seen this work of art before reading this post. And what a delight it is! Thank you.
Susanna, there are so many treasures in the Pompidou Collection that sometimes when you browse the collection online it freezes up.
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