Große Geister nrs 4, 5

These statues, nearly two and a half meters tall, are reminiscent of Michelin men or astronauts in shiny suits, but also of the Ghostbusters or characters from comics and works of fantasy. Their undulating, bulging forms and wild, uncontrolled poses and gestures evoke both a ritual dance and a heated discussion among a small group of men. 

The Große Geister series began as small wax figures which Schütte then had cast in plastic and aluminium, and which ultimately evolved into monumental sculptures. Today, these sculptures can be found in a variety of places around the world, including both museums and public spaces. The reflective surfaces of the figures in De Pont Museum make them seem empty and weightless, as if they might at any moment take flight.

Here, too, Schütte is exploring the power of gesture and facial expression, following the tradition set out by 19th-century artists like Honoré Daumier. At the same time, the works act as messy enlarged counterparts to classical statues, in which the figures invariably pose in a dignified and restrained manner. But the questions of what exactly the Große Geister symbolise, what they are doing, or who they might represent, all remain unanswered. 

The title Große Geister (Great Spirits) comes from the German Geist, which can refer to spirit (as in ‘the spirit of the times’), the Holy Spirit, a powerful intellect or a ghost. The word is even used to mean the science of thinking itself. All these meanings point to something higher than oneself, something elusive. Yet we are dealing not with statues of great thinkers or heroes, but of anonymous giants: clumsy, bewildered, displaced and searching for something to hold onto. This is Schütte’s way of exploring how a statue – and art in the broader sense – might still have meaning in today’s world.