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Philip Rantzer Feet up

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Written by Liat Stanislavsky

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Feet Up opens a window to the world of the absurd that Philip Rantzer creates in his art. Rantzer alienates a mundane every-day object. He dissociates the object from its familiar context and relocates it in space, where reality no longer applies. In Rantzer's world there is no room for the laws of physics, sociology and most importantly logic. This embarrassing twist of accepted norms throws viewers off track and invites them to step into the alternative world that this work offers, but to do this they must first question conventions and surrender to Rantzer's absurd. This piece pulls the rug out from under ordinary perception and forces a different perspective on the viewer.
Feet Up is a kinetic sculpture. A small wooden stool supports white bronze legs with high work boots under two golden testicles. Legs and testicles are familiar body parts: testicles are perceived as delicate and concealed organs that symbolize energy and vitality, while legs are seen as strong, stable limbs that support our body weight and enable us to move. But in this piece reality steps aside as the legs and testicles are subordinated to Rantzerian manipulation. The legs are feet up on the wooden stool. They were amputated from the body and have lost their mobility, which was transferred to the two golden balls - the testicles. While the absolute height of the testicles above the floor is indeed natural, as is their proximity to the end of the human legs, it is nevertheless the wrong end. Rantzer defies logic. While in the real world stomping feet would have been detrimental to the sensitive, concealed testicles, in Rantzer's topsy-turvy reality they are presented in all their glory on the "platter" that the feet create.
As in his other pieces, Rantzer cynically and humorously glorifies the "masculine golden balls". They are admired, large and glittering - and they can move independently. They strut over the frozen bronze legs, which unlike the balls are no longer mobile. The severance of the body parts, their dislocation, the contrast between the different elements and their problematic hierarchy create an absurd that makes the viewer rethink the function of these organs. Viewers are stimulated to identify and define the biological functions of these body parts and to discern the values that Rantzer sees in and shows through them.