Art: Franz West, Chameleon, 2004 Thesis

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West's art, although it is crafted is a kind of 'found' art, and his desire to demystify the process of artistic creation is yet another reason he brings the gallery owner into the process of artistic manufacturing, such as by asking the museum's director what color the Chameleon color of the walls and chairs will become, as the work moves from place to place. West classifies his fundamental artistic philosophy as along the lines of the schools of what he calls that "adaptives," which holds that "if the form is useful, then it's beautiful.

After all, in most ancient, primitive societies, art's form and function were one: a plate was not decorative, even though it might be highly crafted: the dining ware it had a purpose. West makes a similar claim about the art of today -- that it be functional as well as artistic, and art is found in the functional works of our own society. West's adaptivist philosophy has deep, personal roots: "When I was fifteen I went to Rome, and because I was alone there I went to the Spanish Steps, where you could meet people. It's the same in many Italian towns and cities with the fountain in the middle of a central square and people sitting around having conversations. From that experience came this ideal of sitting in the art, like a goal of sitting in the clouds: sitting in the art consuming life. It's perhaps a bit hippy-ish: not to participate in society but to have this art as life.

" In some of West's earlier works such as his 1998 Untitled (Internet Bed), his examination of the objects of everyday life looked more radical, as this involved a deconstruction of an ordinary bed, setting the frame upon a snarl of cables and wires: "It's hard to lie on, hard to use, impossible to clean, but it's Art, and it's tuned to the right channel.

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" its caption reads, with deliberate irony, and the crafted and artistic nature of the bed is more evident. The irony of Chameleon from 2002 is far more subtle and the chameleon-like colored chairs and table could actually be used for practical purposes, and thus a more total blend between art and life is achieved.

Although West is identified as an Adaptive, however, his works do not completely subscribe to that philosophy, particularly Chameleon. Chameleon is not merely a deconstruction it is a constant reconstruction of a scene that both implies conformity, utilitarian consumerism, and a kind of choice, if only by selecting a new color. "Heidegger believed that our understanding of being in the world can be found when objects that we use every day fail to function," but Chameleon questions what happens when things do function, in this case that of a perfectly color-coordinated kitchen table that can be sat upon, yet which challenges the viewer in its ever-changing, eternally adaptable and homogeneous conformity.

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