![]() ![]() He worked briefly under the mentorship of Austrian artist Bruno Gironcoli. In 1971, he took her maiden name West as his surname.Īs a self-taught artist, West picked up ideas from those around him. West referred to his first drawings as ‘Mutterkunst’ (mother art): art made to please his mother. She was a dentist from a middle-class Jewish family who often surrounded herself with artists. ![]() West’s mother Emilie played an important role for him. He got arrested twice and was regarded as an outsider. He spent days and nights in Viennese coffee houses and bars drinking heavily and experimenting with drugs. ![]() In the late 1960s West began making art, though for many years he was not taken very seriously. She has designed the pedestals, walls and barriers in this show – an example of how West remains so important for artists today. British artist Sarah Lucas was a friend of West’s, and they collaborated on several occasions. So did the leisurely atmosphere of coffee houses and the legacy of psychoanalysis as conceived by Sigmund Freud, including the idea of reclining and talking. The work of philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein and Viennese experimental literature attracted him. West lived in Vienna and was very connected to its culture. In his work he often used materials associated with the kindergarten like papier mâché, incorporating empty alcohol bottles, and slathering on paint while on the telephone to friends. He began producing furniture, which he also saw as sculptures. By the mid-80s, he was showing ‘Legitimate Sculptures’ on pedestals. These were some of the first interactive sculptures in twentieth-century art. In the mid-70s, West developed small sculptures (the Passstücke or Adaptives) which people could play with. He was fascinated by the work of other artists and collaborated with them in various ways. Franz West, who died in 2012, combined an irreverent and playful approach to sculpture, furniture and collage with an interest in philosophy, literature and music. ![]()
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