84 minutes / Color
/ English subtitles
Release: 2008
From the "TWO PRANKSTERS" (John Waters) who created the amazing chain reaction film THE WAY THINGS GO, Peter Fischli and David Weiss, come the earlier adventures of RAT and BEAR!
Two films following the artists, in rat and bear costumes, through their adventures from an LA freeway to a lake in the Swiss Alps.
The first film by Fischli and Weiss. Set against a film noir-style Los Angeles background, the animal partners become embroiled in a murder mystery that raises questions and observations on the nature of art and crime before spiraling into sublime flights of fancy.
Hiking through the mountains, at the mercy of the elements and all kinds of miracles - and, above all, at the mercy of themselves, Rat and Bear try to find reasons for all they see and experience, getting closer than expected to the right way.
Peter Fischli and David Weiss started their collaboration in 1979. Working with a wide range of media, they convey humor, irony and wonder through everyday objects, giving them a new meaning in the process. They have been acclaimed around the world with exhibitions and retrospectives at the Tate Modern and MoMA, among other world-famous institutions.
"Charming and humorous… what characterizes Fischli & Weiss's work has been its eccentricity, its outlandishness, and how remarkably touching it is."-Lauren O'Neill-Butler, Artforum
"Droll, mystifying conceptual-art performance pieces."-Michael Barrett, San Antonio Express-News
"Like Laurel and Hardy, Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, Bouvard and Pecuchet, Rat and Bear!"—Stefan Zweifel, "Rat and Bear" in the book FLOWERS AND QUESTIONS
"The best thing in Swiss art since Alberto Giacometti!"—William Feaver, ARTNews
"They orchestrate states of hypnotic fascination."— Peter Schjeldahl, The Village Voice
"Always worth attention! Their work is intelligent, disarming, subtle and, at moments, unexpectedly touching."—Adrian Searle, The Guardian
"Charming and humorous!"—Lauren O'Neill-Butler, ArtForum. Read the full review here.
Two artists in rat and bear costumes become embroiled in a murder mystery that raises questions and observation on the nature of art and crime, before spiraling into sublime flights of fancy.
Peter Fischli and David Weiss | 2008 | 29 minutes | Color | English subtitles
Two artists in rat and bear costumes try to find reasons for all they see and experience, getting closer than expected to the right way.
Peter Fischli and David Weiss | 2008 | 55 minutes | Color | English subtitles
100 feet of physical interactions, chemical reactions, and precisely crafted chaos worthy of Rube Goldberg or Alfred Hitchcock - a discussion starter for sure.
Peter Fischli and David Weiss | 1988 | 30 minutes | Color
