{"id":14431,"date":"2020-07-24T08:45:23","date_gmt":"2020-07-24T12:45:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/?page_id=14431"},"modified":"2020-08-31T10:56:04","modified_gmt":"2020-08-31T14:56:04","slug":"the-way-things-go","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/the-way-things-go\/","title":{"rendered":"Peter Fischli and David Weiss: The Way Things Go"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube aligncenter wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"The Way Things Go\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/GXrRC3pfLnE?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><figcaption>Peter Fischli  and David Weiss, <em>The Way Things Go<\/em>, 1987,&nbsp;color video, transferred from 16 mm film, with sound, 30 min, Museum purchase, 2014.7.1<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Friday, August 28 &#8211; Saturday, October 10, 2020<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>The Way Things Go<\/em><\/strong><br>Peter Fischli (Swiss, b. 1952) and David Weiss (Swiss, 1946\u20132012)<br>Film Projection<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This exhibition consists of a 30 minute long art film by the Swiss artist duo Peter Fischli and David Weiss. While working on another project, the artists became fascinated with chain reactions and states of impending collapse. In this much-imitated film, common inanimate objects come to life by lighting each other on fire, creating chemical reactions, rolling, spilling, inflating, wobbling and careening off one another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Evoking Rube Goldberg\u2019s humorous illustrations of complex mechanical contraptions that performed simple tasks,&nbsp;<em>The Way Things Go<\/em>&nbsp;is slapstick and thought-provoking. The film embodies order and disorder, exists between impressive engineering and a precariousness teetering on total collapse, and increasingly engages the viewer with each action and activity.&nbsp;Fischli and Weiss&#8217; chain reaction&nbsp;is part the manifestation of&nbsp;childlike&nbsp;wonder&nbsp;combined&nbsp;with a post-apocalyptic air that continues to be relevant more than three decades since its creation, especially at a time when the virus COVID-19&nbsp;is unpredictably careening across the globe. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>About the artists: From 1979 to 2012, Peter Fischli and David Weiss were an artistic duo that explored the poetics of everyday life with a distinctive and refreshing wit. Indebted to Dada, Surrealism, Pop Art, and Conceptual art, their work employed humble materials and referenced ordinary subjects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>More on the artists:<\/strong><br>Guggenheim Museum,\u00a0<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.guggenheim.org\/exhibition\/peter-fischli-david-weiss-how-to-work-better\" target=\"_blank\">Peter Fischli David Weiss: How to Work Better,<\/a>\u00a0February 5 &#8211; April 27, 2016<br>Tate Modern,\u00a0<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tate.org.uk\/whats-on\/tate-modern\/exhibition\/fischli-weiss\" target=\"_blank\">Flowers and Questions, A Retrospective<\/a>, October 11, 2006 &#8211; January 14, 2007<br>Ken Johnson,\u00a0<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2016\/02\/05\/arts\/design\/peter-fischli-and-david-weiss-playfully-poke-high-culture-pieties.html\" target=\"_blank\">Peter Fischli and David Weiss Playfully Poke High-Culture Pieties<\/a>, New York Times, February 4, 2016<br>Nancy Princenthal,\u00a0<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.artnews.com\/art-in-america\/features\/the-indiscreet-charm-of-fischli-and-weiss-63150\/\" target=\"_blank\">The indiscreet\u00a0charm of Fischli and Weiss<\/a>, Art in America, March 24, 2016<br><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.guggenheim.org\/artwork\/artist\/peter-fischli-and-david-weiss\" target=\"_blank\">Biography<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;a masterpiece&#8221;,\u00a0Ken Johnson, The New York Times<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Public screening courtesy of\u00a0Icarus Films<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-3 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/files\/2020\/07\/1-The-Way-Things-Go-text-image.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"900\" height=\"562\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/files\/2020\/07\/1-The-Way-Things-Go-text-image-900x562.jpg\" alt=\"Peter Fischli and David Weiss, The Way Things Go, 1987, film still\" data-id=\"14432\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/files\/2020\/07\/1-The-Way-Things-Go-text-image.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/?attachment_id=14432\" class=\"wp-image-14432\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/files\/2020\/07\/1-The-Way-Things-Go-text-image-900x562.jpg 900w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/files\/2020\/07\/1-The-Way-Things-Go-text-image-400x250.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/files\/2020\/07\/1-The-Way-Things-Go-text-image-768x480.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/files\/2020\/07\/1-The-Way-Things-Go-text-image-1536x960.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/files\/2020\/07\/1-The-Way-Things-Go-text-image.jpg 1919w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-item__caption\">Peter Fischli and David Weiss, The Way Things Go, 1987, film still<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/files\/2020\/07\/2-thewaythingsgoimage4.