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MARIO MERZ (b. 1925)
Coccodrillo con Progressione di Fibonacci, No. 1-55
stuffed crocodile and neon tubes
crocodile: 42 by 8 by 6 in. 106.7 by 20.3 by 15.2 cm.
installation dimenstions variable
Executed in 1990. This work is accompanied by a signed photo certificate from the artist.
Mario Merz has been incorporating the Fibonacci formula of mathematical progression into his works since 1970. This formula was originally conceived by the medieval monk Leonardo da Pisa (known as Fibonacci). Explicated in his Liber Abacci of 1202 and 1228, this formula requires that each numeral cited equal the sum of the two numbers that precede it: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13...Fibonacci's observations were based on the reproduction of rabbits, beginning with one pair and inevitably expanding to infinity. Mirroring biological, spatial and temporal dimensions, the proportions Fibonacci cites relate to the proliferation and growth of organic elements. These elements or items: leaves, reptile skins, antlers, pinecones, seashells, iguana tails - have been incorporated into Merz's art.
Propped (Appoggiati) an early work from 1970, is made up of glass panes that lean against a wall. Neon numbers, in Fibonacci progression, were attached to the panes. The piece was shown at Gennaio 70, III Biennale
internazionale della giovane pittura accompanied by Merz's videotape of a violinist playing chords that correspond to the Fibonacci sequence. For 10 Tokyo Biennale '70: Between Man and Matter in 1970, Merz created Proliferation of a Plant (Proliferazione di una pianta), which, with a sequence of neon
numbers connected by cords, projected a proliferation of pine branches on the wall of the gallery.
PROVENANCE
Conrad Fischer Gallery, Düsseldorf
Acquired by the present owner from the above
EXHIBITED
Stuttgart, Staatsgalerie, Magie der Zahl iin der Kunst des 20. Jahrhunderts, 1997, cat. no. 9.5, p. 205