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Lot Essay
Like Joseph Beuys, Mario Merz was deeply influenced by the methods and practices of cultural anthropology, which, in the ecologically conscious years of the late 60s and early 70s, was experiencing a hitherto unheard of popularity. For both artists, this interest went far beyond mere methods. But whereas Beuys focused on the role of the shaman in contemporary, post-War German society, Merz investigated the more generalised, existential aspects of rudimentary human civilisation. His celebrated igloos, which began to appear in his work in 1966, as well as his works revolving around the spiral formation of the snail shell, which he began producing in 1970, bear witness to the artist's desire to reach the core of humanity in the context of their natural environment. A significant expression of this investigation is Merz's use of the lance or spear, a primitive weapon used in pre-industrial societies by hunters to kill wild animals for food, or out of self-defence. The present work is perhaps the earliest example of this theme in Merz's oeuvre.
Like Christian Boltanski, who in 1970 began fabricating his own "primitive" tools and displaying these in museum vitrines, Merz presents twin lances in a specially designed Plexiglas case made by his father. In both instances, the artists are interested not only in the tools and weapons as artifacts of primitive society, but also and perhaps especially in the way such utensils are viewed and interpreted today. Whereas Boltanski clearly favours the context of the anthropological museum, Merz's position is less clear. Seen in the context of his igloos and neon works with alligators, rhinoceroses and other "primitive" animals, the lance is a living legacy of an age that, even if long lost, might well be recovered.
Like Christian Boltanski, who in 1970 began fabricating his own "primitive" tools and displaying these in museum vitrines, Merz presents twin lances in a specially designed Plexiglas case made by his father. In both instances, the artists are interested not only in the tools and weapons as artifacts of primitive society, but also and perhaps especially in the way such utensils are viewed and interpreted today. Whereas Boltanski clearly favours the context of the anthropological museum, Merz's position is less clear. Seen in the context of his igloos and neon works with alligators, rhinoceroses and other "primitive" animals, the lance is a living legacy of an age that, even if long lost, might well be recovered.