Altherr Jürg
1944, Schweiz
Bildhauer, Landschaftsarchitekt, diverse Lehraufträge
«...Ich stehe mit beiden Füssen auf der Erde. Gleichzeitig stecke ich kopf voran im Ende
der Unendlichkeit Sie berührt mich ringsum. Auf der Erde kann ich den Ort wechseln. Die Unendlichkeit begleitet mich immer...»
Wooden mules of different heights are placed next to an upholstered chair. They are a part of the arrangements that the Zurich artist Jürg Altherr has put together in one of the smaller rooms. In addition, there is the object made of Eternit slate, divided in two halves and placed diagonally in the room, whose walls are studded with the palm leaf veins from an African dust broom.
The visitors are invited to take off their outer clothing, choose wooden mules with an appropriate height and go through the channel of the artist-cabinett. The head remains outside of the cabinet. The device that the artist makes available is an observation device, an exemplary experimental arrangement to sharpen perception. The experimental arrangement plays with the theory of two worlds, the separation of body and mind, as it was formulated by the French philosopher René Descartes. The experiment by Jürg Altherr propels the idea into the public’s consciousness that pure observation of a model or an artistic concept engages primarily the mind, while the experiential nature of sculpture can only be penetrated by means of a holistic approach that engaging all the senses.
Kathrin Frauenfelder, art historian, Zürich, Switzerland
