Metamechanics by Jean Tinguely, as seen in the Museum Jean Tinguely in Basel, which shows early works (1954-1959) by the artist. (Keystone)
Keystone
Tinguely, seen during the installation of his Heureka art work at the 1964 Swiss National Exhibition in Lausanne. This large kinetic sculpture, which includes iron bars, steel wheels and electric motors, was his first public work.
Keystone
The finished item: Heureka at Expo 64 in Lausanne. (Keystone)
Keystone
Married artists: Niki de Saint Phalle and Jean Tinguely, 1967 in their Paris studio. (Keystone)
Keystone
The Stravisnky fountain, a whimsical public work near the Centre Gerorges Pompidou, in Paris, by Jean Tinguely and Niki de Saint Phalle. It is a popular tourist attraction. (AFP)
AFP
The Fata Morgana sculpture (1985) during an exhibition at the Tinguely Museum in 2012. (Keystone)
Keystone
Jean Tinguely, himself born in Fribourg, built this memorial in the city to his friend Jo Siffert. Formula 1 driver Siffert was killed in an accident in 1971 at Brands Hatch. (Keystone)
Keystone
Jean Tinguely designed his own exhibition poster for a show in the Zurich Museum of Fine Arts in 1982. (RDB)
RDB
The actor and artist Dennis Hopper, (left), and Jean Tinguely greet each other at the private view of Hopper's exhibition at the Kunsthalle Basel, in 1988. (Keystone)
Keystone
The Tinguely Fountain in Basel was built in 1977, with the sculptures "talking" to each other, just like the actors who once performed in a theatre on this spot. (Keystone)
Keystone
In Basel I lived with the Dance of Death - was the title of a 2000 show at the Museum Jean Tinguely, which highlighted the artist's works in the 1960s. Tinguely’s obsession with death is said to have been inspired by the Basel carnival’s macabre dances. (Tinguely Museum)
Keystone
The internationally-known Swiss artist died on August 30, 1991, at the age of 66. He was most famous for his whimsical kinetic sculptures – they were cheerful and playful, creative and humorous, but there was also a touch of melancholy.
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Gaby Ochsenbein worked at Swiss Radio International and later at SWI swissinfo.ch from 1986 to 2018. She lives in Bern.
Tinguely, also known as Jeannot, was born in Fribourg, in the French-speaking part of Switzerland, but grew up in Basel. He trained as a decorator, and was using wire figures early on in his shop windows.
He first started to make moving sculptures in 1954. Over the next years, his art works gained him an international reputation: for example waves were made with the huge self-destructing mechanical sculpture in the garden in the Museum of Modern Art in New York (1960).
From the end of the 1970s water became ever more present in his works. Later, Tinguely included animal material, such as bones and skulls. Light was also a theme, such as in his Luminator from 1991, his last major work.
Tinguely was married to the artist Niki de Saint Phalle – his second marriage – and is buried in Neyruz, canton Fribroug, where he lived for many years. His grave features a kinetic sculpture.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
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Moving art, recycled
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Tinguely grew up in Basel but moved to France in 1952 to pursue a career in art. He belonged to the Parisian avantgarde in the mid-twentieth century. swissinfo takes a look back at Tinguely’s kinetic art throughout his career. (SF/RTS/swissinfo.ch)
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For over 30 years, the Swiss artist was an influential figure in the European avant-garde. Tinguely@Tinguely, on at Basel’s Museum Tinguely, also looks at his role as an agitator and a poet through the revamping of a collection started 16 years ago, and to which major pieces and biographical elements have been added over time.…
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If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.