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"900\" height=\"593\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/files\/2020\/07\/2-thewaythingsgoimage4-900x593.jpg\" alt=\"Peter Fischli and David Weiss, The Way Things Go, 1987, film still\" data-id=\"14433\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/files\/2020\/07\/2-thewaythingsgoimage4.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/?attachment_id=14433\" class=\"wp-image-14433\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/files\/2020\/07\/2-thewaythingsgoimage4-900x593.jpg 900w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/files\/2020\/07\/2-thewaythingsgoimage4-400x264.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/files\/2020\/07\/2-thewaythingsgoimage4-768x506.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/files\/2020\/07\/2-thewaythingsgoimage4.jpg 1232w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-item__caption\">Peter Fischli and David Weiss, The Way Things Go, 1987, film still<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/files\/2020\/07\/3-The-Way-Things-Go.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"900\" height=\"623\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/files\/2020\/07\/3-The-Way-Things-Go-900x623.jpg\" alt=\"Peter Fischli and David Weiss, The Way Things Go, 1987, film still\" data-id=\"14434\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/files\/2020\/07\/3-The-Way-Things-Go.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/?attachment_id=14434\" class=\"wp-image-14434\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/files\/2020\/07\/3-The-Way-Things-Go-900x623.jpg 900w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/files\/2020\/07\/3-The-Way-Things-Go-400x277.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/files\/2020\/07\/3-The-Way-Things-Go-768x531.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/files\/2020\/07\/3-The-Way-Things-Go-1536x1063.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/files\/2020\/07\/3-The-Way-Things-Go.jpg 1919w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-item__caption\">Peter Fischli and David Weiss, The Way Things Go, 1987, film still<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/files\/2020\/07\/4-peter-fischli-and-david-weiss-the-way-things-go-still-one.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"900\" height=\"590\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/files\/2020\/07\/4-peter-fischli-and-david-weiss-the-way-things-go-still-one-900x590.jpg\" alt=\"Peter Fischli and David Weiss, The Way Things Go, 1987, film still\" data-id=\"14435\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/files\/2020\/07\/4-peter-fischli-and-david-weiss-the-way-things-go-still-one.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/?attachment_id=14435\" class=\"wp-image-14435\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/files\/2020\/07\/4-peter-fischli-and-david-weiss-the-way-things-go-still-one-900x590.jpg 900w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/files\/2020\/07\/4-peter-fischli-and-david-weiss-the-way-things-go-still-one-400x262.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/files\/2020\/07\/4-peter-fischli-and-david-weiss-the-way-things-go-still-one-768x503.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/files\/2020\/07\/4-peter-fischli-and-david-weiss-the-way-things-go-still-one.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-item__caption\">Peter Fischli and David Weiss, The Way Things Go, 1987, film still<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/files\/2020\/07\/5-way-things-go-2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"900\" height=\"488\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/files\/2020\/07\/5-way-things-go-2-900x488.jpg\" alt=\"Peter Fischli and David Weiss, The Way Things Go, 1987, film still\" data-id=\"14436\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/files\/2020\/07\/5-way-things-go-2.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/?attachment_id=14436\" class=\"wp-image-14436\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/files\/2020\/07\/5-way-things-go-2-900x488.jpg 900w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/files\/2020\/07\/5-way-things-go-2-400x217.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/files\/2020\/07\/5-way-things-go-2-768x416.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/files\/2020\/07\/5-way-things-go-2.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-item__caption\">Peter Fischli and David Weiss, The Way Things Go, 1987, film still<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/files\/2020\/07\/6-1987_fischli_weiss_1243.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"900\" height=\"565\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/files\/2020\/07\/6-1987_fischli_weiss_1243-900x565.jpg\" alt=\"Peter Fischli and David Weiss, The Way Things Go, 1987, film still\" data-id=\"14437\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/files\/2020\/07\/6-1987_fischli_weiss_1243.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/?attachment_id=14437\" class=\"wp-image-14437\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/files\/2020\/07\/6-1987_fischli_weiss_1243-900x565.jpg 900w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/files\/2020\/07\/6-1987_fischli_weiss_1243-400x251.