{"id":14670,"date":"2025-08-27T09:46:54","date_gmt":"2025-08-27T09:46:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/2025\/08\/27\/jean-tinguely-at-100-museum-tinguely-basel-celebrates-his-legacy\/"},"modified":"2025-08-27T09:47:00","modified_gmt":"2025-08-27T09:47:00","slug":"jean-tinguely-at-100-museum-tinguely-basel-celebrates-his-legacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/2025\/08\/27\/jean-tinguely-at-100-museum-tinguely-basel-celebrates-his-legacy\/","title":{"rendered":"Jean Tinguely at 100: Museum Tinguely Basel Celebrates His Legacy"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cLa roue = c\u2019est tout\u201d with works from Jean Tinguely: Fatamorgana, M\u00e9ta-Harmonie IV<\/em>, 1985 (in the back), Klamauk<\/em>, 1979 (in the front). 2022 (c) foto daniel spehr<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With his chaotic absurdist performances of motorized machines, Swiss artist Jean Tinguely<\/a> embraced both the principle of entropy and the noise of contemporary society to create a disruptive form of artistic expression that parodied automation, consumer culture and the art world itself. A pioneer of multimedia and multidisciplinary approaches, Tinguely worked with scrap metal, discarded materials and industrial parts, aligning with Dadaist traditions while pushing them into more radically experimental territory. His work dissolved the boundaries between material, language and public interaction, anticipating both contemporary media art and relational practices. The climax of his oeuvre, Homage to New York<\/i> (1960), famously self-destructed\u2014partially exploding in the sculpture garden of the Museum of Modern Art. It was an explicit attack on the mechanization of labor, institutional authority and the commodification of art, rejecting permanence and objectification in favor of process, failure and spectacle.<\/p>\n

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This year, 2025, marks the 100th anniversary of his birth\u2014a milestone certain to prompt renewed interest in his multifaceted practice through exhibitions, retrospectives and critical reassessments. Since its opening in 1996, Museum Tinguely in Basel, Switzerland, has played a central role in preserving and promoting the artist\u2019s legacy while becoming a fixture of the annual art world pilgrimage to Basel, thanks to its progressive programming and ambitious commissions. Located on the banks of the Rhine, the museum houses the world\u2019s largest collection of Tinguely\u2019s kinetic works\u2014218 sculptures spanning from his early reliefs and 1960s collaborations to the darker, more monumental machines of the 1970s. More than half of these works are regularly on view and kept in working order, sustaining the spirit of movement, instability and joyful collapse that defined his vision.<\/p>\n

\"Jean\"Jean
Jean Tinguely in front of Derni\u00e8re Collaboration avec Yves Klein<\/em>, 1988. Photo Credit: Vera Isler<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For the centennial of Jean Tinguely\u2019s revolutionary legacy, Observer spoke with Museum Tinguely director Roland Wetzel<\/a> about how the artist\u2019s disarmingly playful, radically innovative and still strikingly relevant work continues to meet contemporary societal needs and how the museum\u2019s program keeps it alive by engaging artists who share his boundary-blurring, multimedia spirit.<\/p>\n

For Wetzel, two perspectives connect the museum\u2019s exhibition program with Tinguely\u2019s legacy. \u201cOne reaches back to Dadaism and Marcel Duchamp, where fundamental questions about what art is were absolutely vital to a younger generation of artists,\u201d he explains. \u201cThe other is that we\u2019re still living in a time comparable to the 1960s. I\u2019d say we are in a new epoch that began around that time, when artists started asking themselves what role they could and should play in society.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tinguely was never a classical modernist bound by the fixed framework of modern art. \u201cHe constantly tried to reach beyond it\u2014to connect with people, to expand his audience and to make his work relevant to everyday life,\u201d Wetzel says. That impulse feels especially resonant today, when many artists are again considering where we stand, how we live and how art can meaningfully enter that conversation. \u201cTinguely always opened his art to daily life, and I think that\u2019s something essential in his practice.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The\"The
The south facade of Museum Tinguely as seen from the Rhine. Museum Tinguely \u00a92022Foto Daniel Spehr, Basel<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Tinguely also embraced accident and chance. He rejected the idea of a pre-established script or fixed concept, choosing instead to surrender to possibilities that emerged in the process itself\u2014as the work interacted with its surroundings, its context and the world at large. He welcomed this dialectical relationship between the work and the world. In that sense, his practice anticipated what we now call relational art: it invited participation not only from viewers but also from the environment, always seeking dialogue with its context. His art was never a static object\u2014it was alive, contingent, responsive.<\/p>\n

Wetzel also points out how deeply collaborative Tinguely\u2019s process was. \u201cA lot of his work didn\u2019t come out of a studio in isolation\u2014it came out of interactions with friends, other artists, curators,\u201d he explains. \u201cHe was involved in organizing, curating and building ideas together. That was a core part of his practice.\u201d<\/p>\n

