iconoclasm and longue durée: a conversation with peter fischli + dario gamboni

the 11th edition of engadin art talks (E.A.T.) took place on january 30, 2021, bringing together artists, architects, designers, writers and scientists who shared their ideas, thoughts and projects around this year’s theme: ‘longue durée.’ on the video above, artist peter fischli, art history professor dario gamboni and E.A.T. curator bice curiger engage in a conversation titled ‘iconoclasm: a story of longue durée’. the conversation examines the role of iconoclasm in the process of making heritage, questioning whether the destruction of cultural icons can be considered as a disruption into this process or whether it is, in fact, a part of it.

peter fischli and david weiss, ‘rock on top of another rock’, 2013

installation view, serpentine gallery, london © peter fischli david weiss,

image © morley von sternberg

the theme of this year’s engadin art talks, the ‘longue durée’, which literally means ‘long duration’, is a view of history first introduced by the french historian fernand braudel. as an act, iconoclasm seems contradictory to this long-term approach as it relies on the destruction of cultural icons, monuments and other images for religious or political reasons. ‘there is a certain paradox to talk about these two topics, which are contrary in the first moment,’ notes peter fischli at the beginning of the conversation. however, iconoclasm can also be thought as a recurring historical impulse that plays an essential role in the making of cultural heritage.
peter fischli and david weiss, ‘how to work better’ (1991)

public art fund, houston and mott street, new york 2016

image © jason wyche, courtesy galerie eva presenhuber

‘one can think of the history of art as a sort of accumulation, an accumulative process of things adding to each other, and building up heritage,’ says dario gamboni. ‘I think one way to put it would be to speak of heritage. and then, the actions of iconoclasm would come as sort of interruptions or breaks into this process.

but on the other hand, one can see it in another way, and think that iconoclasm belongs very much to the longue durée’, gamboni continues. ‘in fact, it is an extremely ancient phenomenon. it’s as old as making art, talking about art in the broadest sense. and there are traces of that in the earliest periods. and I would go so far as to say that iconoclasm is part of the process of making heritage, because the process of making heritage is the process of selection.’peter fischli and david weiss, ‘how to work better’ (1991) | public art fund, houston and mott street, new york 2016

image © jason wyche, courtesy galerie eva presenhuber

peter fischli is a swiss postwar & contemporary artist who was born in 1952. for more than 5 decades, he was part of the artist duo fischli/weiss. their best-known work is the film ‘der lauf der dinge’ (‘the way things go’, 1987), described by the guardian as being ‘post apocalyptic’, as it concerned chain reactions and the ways in which objects flew, crashed and exploded across the studio in which it was shot. fischli lives and works in zürich; weiss died on 27 april 2012. dario gamboni is a professor of art history at the university of geneva, switzerland. he has published many books, including ‘the destruction of art: iconoclasm and vandalism since the french revolution’. E.A.T. curator​ bice curiger is a swiss art historian, curator, critic and co-founder of parkett.

peter fischli and david weiss,’the way things go’ (1987)

color video, transferred from 16 mm film, with sound, 30 min

solomon r. guggenheim museum, new york gift, matthew marks, 2015

peter fischli and david weiss, ‘der untermieter’, 1979/2006

unfired clay, sculpture 14.5 x 26.5 x 15 cm / 5 3/4 x 10 3/8 x 5 7/8 inches |pedestal 120 x 30 x 36 cm / 47 1/4 x 11 3/4 x 14 1/8 inches

courtesy galerie eva presenhuber

E.A.T. is internationally recognized for bringing together leading artists, architects, writers, scientists and disruptive thinkers from around the world. its mission is to provide an interdisciplinary platform for a global dialogue on the arts and different creative fields. internationally recognized for its line-up of leading artists, architects, writers, scientists, and disruptive minds from all over the world, E.A.T. has invited so far more than 140 speakers that have presented their ideas and visions on challenging social relevant themes since its inception in 2010. E.A.T. was founded by cristina bechtler together with hans ulrich obrist.