Swiss-Swiss Democracy

The multi-media exhibition, “Swiss-Swiss Democracy” created by Thomas Hirschhorn is one of the most powerful and political driven exhibition’s to ever be created by Mr. Hirschhhorn. The exhibition was held and conducted at the Swiss Cultural Center (SCC) in Paris, France. It had several purposes that Hirschhorn had hoped the exhibition would create. Most importantly, he hoped it would stir debate and did just that. It was not one of the more common exhibitions created by Hirschhorn. The most notable similarities to his other works were the walls and doors were covered multi-colored cardboard, newspapers, graffiti, posters, photographs, official documents, and duct tape was used to wrap all the furniture. The exhibition or installation took Hirschhorn and eight others three weeks to complete. There was also a play included at the exhibition that was themed anti-democracy and anti Christoph Blocher. For Thomas Hirschhorn, the exhibition was another installation using simple objects to create not so simple meanings or purposes. For critics, conservatives, and democrats, the exhibition was a morbid display of insubordination.

The main incentive to produce the exhibition was to counter and attack Christoph Blocher , an ultranationalist politician and the current minister for justice and police. Another incentive for the creation of the exhibition was for Hirschhorn to voice his opinion on democracy in Switzerland and the rest of the world. This is made apparent in an article written by Alan Riding for The New York Times. Hirschhorn says, “My target is not Mr. Blocher, but what he represents; Blocher is not a dictator, but he legitimizes Swiss xenophobia, isolationism, nationalism; he legitimizes the feeling in Switzerland that all these foreigners want to come and take their money. He is a dangerous populist.” In this article Thomas Hirschhorn makes his concern for democracy very apparent. The exhibitions poster stated, “I love Democracy!” It was a poster of a naked Iraqi in prison with an armed American soldier. Although the meaning of this could be construed for accusing Switzerland for torturing, Mr. Hirschhorn clears this up when he says; “In fact, I was drawing a parallel with William Tell, who rebelled against Austrian occupiers.” I loved the political suspense at this point as it becomes obvious Hirshhorn knows how to create a quandary. The most powerful meaning from Thomas Hirschhorn’s “Swiss-Swiss Democracy” was a message he said himself: “Democracy only makes sense if it is universal. That’s why I ask, is it legitimate to torture in the name of democracy?”

Thomas Hirschhorn is definitely an uprising influential artist in the development of installation art. Thomas Hirschhorn may be a politically charged artist but I would like to point out a few similarities he shares with another great installation artist, Tadashi Kawamata. The Japanese artist my make installations of technological advancement in his ongoing battle with the laws of architecture, however both aritists are intriguing workers and have a common success of producing installations on extremely large scales. Both have viewers that are able to take away a meaning of true importance through their personal experience in the presentation created.


Archer, Michael. Art since 1960 new edition. New York, NY: Thames & Hudson, 1994.



Heartney, Eleanor. Art & Today. New York, NY: Phaidon Press Inc, 2008.



Riding, Alan. “Dissecting Democracy, Swiss Artist Stirs Debate.” The New York Times Dec. 27, 2004



Kuenster, Emily. “Political Art, Distracted” San Francisco Art Institute, CA



Rush, Michael. “Art that Gives Meaning To Bits of This and That”. The New York Times. Oct. 27, 2002.



Rian, Jeff.. “Swiss Diss, Jeff Rian on Thomas Hirschhorn’s Swiss-Swiss Democracy” Art Forum International Magazine. 2005. .



CCA Wattis Institute Presents Thomas Hirschhorn, "Utopia, Utopia = One World, One War, One Army, One Dress". http://www.cca.edu/about/press/2006/hirschhornsfpr2.

Utopia, Utopia = One World, One War, One Army, One Dress, 2003

The picture above is taken from another influential installation exhibition by Thomas Hirschhorn., titled: “Utopia, Utopia = One World, One War, One Army, One Dress.” In this specific installation Hirschhorn displays the radical and complex relationship of war and society. More specifically, exploring military conflicts and world violence through an installation composed of uniforms from around the world, music videos containing war propaganda, documentaries of violence and war, fashion photos of soldiers in camouflage, toys of war, books on war covered in camouflage tape, forty foot bullet shaped objects made of cardboard, and various other camouflage or war related materials. All these items were in very close proximity to one another. The installation was very large to scale, taking up three full galleries. The installation proved attractive to art enthusiasts because of the diversity of art it possessed. Within the installation there was sculpture, film, photography, vitrines, maquettes, wall graphics, signage, and other interpretive material.

Through this installation it is obvious that Thomas Hirschhorn wants the viewer to make an observation pertaining to the relationship between society and war. The abundant use of camoflauge within the compostition of the installation suggests that there is a message to the viewer in the camouflage itself. Specifically, Camouflage can be looked at fashionably by society as something to wear that looks appealing to the eye when worn. However, camouflage is a symbol of war and violence, a material designed to blend various objects together to hide from the human eye. Once the observer identifies this, Hirschhorn wants the viewer to ask themself, “What does it mean when a costume of war becomes a look or style?” I mentioned earlier that equality among human beings has been a theme that Mr. Hirschhorn uses often. In this installation equality is relevant in Hirschhorns efforts to create a utopia (the installation representing the world) or world of equality in which everyone on earth wears military clothing. Thus turning the meaning of camouflage into a state of meaningless.

