Merz was born in Milan, Italy, in 1925. When he was a child his family moved to Turin, the home Fiat and the most technologically advanced city in Italy. His father designed engines for Fiat, and his mother was a music teacher. Merz attended a scientifically oriented high school and then entered medical school. World War II had a profound impact on Merz's life and art. While he was in medical school, he joined the anti-Fascist group called "Justice and Liberty." He was arrested in 1945 and sent to prison for distributing anti-Fascist literature. In prison he did a great deal of drawing, continuing an interest in poetry and art he had developed years earlier. After the war he went to Paris, earning money by driving a truck and spending a lot of free time in museums. Merz returned to Italy withing a year and dedicated himself to art, first as a painter, then increasingly as a sculptor.
Source: News, September October 1992.
Dualities are often at the core of Merz’s work. In this case, the opposition between the natural and manmade worlds is literally highlighted by the combination of neon and a taxidermied monitor lizard. The neon numbers illustrate the Fibonacci progression, a mathematical sequence that moves forward by adding numbers to the sum of their predecessors. This system has examples in nature, such as the proliferation of some species and spiral patterns in shells and pinecones. The lizard is connected to the Fibonacci progression by the fact that some reptile scales reflect the sequence. Another layer of contrast exists between the quick way the numbers add up and the slow pace of evolution. While the Fibonacci numbers move rapidly from one to 10,946, reptiles have changed little since prehistory. Although they are represented in neon, Merz feels that numbers are an intrinsic part of humanity – “a relative extension of the body through the five fingers.”
Published ReferencesAN UNCOMMON VISION: THE DES MOINES ART CENTER, Des Moines Art Center, 1998, ref. & b/w detail p.189, color ill. p.188
DMAC News, Sept./Oct. 1992, p.3
