Tinguely ship lays anchor at NDSM

On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of Museum Tinguely in Basel, a converted barge sails from Paris to Amsterdam and back to Basel. In Amsterdam, the Tinguely boat, in collaboration with the Stedelijk Museum, will moor at Kaap de Groene Hoop at NDSM!

Jean Tinguely played a crucial role in the development of kinetic art from the 1950s onwards. To Tinguely, his work was an act of resistance against a conventional, static art (world): he wanted to put play and experimentation on center stage. He was not satisfied with the notion of visitors watching static paintings from a distance in a sterile white space. Through his do-it-yourself drawing machines, Tinguely critiqued the role of the artist and the elitist position of the arts in society. He rejected the idea of “the unique hand of the artist” by having visitors assemble works themselves. 

About the program

On the ship at the NDSM wharf the sculpture Schwimmwasserplastik (1980) and documentation of Tinguely’s artistic practice in the exhibition Et tout ceci est vrai! is on display. The ship can be viewed and visited on Sunday 8th and Monday 9th of August from 10 am to 8 pm. Entrance to the ship is free. For more info and tickets click here.

The Stedelijk Museum will show new performances by three contemporary artists Marie-Caroline Hominal, Nevin Aladağ and Keren Cytter, who relate to Tinguely’s influential oeuvre. In addition, two films about Tinguely’s work from the museum collection will be shown in the entrance area of the Stedelijk Museum. For more information about the Tinguely program in the Stedelijk Museum, click here.

Amsterdam and Tinguely

Amsterdam and Tinguely share a dynamic history. The exhibitions Bewogen Beweging (Moving Movement) (1961) and Dylaby (1962) at the Stedelijk Museum, both co-curated by Tinguely, testify to their close contact. He did not only bring his kinetic Méta-machines to the Netherlands, but also his international avant-garde network, leaving a lasting impression with the public, which visited these experimental exhibitions in great numbers. Close ties with Willem Sandberg (then director of the Stedelijk Museum) and curator Ad Petersen led to several acquisitions for the collection, including his famous drawing machine Méta-Matic No. 10 from 1959, Gismo from 1960 and the enormous Méta II from 1971. 

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