This specific installation by Thomas Hirschhorn reminds me of various works created by Anselm Kiefer. Only in subject matter do I see resemblence. There is obviously little to compare in the style of how the art or message is made. Anselm Kiefer did several works pertaining to war and violence through his paintings and sculptures. Referencing back to the article written in the New York Times by Michael Rush, I found that Mr Hirschhorn considers Joseph Beuys so influential to him, he speaks of him as one of his “professors.” In the article Hirschhorn said, “Beuys introduced a new energy to art, opening the possibility of art for everybody.” Hirschhorn shows examples of that same energy in this installation and in many others. Another similarity compared to works of Joseph beuys is the relation of using common, familiar, and simple objects to express ideas that may not be so common, familiar, and simple.

Archer, Michael. Art since 1960 new edition. New York, NY: Thames & Hudson, 1994.



Heartney, Eleanor. Art & Today. New York, NY: Phaidon Press Inc, 2008.



Riding, Alan. “Dissecting Democracy, Swiss Artist Stirs Debate.” The New York Times Dec. 27, 2004



Kuenster, Emily. “Political Art, Distracted” San Francisco Art Institute, CA



Rush, Michael. “Art that Gives Meaning To Bits of This and That”. The New York Times. Oct. 27, 2002.



Rian, Jeff.. “Swiss Diss, Jeff Rian on Thomas Hirschhorn’s Swiss-Swiss Democracy” Art Forum International Magazine. 2005. .



CCA Wattis Institute Presents Thomas Hirschhorn, "Utopia, Utopia = One World, One War, One Army, One Dress". http://www.cca.edu/about/press/2006/hirschhornsfpr2.

Cavemanman, 2002

Thomas Hirschhorn displays his proficiency and ability in the production of one of his better known installation arts, “Cavemanman.” This installation display was Mr. Hirschhorn’s New York gallery debut. The display would be comprised of several chambers or caves that would be filled with hundreds of books relating to religion, politics, philosophy, feminism, theory and race. The materials used to do this would mostly be made of Hirschhorn’s favorites, duct tape, plastic, and cut-outs. Shown in many of Hirschhorns works, whether 2D or 3D, collage or installation, museum or street art, Hirschhorn maintains the consistency of displaying this installation as art of engagement. This means that you must be engaged in the installation to understand that the idea and activities created by the presence of the display are more important than the display itself. In Summary, “Cavemanman” is a piece of installation art on a large scale comprised of controversial material in the form of a 3D collage.

In this particular work of art, Mr. Hirschhorn is responding to a number of various subjections. One of the most intriguing was brought to my attention through a New York Times article written by Michael Rush. In the article he writes, “He envisions the exhibition space as a cave or tunnel into which a man has retreated from the world because of his distress over the enormous inequities he experiences in life.” A powerful meaning of the work that I think has much relevance for observers to reflect on. The caves also represent a man’s isolation. The hundreds of books display an adequate relationship between the man and his ongoing commitment to new ideas. The topics of the books consisting of religion, politics, philosophy, feminist theory, and race represent some of the most powerful and controversial content he could have displayed. Equality among human beings has been a theme that Mr. Hirschhorn has used in several of his works that once again becomes apparent to the viewer in the installation piece, “Cavemanman.”

As I have researched Thomas Hirschhorn’s work, I have been able to relate it to several other artists or styles of art. Through research I have determined that artists like Andy Warhol, Claes Oldenburg, Ben Vautier, Ed Kienholz, Allan Kaprow, and Joseph Beuys have all been influential in the development of Thomas Hirschhorn’s artwork. Mr Hirschhorn gives credit to Warhol when he says, “His honesty, and his cruelty, especially in the car and airplane crash series, made me feel that art can involve me. He understood society and criticized society; he was very clear.” In this quote, Hirschhorn displays that in his own work he makes references and insinuations to society as well. I think that through Cavemanman it can be concluded that Hirschhorn is displaying an aspect of going beyond what you are viewing, and to start embracing what you are feeling. I believe that way of thinking has its roots in surrealism.


Archer, Michael. Art since 1960 new edition. New York, NY: Thames & Hudson, 1994.



Heartney, Eleanor. Art & Today. New York, NY: Phaidon Press Inc, 2008.



Riding, Alan. “Dissecting Democracy, Swiss Artist Stirs Debate.” The New York Times Dec. 27, 2004



Kuenster, Emily. “Political Art, Distracted” San Francisco Art Institute, CA



Rush, Michael. “Art that Gives Meaning To Bits of This and That”. The New York Times. Oct. 27, 2002.



Rian, Jeff.. “Swiss Diss, Jeff Rian on Thomas Hirschhorn’s Swiss-Swiss Democracy” Art Forum International Magazine. 2005. .



CCA Wattis Institute Presents Thomas Hirschhorn, "Utopia, Utopia = One World, One War, One Army, One Dress". http://www.cca.edu/about/press/2006/hirschhornsfpr2.