For the centenary, the museum recreated Tinguely\u2019s art ghost train, reimagined as a large-scale dynamic installation designed by British artist Rebecca Moss<\/a> and Swiss artist Augustin Rebetez<\/a>. In a nostalgic return to traditional lunapark attractions, Scream Machines<\/i> takes visitors on a haunting journey through demons, monsters and other eerie figures designed by the artists, paying homage to Le Crocrodrome de Zig et Puce<\/i>, the 1977 work Tinguely created with Bernhard Luginb\u00fchl, Daniel Spoerri<\/a> and Niki de Saint Phalle<\/a> for the opening of the Centre Pompidou in Paris. That historic project was spearheaded by Pontus Hult\u00e9n, the legendary museum director who championed Tinguely throughout his career. An exhibition currently on at the Grand Palais in Paris explores the creative partnership between Hult\u00e9n, Tinguely and de Saint Phalle.<\/p>\n

\"A\"A
Bernhard Luginb\u00fchl and Jean Tinguely, Le Crocrodrome de Zig & Puce<\/em>, 1977. Reworked exhibition flyer with black felt-tip pen, gouache and collage, 55 x 120 cm. \u00a9 2025 Pro Litteris, Zurich, Museum Tinguely, Basel Credit: Donation Prof. Dr Roland Bieber in memory of Karola Mertz-Bieber<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In researching this installation, Wetzel was struck by the extent of Tinguely\u2019s involvement in the original Pompidou project. \u201cHe wasn\u2019t just one of the participating artists\u2014he helped coordinate people, manage finances, source materials,\u201d Wetzel explains. \u201cHis role went far beyond that of a traditional artist. He was always crossing boundaries, thinking beyond the usual frameworks, reaching into new territories.\u201d<\/p>\n

The installation has been a major success with audiences of all ages, showing that Tinguely\u2019s playful chaotic spirit still resonates in an era often numbed by media overstimulation, societal alienation and both emotional and intellectual disaffection. \u201cWith this project, we\u2019ve been able to reach an even broader audience,\u201d Wetzel notes. \u201cWhile our museum already draws a diverse public, the Ghost Train connects on another level. It\u2019s playful, it\u2019s accessible\u2014you don\u2019t need any prior knowledge to have a meaningful art experience.\u201d For Wetzel, this kind of crossover is exactly what Tinguely envisioned\u2014especially in his desire to reach children. \u201cTinguely always said children were his most important critics. If it works for them, it can work for many others, too. His art was meant to operate on multiple levels, and we\u2019ve really tried to carry that thinking forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Jean\"Jean
Eva Aeppli, Jean Tinguely and Per Olof Ultvedt with M\u00e9ta-Matic-Drawings<\/em> at Atelier Impasse Ronsin, Paris, in 1959. \u00a9 Christer Str\u00f6mholm \/ Str\u00f6mholm Estate Photo Credit: Christer Str\u00f6mholm<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Interaction with the broader public\u2014and with public life itself\u2014was central to Tinguely\u2019s practice. Accessibility and engagement, even beyond the confines of the art world, remain priorities for the museum\u2019s programming today. Part of its identity lies in creating spaces where people of all ages can encounter art in playful, open-ended ways. \u201cWe believe it\u2019s just as important to be welcoming to older audiences and to offer meaningful experiences to people of all generations,\u201d Wetzel says. \u201cThat openness is something we care deeply about.\u201d<\/p>\n

One earlier project at Museum Tinguely involved collaborating with window-front designers. \u201cWhen you do an exhibition in a shop window, you reach a completely different audience\u2014and it\u2019s visible 24\/7 in the public space,\u201d he explains. \u201cThese might seem like small interventions, but they\u2019re incredibly effective ways to expand access. And that\u2019s something Tinguely always tried to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Today, the museum serves several publics\u2014it\u2019s not just one audience, Wetzel clarifies. As he notes, the museum is often a place where people\u2014especially children\u2014experience art for the first time. \u201cThat was important to Tinguely, and we\u2019ve really built on that,\u201d he says, adding how programming for young children begins as early as age two. \u201cThey can come in, be active, play, explore\u2014and leave with a positive, hands-on experience of what art can be. That kind of accessibility, that invitation to engage through the senses, is something quite unique. I don\u2019t know many other museums that offer the same potential for early connection.\u201d<\/p>\n

The museum\u2019s dedicated Art Education Department is one of the central pillars of its mission. It collaborates not only with local schools but also with institutions such as the High School for the Arts and the High School for Music, fostering a dense and long-standing network across Basel\u2019s educational and cultural ecosystems.<\/p>\n

