The Menil Collection The Menil Collection

In celebration of Jean Tinguely’s 100th birthday, on May 22, the Menil Collection is displaying two of the artist’s monumental kinetic sculptures in the galleries. The museum has also repaired his two fountain sculptures from 1968 and 1969, which were recently enjoyed by museum goers at the Menil’s annual Neighborhood Community Day. Below is a look into the museum’s long history with the artist, along with insight into the conservation of his fragile works.

In December of 1964, John de Menil traveled to Alexander Iolas’s gallery in Paris to attend the opening of Méta Tinguely, an exhibition of eight new mechanical works by Swiss artist Jean Tinguely (1925–1991). It was this encounter that led to numerous acquisitions of Tinguely’s work by John and Dominique de Menil, founders of the Menil Collection. John de Menil expressed his enthusiasm for the exhibition to James Johnson Sweeney, then the director of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH), who, in a sweeping gesture, purchased the entire show for the museum. In the MFAH’s archives is a note written by Sweeney that reads, “Tinguely @ Iolas. Buy whole exhibition. Jean de Menil’s suggestion.”

A year later in 1965, the de Menils brought Tinguely to Houston to speak with students and faculty at the University of St. Thomas. The relationship between the couple and the artist continued to grow in the following years. Tinguely visited Houston again in 1969 with his partner, the artist Niki de Saint Phalle, for the opening of The Machine as Seen at the End of the Mechanical Age at Rice University. The show, which debuted at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York, and later traveled to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, included more than 200 works and was described in MoMA’s news release as “the story of how artists of this century have looked upon and interpreted machines in attitudes ranging from devotion and even idolatry to deepest pessimism and despair.”

The Menil Archives has several letters from Tinguely to the de Menils, dating from 1969 to 1990. The first correspondence was a handwritten letter, along with sketches and collaged material, inviting Dominique de Menil to cocktails at Alexander Iolas’s house in honor of writer Frank O'Hara. The artist wrote many letters to the museum’s founders throughout their relationship, including a note from Tinguely and Saint Phalle with “Inauguration” in large letters to mark the Menil Collection’s opening in 1987.

Today, visitors can see Dissecting Machine, 1965, a highlight from the museum’s collection, in the galleries. When activated, the kinetic sculpture, an assemblage of painted cast iron, welded-steel machine parts, and mannequin limbs, among other discarded materials, rotates and moves powered by six electric AC motors connected to a series of gears and belts. Also on view is M.O.N.S.T.R.E., 1964, created with Saint Phalle. Additional kinetic sculptures in the museum’s holdings are two of the artist’s fountains from 1968 and 1969; WNYR No. 5 (Radio Sculpture), 1962; Baluba, 1964; and an untitled sculpture from 1966–67. The collection also holds several of Tinguely’s works on paper.

Conserving Tinguely’s kinetic art is a tricky task of balancing conceptual priorities. The artist’s kinetic sculptures were made to move amid a cacophony of sound to surprise and delight the viewer. At rest, they are striking sculptures, visually united by matte-black spray paint over corroding found metal parts and repurposed appliance motors. Preservation priorities thus toggle between care for the sculpture both in activation and at rest.

Tinguely’s sculptures are often constructed from discarded metal paired with more sensitive materials like paper and found composite objects, all of which are spray-painted matte black into a unified surface. In caring for the sculpture at rest, we strive to stabilize the structure of the various materials, so they can tolerate activation, and, in the case of his fountains, water exposure as well. This involves treating pockets of metal corrosion, monitoring metal fatigue near moving joints, and repairing composite materials that are torn, crumbling, cracking, or splitting. Once stable, we fill losses in paint to restore the uniform surface. Our goal is to present the sculpture as well-cared for at rest, which allows for patina, use, and age to be visible, but in a way that is well-maintained, clean, and aesthetically cohesive.

Preserving these sculptures while in activation requires a different set of preservation strategies. We employ limited run times for Tinguely’s kinetic sculptures on view, determined based on the operating temperatures of the motors powering the sculpture and the (in)stability of its kinetic motion. While these sculptures were made to move, continuous operation would dramatically shorten their operational lifespan, and thus we limit the duration of activation periods for long-term preservation. Additional strategies for conserving kinetic art include creating detailed documentation, sound recordings, schematics, and wiring diagrams of each piece, as well as stockpiling replacement motors and parts, routinely checking electrical connections, regularly greasing moving components, replacing worn belts, and frequently checking assembly to ensure the sculpture remains structurally sound while on view.

In considering the many competing priorities for preserving Tinguely’s sculptures, we look to what conservators term the “work-defining properties” for guidance—what makes the artwork an artwork? In some cases, it is just the material alone, but for these objects, it is also their kinetic potential, the sound they create, and the shapes they take in different positions. Without that kinetic potential, they become perhaps only a relic of the artwork they once were. By cascading our decision-making around this priority, we concede some aspects of conserving original materials at rest so as to preserve the work-defining aspects of the sculpture in activation. And hopefully within this ever-shifting balance, we present a well-cared for kinetic sculpture for the public to enjoy.