Lot Essay
Executed in 1968, this sculpture belongs to the relatively rare and small number of fountains that Tinguely created in the 1960s. Of these, it is undoubtably one of the most monumental. In the manner of its construction, it exhibits less of the whimsy and chaotic "Heath Robinson" quality that many of his early fountains display and owes more to the elegant large scale sculptures that Tinguely was working on throughout 1968. Unlike many of Tinguely's sculptures which essentially grew into being from the myriad of constituent parts lying around his studio, this fountain displays a utilitarian elegance that not only echoes and parodies the rationalism of the late 19th century engineering design, but also suggests some kind of conscious planning on the artist's part.
As a whole, it is Tinguely's fountains that are perhaps the clearest example of the artist's ability to infuse life and personality into his machines. For it is not only the way in which these works are constructed or indeed the way that they move that gives them their individual nature. Rather it is the manner in which the playful element of water is dispersed by the fountain that makes the complicated and often awkward structure of the machine seem absurd and often comical.
However, despite the artist's welcome use of humour in his work, Tinguely's sculptures are not intended as simply playthings or figures of fun, and this is something that is quite often overlooked even by many of his admirers. His art is also characterised by a serious attempt to create sculptural form using what he considers to be the only permanents in life: "movement" and "change". He stated: "It is perfectly true that what I am trying to do may be impossible. But maybe not. Maybe it is possible to make things that are so close to life that they exist as simply and changeably and permanently as a cat jumping, or a child playing, or a truck going by outside, and if so I would very much like to make them. Life is play, movement, continual change. Only the fear of death makes us want to stop life, to "fix" it impossibly forever. The moment life is fixed, it is no longer true."
As a whole, it is Tinguely's fountains that are perhaps the clearest example of the artist's ability to infuse life and personality into his machines. For it is not only the way in which these works are constructed or indeed the way that they move that gives them their individual nature. Rather it is the manner in which the playful element of water is dispersed by the fountain that makes the complicated and often awkward structure of the machine seem absurd and often comical.
However, despite the artist's welcome use of humour in his work, Tinguely's sculptures are not intended as simply playthings or figures of fun, and this is something that is quite often overlooked even by many of his admirers. His art is also characterised by a serious attempt to create sculptural form using what he considers to be the only permanents in life: "movement" and "change". He stated: "It is perfectly true that what I am trying to do may be impossible. But maybe not. Maybe it is possible to make things that are so close to life that they exist as simply and changeably and permanently as a cat jumping, or a child playing, or a truck going by outside, and if so I would very much like to make them. Life is play, movement, continual change. Only the fear of death makes us want to stop life, to "fix" it impossibly forever. The moment life is fixed, it is no longer true."