Investigating Fluidity in Hans Haacke’s Condensation Cube (1965) and Gustave Metzger’s Liquid Crystal Environment (1965)

Abstract

This article considers the role of fluidity in two early liquid-based works by Hans Haacke and Gustav Metzger, Condensation Cube (1965) and Liquid Crystal Environment (1965). Fluidity is distinct from liquidity in that it presents a process of transition from solid to liquid in the case of Liquid Crystal Environment and liquid to gas in Condensation Cube. The stakes of this fluid process are, as I argue, crucial to understanding the critical stakes of these works in relation to Haacke and Metzger's artistic practise. By examining fluid process, I hope to show how these early pieces also contribute institutional and political criticisms that are typically associated with Haacke and Metzger's later work.