- 115
Franz West
Description
- Franz West
- Plato's Sonne Skizze
- signed, titled and dated 83+96 on the reverse
- mixed media with acrylic, gauze, plaster and papier mâché on wood
- 80 by 130cm.; 31 1/2 by 51 1/4 in.
Provenance
Acquired from the above by the present owner in 1996
Condition
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
Catalogue Note
The work’s title references Plato’s seminal piece The Republic, in which Glaucon urges Socrates to define goodness. The latter refers to a comparison between goodness and the sun, proposing that just as the sun illuminates with its light, the idea of goodness illumines the intelligible with truth: "As goodness stands in the intelligible realm to intelligence and the things we know, so in the visible realm the sun stands to sight and the things we see" (Louis Pojman, Classics of Philosophy, New York 2011, p. 170). The sun (or the Good) provides the very foundation on which all other truth rests and thus becomes a metaphor for the nature of reality and knowledge concerning it. Alluding to Plato’s philosophical metaphor, West’s Plato’s Sonne Skizze transforms into an artistic vision for truth, in which the illumination of the highest idea is conveyed through the powerful hues of bright and intense yellow colour.
West’s oeuvre is suffused with influences from philosophy and psychoanalysis. Besides Plato, particularly the works of Ludwig Wittgenstein and Sigmund Freud found a strong resonance with the artist. Wittgenstein often conceived his thinking and writing through a process of dialogue and association, characterised by creating a ‘criss-cross’ of thoughts and ideas to create possible interconnections. This open-end approach with no definite result in mind strongly echoes West’s improvised and experimental conception of an artwork. Adamant to break down the hierarchical boundaries of the artist as a creator and the viewer as a passive observer, many of West’s works – such as his early Adaptives sculptures from the 1970s, which are supposed to be worn and played with – embrace the viewer’s active participation. By rejecting and even proactively denouncing any preconceived artistic norms, West created an idiosyncratic aesthetic that is informed by his intellectual curiosity and guided by his playful and intuitive practice. Referencing this artistic ideology, Plato’s Sonne Skizze does not provide the viewer with any definite answers on the subject of truth but rather demands them to engage with and re-evaluate their own perceptions and thought constructs. The present work titled as a sketch thus becomes a preparatory element to a work that is only and ultimately finalised in participation with the viewer.