Jean Tinguely

Jean Tinguely, Constante indéterminée (Indeterminate constant), 1960

As one of the foremost figures in postwar kinetic art and a close friend of Daniel Spoerri, Jean Tinguely participated in two collections of Edition MAT. With both Constante indéterminée (1960) and Constante (1964), a small motor inside a black metal base is connected to a clamp above, to which the viewer could attach an object such as a bent paper clip, a piece of cardboard, or ribbons. When the work is turned on, the object in the clamp rotates at high speed, producing the impression of a ghostly virtual volume that disappears completely when the switch is turned off, only to be revived and altered anew by each subsequent viewer and their selected object.

Image credit

Jean Tinguely (Swiss, 1925–1991), Constante indéterminée (Indeterminate constant), 1960. Painted sheet iron, clamp, and spring with electric motor, 13/100, 12 x 7 1/16 x 4 3/4 in. (30.5 x 18 x 12 cm). Published by Edition MAT, Paris. Kunstmuseen Krefeld, Germany. © Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris. Photo © Kunstmuseen Krefeld–Volker Döhne–ARTOTHEK.