Mac Rohrbach, you virtually established the works of Giacometti as trademark of the Management School St.Gallen. Where does your love for this artist arise from?
My first encounter with Giacometti took place in 1964, when the news of the Swiss TV covered him. At that time there were heated controversies in Zurich about the formation of a Giacometti-Foundation. After that I more and more delved into the person Alberto Giacometti and his works. A Giacometti sculpture displayed in a staircase of the university of St. Gallen (HSG) marked my first direct contact.
What exactly is so intriguing for you about the person Alberto Giacometti?
His perseverance and his unremitting passion. Although his artistic works are among the most significant ones of the 20th century, he himself was never satisfied with his work. His vision was to portray humans the way they really are. To approach his vision he dismissed his achievements over and over again. He himself very nicely put his process of creation and destruction in a nutshell: "How nice. Everything is just an attempt."
What can executives learn from his art?
That success is not an end in itself but the result of performance and passion. That it is worth to challenge your own skills and strike new paths. And that there is no progress without setbacks. By the way, there is a wonderful quote from Giacometti, too: "The more you fail, the more you will succeed."
Is there any work of Giacometti you are espicially fond of?
Certainly there are many. If I think of anything off the top of my head, I would say "La Place", a sculpture with five humans which are moving towards each other. For me there is no other piece of art that expresses the area of tension between individual and community in such a fascinating way. Therein all important issues of management and leadeship are reflected.
Further information on Giacometti
Information on Alberto Giacometti at wikipedia
Permanent exhibition at Kunsthaus Zürich
Special exhibition of the Fondation Beyeler (2009)
Documentary "Alberto Giacometti – Eyes on the horizon" (NZZ, 2005)
Video-Portrait "Man among man" (Jean-Marie Drot, 1963)
Film clip "Alberto Giacometti“ (Ernst Scheidegger)