\"In\"In
In \u201cMidnight Zone,\u201d Julian Charri\u00e8re invites visitors to engage with water as atmosphere, memory, movement and kin. \u00a9 2025 ProLitteris, Z\u00fcrich; Courtesy of the artist. 025 Museum Tinguely, Basel; Matthias Willi<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At the same time, the museum draws international visitors\u2014especially during Art Basel\u2014for its special exhibitions. Museum Tinguely typically stages four major shows per year, which can be as ambitious as \u201cMidnight Zone,\u201d Julian Charri\u00e8re\u2019s immersive journey into the abyssal mysteries of the ocean and ecological awareness<\/a>, on view through November 2.<\/p>\n

Set to be unveiled at the end of September, the museum\u2019s next exhibition will feature Scenes from the Invention of Democracy<\/i>, a poignant video installation by Austrian artist Oliver Ressler<\/a> that interrogates what democracy still means in a world where the term is increasingly emptied of substance. A work and a question that feel more urgent than ever, as democratic rights and civil liberties are steadily eroded across multiple countries, with national politics veering toward authoritarianism dressed up as conservatism and protectionism.<\/p>\n

Opening in December is an extensive survey dedicated to the underrecognized yet quietly brilliant Chinese American artist Carl Cheng<\/a>, \u201cNature Never Loses.\u201d Spanning six decades of work, the exhibition highlights Cheng\u2019s pioneering investigations into the intersection of art and ecology, his questioning of institutional relevance and his prescient explorations of technology\u2019s role in society. Organized by The Contemporary Austin in partnership with Museum Tinguely, the Institute of Contemporary Art at the University of Pennsylvania and Bonnefanten in Maastricht, the show underscores the international reach of the museum\u2019s program. In recent years, this model of cross-institutional collaboration\u2014pooling resources and cutting costs while mounting ambitious projects\u2014has become a strategic hallmark of Museum Tinguely\u2019s approach.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I started here 16 years ago, we focused more on Tinguely\u2019s role models and his historical context,\u201d Wetzel explains. \u201cBut increasingly, we\u2019ve been engaging with contemporary artists who reflect on and respond to Tinguely\u2019s practice from today\u2019s perspective. That feels more relevant\u2014and more compelling\u2014for a younger generation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Jean\"Jean
Jean Tinguely looking for materials in 1960. Photo Credit: Photographer unknown<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Yet despite Tinguely\u2019s pioneering and playful use of technology, Museum Tinguely remains focused on more materially and sensorially anchored forms of artistic expression. While the museum doesn\u2019t reject digital work entirely, it isn\u2019t a central focus for now, the director explains. For Wetzel, it remains crucial to create moments of real presence\u2014tactile, embodied encounters that happen in and around the museum. \u201cAs so much of life is already spent in front of screens, it feels even more vital to offer a more comprehensive, embodied experience,\u201d he says. \u201cWhether it\u2019s through Tinguely\u2019s kinetic works or our special exhibitions, we want visitors to engage physically, emotionally and socially.\u201d<\/p>\n

Today, the museum plays multiple roles within Basel\u2019s art ecosystem, Wetzel notes. It can be a place to spend a leisurely Sunday afternoon, but it also aims to be politically and socially relevant\u2014whether through exhibitions or a year-round calendar of talks, panels and performances. \u201cOur programming is quite wide-ranging,\u201d he says. \u201cWe don\u2019t focus on blockbuster shows. We focus on education, accessibility and making art approachable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked about the evolving role of museums in society, Wetzel stresses the importance of a clear ethical compass. For him, the idea that we can live together in a better way is a crucial starting point. \u201cIt\u2019s not about making grand gestures, but about taking small, meaningful steps: creating space for people to come in, learn, reflect on their own lives and share those reflections with others,\u201d he explains. \u201cThat\u2019s how communities are formed\u2014and I believe that\u2019s something museums can and should help facilitate.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Wetzel\u2019s vision, the museum must function as a public platform\u2014a space for genuine exchange. In recent years, that commitment has expanded into talks, performances, concerts and events that deepen and broaden the exhibition experience. \u201cOver time, our role has evolved,\u201d Wetzel says. \u201cMaybe 20 or 30 years ago, it was just about putting on exhibitions. Today, museums need to operate as public platforms\u2014even at a grassroots level\u2014to foster participation, welcome diverse communities and enable open dialogue,\u201d he adds. This includes making room for different political perspectives while also being willing to take a stance. \u201cIn times like these, I think it\u2019s essential that we speak up, stay relevant and above all, create spaces where people can come together.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Tinguely\u2019s kinetic art embraced chaos, chance and humor to critique automation, consumer culture and the institutions of modern art. Photo; Nanda Lanfranco<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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