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/files\/2020\/07\/6-1987_fischli_weiss_1243-768x482.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/files\/2020\/07\/6-1987_fischli_weiss_1243-1536x965.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/files\/2020\/07\/6-1987_fischli_weiss_1243.jpg 1919w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-item__caption\">Peter Fischli and David Weiss, The Way Things Go, 1987, film still<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/files\/2020\/07\/7-Fotograma-The-Way-Things-Go-01.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"900\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/files\/2020\/07\/7-Fotograma-The-Way-Things-Go-01-900x675.jpg\" alt=\"Peter Fischli and David Weiss, The Way Things Go, 1987, film still\" data-id=\"14438\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/files\/2020\/07\/7-Fotograma-The-Way-Things-Go-01.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/?attachment_id=14438\" class=\"wp-image-14438\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/files\/2020\/07\/7-Fotograma-The-Way-Things-Go-01-900x675.jpg 900w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/files\/2020\/07\/7-Fotograma-The-Way-Things-Go-01-400x300.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/files\/2020\/07\/7-Fotograma-The-Way-Things-Go-01-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/files\/2020\/07\/7-Fotograma-The-Way-Things-Go-01.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-item__caption\">Peter Fischli and David Weiss, The Way Things Go, 1987, film still<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/files\/2020\/07\/8-1987_fischli_weiss_1234-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"900\" height=\"599\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/files\/2020\/07\/8-1987_fischli_weiss_1234-1-900x599.jpg\" alt=\"Peter Fischli and David Weiss, The Way Things Go, 1987, film still\" data-id=\"14439\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/files\/2020\/07\/8-1987_fischli_weiss_1234-1.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/?attachment_id=14439\" class=\"wp-image-14439\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/files\/2020\/07\/8-1987_fischli_weiss_1234-1-900x599.jpg 900w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/files\/2020\/07\/8-1987_fischli_weiss_1234-1-400x266.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/files\/2020\/07\/8-1987_fischli_weiss_1234-1-768x511.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/files\/2020\/07\/8-1987_fischli_weiss_1234-1-1536x1023.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/files\/2020\/07\/8-1987_fischli_weiss_1234-1.jpg 1919w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-item__caption\">Peter Fischli and David Weiss, The Way Things Go, 1987, film still<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/files\/2020\/07\/9-thumb_2554_1120_0_0_0_auto.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"900\" height=\"583\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/files\/2020\/07\/9-thumb_2554_1120_0_0_0_auto-900x583.jpg\" alt=\"Peter Fischli and David Weiss, The Way Things Go, 1987, film still\" data-id=\"14440\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/files\/2020\/07\/9-thumb_2554_1120_0_0_0_auto.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/?attachment_id=14440\" class=\"wp-image-14440\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/files\/2020\/07\/9-thumb_2554_1120_0_0_0_auto-900x583.jpg 900w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/files\/2020\/07\/9-thumb_2554_1120_0_0_0_auto-400x259.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/files\/2020\/07\/9-thumb_2554_1120_0_0_0_auto-768x498.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/files\/2020\/07\/9-thumb_2554_1120_0_0_0_auto.jpg 1120w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-item__caption\">Peter Fischli and David Weiss, The Way Things Go, 1987, film still<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Friday, August 28 &#8211; Saturday, October 10, 2020 The Way Things GoPeter&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1736,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_hide_ai_chatbot":false,"_ai_chatbot_style":"","associated_faculty":[],"_Page_Specific_Css":"","_bates_restrict_mod":false,"_dimp_site_id":"","_dimp_override_contact":false,"_table_of_contents_display":false,"_table_of_contents_location":"","_table_of_contents_disableSticky":false,"_is_featured":false,"footnotes":"","_bates_seo_meta_description":"","_bates_seo_block_robots":false,"_bates_seo_sharing_image_id":0,"_bates_seo_sharing_image_twitter_id":0,"_bates_seo_share_title":"","_bates_seo_canonical_overwrite":"","_bates_seo_twitter_template":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-14431","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/14431","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1736"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14431"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/14431\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14620,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/14431\/revisions\/14620"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/museum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14431"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}